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“The situation in India shows that we as a continent cannot lose vigilance,” John Nkengasong said during a webinar on Thursday. “If what happens in India is repeated in Africa, our health systems will not be able to bear it.”
His warnings came at a time when, more than a year after the pandemic began, Indian authorities and hospitals were unable to cope with an unprecedented influx of Covid-19 infections and deaths.
Official data on Thursday showed the number of new cases rose to 379,257 in 24 hours, a one-day record for any country. The official death toll in the country has reached almost 205,000.
India is a vaccine manufacturer and the crisis could deal a blow to global vaccination efforts, Nkengasong said.
“India makes vaccines, India makes drugs, but they are loaded,” he said. “There is no doubt that the situation in India has severely hampered the ability to predict vaccine deliveries in Africa.”
Vaccine deliveries are delayed in 60 countries where people are vaccinated under the COVAX initiative for the poorest countries, according to the Gavi vaccine group. Of these 60 countries, 38 are in Africa.
“It is understandable that a country going through a crisis like India, which produces vaccines for much of the world, will seek to use vaccines to solve its own problems,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, told Africa in a separate news. conference.
COVAX vaccine deliveries were “heavily dependent” on the Serum Institute of India, a biotech and pharmaceutical company, he said, and WHO was “very concerned about the delays that accompany the availability of vaccines.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo announced this week that it will share $ 1.3 million with other countries. The AstraZeneca doses you received from COVAX in April that you will not be able to use until their expiration date.
“We remain optimistic that the vaccines will be delivered and used,” Nkengasong said. “We don’t know of other countries that can’t use their vaccines, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t.”
WHO warns of escalating pandemic in Africa
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns of an escalation of the pandemic in Africa.
Almost half of the countries are at high risk of spreading the coronavirus, WHO director for the African region, Matshidiso Moeti, said in Brazzaville on Thursday.
The epidemiological situation in India and other countries has drastically deteriorated, and the same could happen in Africa, he stressed. The parties say they must not relax in the fight against a pandemic. Residents must continue to exercise caution.
According to Moeti, 4.5 million have been confirmed in Africa. coronavirus cases. 120,000 COVID-19 patients died. Compared to other regions, such as Europe or North and South America, official infection rates in Africa are not high. However, it is believed that the actual figures may be higher.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa is located in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo.
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