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India’s temporary hold on major exports of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 injection will undermine Africa’s vaccination plans and could have a “catastrophic” impact if it spreads, the head of the continent’s disease watchdog said on Thursday.
India decided to delay large exports of injections made on its territory by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to ensure it could meet local demand, two sources told Reuters last week.
The suspension “will definitely affect our ability to continuously vaccinate people,” said the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa, John Nkengasong, at a news conference in Addis Ababa.
The African Union had planned to vaccinate between 20% and 30% of the continent’s population by the end of the year, he said. “If vaccines are delayed, it is unlikely that we will achieve our goal,” he added.
That AU target relies primarily on supplies from the global vaccine exchange facility COVAX, through which 64 poorer countries, including many in Africa, are supposed to receive doses of IBS. COVAX aims to provide enough vaccines for African countries to vaccinate at least 20% of their populations.
“If the delay continues, I hope it is a delay and not a ban, it would be catastrophic to meet our vaccination schedule,” Nkengasong said.
African countries have reported 4.25 million coronavirus infections and 112,000 related deaths, although experts have said the actual numbers could be higher.
The UA has also been negotiating with manufacturers to help member states obtain the additional doses they will need to achieve 60% coverage.
On Monday, Johnson & Johnson announced that it would supply the UA with up to 400 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine. Delivery of those doses is due to begin in the third quarter of this year and will continue through 2022.
Those doses are independent of the global GAVI / WHO endorsed COVAX facility.
Nkengasong said Thursday that the UA has “pivoted” toward the J&J shot in part as a result of the delay in delivering the AstraZeneca shots, and also because it is a single-dose shot.
The J&J doses will begin arriving in June or July, alleviating any shortages caused by the delayed AstraZeneca doses, Nkengasong said. The gap to J&J doses is a concern, he added.
