NAIROBI (Reuters) – The African Union’s disease control body on Thursday said it had abandoned plans to secure AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for its members of the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine provider, amid the global shortage of the shot.
AstraZeneca’s $ 3 shot is by far the cheapest coronavirus vaccine ever launched, and the easiest to store and transport, making it very suitable for developing countries.
On Wednesday, European and British drug regulators said they had found possible links between the vaccine and extremely rare cases of blood clots in the brain, while emphasizing its importance in mass vaccination against COVID-19.
John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (Africa CDC), said the AU’s decision had nothing to do with the findings and reiterated his advice that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.
He said the main reason was to prevent duplication of COVAX’s efforts by the World Health Organization’s COVAX Institution, which would supply AstraZeneca to Africa.
He said the AU was focusing on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, citing an agreement announced last week to supply up to 400 million doses to Africa.
COVAX aims to deliver 600 million shots this year, most of which are from AstraZeneca, to about 40 African countries, enough to vaccinate 20% of their population.
Africa follows most other regions in COVID-19 vaccinations; according to the Africa CDC, less than 13 million doses have been administered on a continent of 1.3 billion people.
‘NOT INDUSTRY’
The AU wanted to insure up to 500 million extra AstraZeneca shots for its 55 member states, at $ 3 per shot.
Last month, however, India halted its exports to meet rising domestic demand.
Nkengasong said the subsequent delays complicate vaccination in Africa, noting that health systems need to know that the second dose is available in a timely manner for those who have received a first dose.
Matshidiso Moeti, who heads the WHO’s Africa office, confirmed that the two organizations want to ensure that they “do not compete and go over each other and are looking for the same vaccines”.
“I am very confident that this has nothing to do with the doubts about the safety and other considerations regarding the AstraZeneca vaccines. It is simply to realize that the volumes are available,” she said in a separate newsletter.
The single-shot doses of J&J that were insured last week will only arrive in the third quarter, and Nkengasong said that Africa will find it difficult to bridge the gap in the meantime.
South Africa has canceled orders for the AstraZeneca vaccine after finding that it offers only minimal protection against mild to moderate infection caused by the country’s dominant, highly contagious variant.
Russia and China also offer vaccinations, but there are questions about their cost and availability in large quantities.
It is confirmed that the virus has killed 114,000 people across Africa and infected 4.33 million.
(Edited by Maggie Fick; Written by Katharine Houreld; Edited by Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie and Alison Williams)