Africa Faces Big Challenges Ensuring Access to COVID-19 Vaccines: Africa CDC

03/20/2021 Ethiopia, Health



[ad_1]

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – JANUARY 28: John Nkengasong, director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gives a press conference on coronavirus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on January 28, 2020 (Photo by Minasse Wondimu Hailu / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images). )

Africa faces significant challenges in gaining access to COVID-19 vaccines, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Friday.

FILE PHOTO: John Nkengasong, director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gives a press conference on the coronavirus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Photo by Minasse Wondimu Hailu / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Poor access to vaccines has prevented the continent from achieving its goal of vaccinating at least 60 percent of its population, the public health agency said in a statement.

About 23.6 million doses of vaccine were distributed in Africa on Monday, corresponding to a continental coverage of just 1.7 percent, figures from Africa’s CDC showed.

The agency called on African countries to facilitate rapid access to safe and effective vaccines to prevent serious cases and related deaths.

“This is strategic for the control of the epidemic and the rapid return of growth and development of the continent,” said the CDC Africa.

As of Friday night, COVID-19 cases had reached 4,076,147 in Africa, while the death toll from the pandemic was 108,998, it said.

Nine African countries have reported more than 100,000 cases and South Africa, with 1,532,497 infections, remains the most affected.

Designed by Tricksfast Solutions
© Copyright 2024, All Rights Reserved