Africa has secured an additional 400 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as the continent fights a second wave of the coronavirus, fueled by the South African variant that the World Health Organization says has become the dominant species on the continent.
The new doses – of the AstraZeneca vaccine – have been obtained through the Serum Institute of India, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
With the new doses, in addition to the 270 million doses announced earlier this month by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, “I think we are starting to make very good progress,” Africa CDC director John Nkengasong told reporters. .
Parts of the African continent are seeing a strong resurgence in coronavirus infections, with the WHO noting that 22 countries continued to see the number of cases increase over the past week as a result of the emergence of the new 501Y.V2 variant, which was first identified in South Africa.
The UN health agency said the variant was now “predominant, driving record numbers in South Africa and the sub-region” and had also been found in 24 countries outside Africa.
“The variant first discovered in South Africa has spread rapidly outside Africa and so what is keeping me up at night now is that it is very likely circulating in some African countries,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. in a statement.
A variant that was initially discovered in the UK and is also more transmissible has been found in The Gambia and Nigeria, Moeti said.
Nkengasong called the spread “very aggressive” and warned that the second wave had not yet peaked.
The death rate of 2.5 percent in Africa remains above the global death rate of 2.2 percent, and in 14 of the 54 countries of Africa the death rate is above 3 percent. The continent has more than 3.4 million confirmed virus cases, including more than 87,000 deaths.
The continent of 1.3 billion people is racing to get enough vaccines to vaccinate 60 percent of the population to achieve immunity to the herd, and Moeti urged African countries to test, isolate contacts , the treatment of patients and prevention measures to contain the outbreak until the vaccinations can be rolled out.
“Our common goal is to stay ahead of the virus,” he said. “Unfortunately, the journey will be longer, more difficult and much more expensive in the absence of consistent, comprehensive obligations from society to block infections.”
Officials have repeatedly urged rich countries that have stockpiled vaccines to share them with developing countries.
Africa is expected to receive an additional 600 million doses through the WHO-led global COVAX initiative to help low-income countries.
In a separate briefing, WHO’s Richard Mihigo said the first doses would be rolled out “probably by the middle of next month, and in March we will certainly see most countries vaccinating, targeting the high-risk groups.”
He called it a “slow start,” but said he expected the process to speed up in the coming months.
As for the 270 million doses previously announced, “we know very well that some of these doses will not be available soon,” Mihigo said. He did not give details.
In general, he said reaching 35 percent of the African population with COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this year could be a “realistic assumption”.
Mihigo also criticized global differences in costs for COVID-19 vaccines.
It is a “shocking fact that a rich country can pay less than a country that is struggling,” he said, pointing out that higher-income African countries, such as South Africa, are not eligible for donated vaccines. “It is really time to argue for a fair price for those countries … at least at the same price that rich countries get.”