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Africa has few options for acquiring Covid-19 vaccines as the disease outbreak worsens in many parts of the continent, the South African presidency said.
Pfizer and BioNTech have offered to supply Africa with 50 million Covid-19 vaccines for healthcare workers between March and the end of this year, the presidency said in response to inquiries from Bloomberg on Sunday. Moderna has no supplies for Africa, while AstraZeneca has no vaccines for the continent in 2021 and has directed the African Union to negotiate with the Serum Institute of India, which is manufacturing the vaccine on behalf of AstraZeneca. President Cyril Ramaphosa is the President of the African Union.
Ramaphosa’s response comes after days of withering criticism of the country’s vaccination strategy from health leaders, unions and opposition parties. Although four vaccine trials are underway in the country, South Africa has only arranged to buy enough injections for 10% of its population of 60 million people through the Covax initiative, which is designed to ensure equitable access. to vaccines. These are likely to start arriving in the second trimester. Some African countries have their own plans for the procurement of vaccines. Most do not.
“We are working hard in South Africa and on the continent to protect our people against Covid-19,” the presidency said.
The furor comes as South Africa records a record number of infections and deaths and neighboring Zimbabwe enters a strict 30-day lockdown. The South African economy probably contracted the most in nine decades last year, according to official estimates.
Cost ‘prohibitive’
The cost of Pfizer vaccines is “prohibitive,” the president said. Discussions are underway with Johnson & Johnson, which is conducting a trial in South Africa and plans to produce 300 million doses a year at a factory in the country owned by Aspen Pharmacare Holdings when the injection is approved.
J&J “has not clarified whether Africa will benefit from vaccines made in South Africa,” the presidency said. “We still have to negotiate the price that is affordable for Africa.”
South Africa is holding direct talks with vaccine suppliers, including J&J, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, on supplying the country with vaccines, the presidency said. South Africa’s medical device regulator is using so-called continuous review, which allows it to evaluate vaccine data as it becomes available during trials to evaluate the J&J injection. It will do the same for AstraZeneca and Pfizer when applied.
While at least 29 countries, from Mexico to Germany, have begun inoculating their populations against the virus, South Africa has yet to conclude any supply agreements with pharmaceutical companies.
An opinion piece published in the Daily Maverick and signed by senior members of the Progressive Health Forum, which includes the heads of medical and academic associations, called on Ramaphosa to fire health department officials for failing to secure supplies of vaccinations
“As a healthcare worker with friends and colleagues on the front line and knowing the healthcare workers who contracted Covid-19 and died doing their duty, we are obliged to try to speed up access to the vaccine so that they can do their job.” Glenda said. Gray, Chairman of the South African Medical Research Council and member of the forum, in response to inquiries.
South Africa, with more than 1.09 million confirmed Covid-19 infections and 29,175 deaths, is the most affected country on the African continent.
