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Seleshi Tessema  

• COVID-19 vaccination price hike, hoarding, lack of infrastructure have delayed Africa’s access, WHO says
• In Africa, the coalition has committed to vaccinating at least 20 percent of the population by the end of 2021

As the World Health Organization (WHO) urged global actors to speed up the COVID-19 vaccination access in Africa, the continent has reported 3,365,095 cases and 82,891 virus-related fatalities, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.

Some 2,822,123 COVID-19 patients have managed to recover so far.

The WHO on Thursday said: “Africa is in danger of being left behind as countries in other regions strike bilateral deals, driving up prices.”

To date, “Guinea is the sole low-income nation to provide vaccines and to date these have only been administered to 25 people, the statement added, noting: “Seychelles, which is a high-income country, is the only one on the continent to start a national vaccination campaign.”

Despite the price hike and hoarding of the vaccine which will delay Africa’s early recovery, 900 million doses have been secured through a global coalition involving various global agencies.

“In Africa, the coalition has committed to vaccinating at least 20 percent of the population by the end of 2021 by providing a maximum of 600 million doses based on two doses per individual,’’ the statement also said, adding: “An initial 30 million doses are expected to start arriving in countries by March.”- https://www.aa.com.tr/