270 million extra doses of Covid vaccine secured for Africa

270 million extra doses of Covid vaccine secured for Africa

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President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the African Union, said: “From the outset of this pandemic, our focus as a continent has been on cooperation and collective effort. We have maintained the principle that no country should be left behind.

All 270 million vaccine doses will be made available this year, with at least 50 million available for the important period from April to June 2021. ‘

These vaccines are secured together with a vaccination program from COVAX, a World Health Organization and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance initiative to bring more vaccines to Africa on a fair basis.

The WHO’s regional director for Africa praised the move during an online media conference on Thursday.

“Covax can only cover 20% of the African population, so it’s really great to see the efforts of the African Union to get a preliminary dose of 270 million by the end of 2021 …” said dr. Matshidiso Moeti said.

However, President Ramaphosa warned that while the initiative is’ vital ‘, it’ may not go beyond the needs of front-line health workers, and therefore it will not be enough to take the ever-increasing toll of the pandemic in Africa. not restrict. ‘

Africa is experiencing a second wave that is’ higher than the peak that was in July last year ‘, with an average number of new cases per day of more than 25,000 in the last 14 days,’ said Dr. Must be added.

The African Export – Import Bank will support the strategy by giving progress of up to $ 2 billion on behalf of member countries to the manufacturers, the South African presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.

The African Union and the World Bank are also working together to give member states access to $ 5 billion to buy more vaccines.

Despite promises of solidarity over Covid-19, rich countries increase supply of promising vaccines

AVATT was established in August to ensure that the continent can receive sufficient vaccine doses to bring about herd immunity.

The announcement is welcome news for Ramaphosa as South Africa on Monday extended coronavirus restrictions, citing a “massive increase” in Covid-19 cases, driven by a variant discovered last year.
Meanwhile, countries have been doing vaccinations for months.

The People’s Vaccine Alliance, an international vaccine watchdog that includes Amnesty International and Oxfam, said in December that rich countries had bought enough doses of Covid-19 vaccine to immunize their population three times.

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