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South Africa is Desperately Short of Covid Vaccines And It Has Raised High Concerns

      

Image Credit – TOI

 

In the global race to vaccinate people against Covid19, Africa is tragically at the back of the pack. It has barely gotten out of the starting blocks.

In South Africa, which has got the most robust economy of the continent and its biggest coronavirus caseload, just 0.8% of the population is fully vaccinated. The reports have come according to a worldwide tracker kept by the Johns Hopkins University. Hundreds and thousands of the country’s health workers have come face to face with the virus every day and are still waiting for their shots.

In Nigeria, the biggest country in Africa with more than 200 million people, only 0.1% are fully protected. Kenya has got a population of 50 million has got a lower number of vaccines. Uganda has recalled dozes from the rural areas because it does not have nearly enough to fight outbreaks in big cities.

Until this past weekend, Chad did not administer its first vaccine shots. There are also at least five other countries in Africa where not a single dose is put into an arm according to Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The World Health Organization has said that the continent of 1.3 billion people is facing a severe shortage of vaccines at the same time a new wave of infection is rising across Africa. The vaccine shipments into Africa have ground to a near halt according to WHO last week.

Dr. John Nkengasong, Africa CDC Director and a Cameroonian virologist is trying to ensure some of the poorest nations of the world get a fair share of the vaccines in a marketplace where they cannot possibly compete. In contrast, The United States and Britain have fully vaccinated more than 40% of their populations.


      


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