AstraZeneca shots - The African Mirror

Jun

05

2021

COVAX hopes to deliver delayed AstraZeneca shots to Africa in June, July

EMMA FARGE THE COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme hopes to send millions of delayed doses of AstraZeneca's shots to Africa in June and July, but the deployment hinges on a Spanish manufacturing site securing regulatory approval, according to U.N. officials. Africa has been hit by a halt in vaccine exports from India which were due to make up a significant portion of the first phase of the COVAX roll-out. As a result, many recipients including health workers will not receive their second dose of the AstraZeneca shot within the recommended 12-week interval. "The second dose gap is a huge issue," World Health…

Apr

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa CDC cannot predict date for 2nd shots

COVID-19

MANY Africans who have received their first COVID-19 vaccine do not know when they will get a second shot because deliveries are delayed, the continent's top public health official has said. "We cannot predict when the second doses will come and that is not good for our vaccination programme," John Nkengasong, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told reporters. Africa lags behind most other regions in COVID-19 vaccinations, with just less than 14 million doses having been administered on the continent of 1.3 billion, according to the Africa CDC. Ghana, for example, has…

Apr

02

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Vaccine delay could be catastrophic for Africa ‘

COVID-19

INDIA’S temporary hold on major exports of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot will undermine Africa's vaccination plans, and could have a "catastrophic" impact if extended, the head of the continent's disease control body said yesterday. India decided to delay big exports of the shots made in its territory by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to make sure it could meet local demand, two sources told Reuters last week. The hold "will definitely impact our ability to continuously vaccinate people," the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told a news conference in Addis Ababa. The African…

Apr

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria aims to get 70 million vaccines

COVID-19

ALEIXIS AKWAGYIRAM NIGERIA hopes to receive up to 70 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this year through the African Union (AU), its primary healthcare chief told Reuters, amid concerns about delayed deliveries of AstraZeneca shots. Rolling out vaccines in developing nations such as Nigeria, whose 200 million-strong population is Africa's biggest, is seen as key to stemming the global spread of the new coronavirus. Nigeria, which has recorded 2,049 deaths from COVID-19 and began vaccinations this month, plans to inoculate 40% of its people this year and another 30% in 2022. Last week, India - the…