“This will really require a tremendous effort,” Dr. Moeti acknowledged, saying that without a “significant increase” in vaccine availability, “the lives of many Africans are at risk.”
The announcement came as Africa prepares to cross five million cases of the virus, as Covid has claimed the lives of 133,000 people so far, according to official statistics. While testing is often limited, known cases have also increased, with 94,145 new cases reported in the past week — a 26 percent increase from the previous week, according to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Countries including Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia have reported an increase in cases, while some, Like Uganda, it brought back lockdowns To stop the spread of the virus. The Africa CDC also said deaths on the continent increased by 2 percent over the past week, and several countries reported detecting variants first reported in South Africa, Britain and India. The vaccines they received through Covax, a global vaccine initiative. World Health Organization. He said 14 African countries have used between 80 percent and 100 percent of their doses.
However, only 35.9 million doses of the Covid vaccine have been administered on the continent, according to the Africa CDC, with the majority given in a handful of countries, including Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa and in the Western Sahara region. Tanzania, Eritrea and Burundi still have to give a single injection, while Togo and Chad only started giving the vaccines last week.
While some countries faced shortages, others did not launch campaigns quickly. The World Health Organization estimated that twenty countries have used less than half of their doses, while 12 countries with more than 10 percent of their doses are facing expiration.
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