Africa’s COVID vaccine project takes a step forward with bottling agreement
FRANCESCO GUARASCIO SENEGAL’S Institut Pasteur of Dakar (IPD) has reached a deal with U.S. company MedInstill for the bottling of COVID-19 shots, an EU document shows, marking a step to becoming a fully-fledged maker of coronavirus vaccines for Africa. The European Union is a major financial backer of the project which aims to enable IPD to manufacture 300 million COVID-19 vaccines a year and reduce Africa's reliance on imported vaccines. IPD, however, has yet to secure a partnership with a COVID vaccine patent holder to produce shots. African countries have so far received a tiny portion of COVID-19 shots produced…