Advertisement

Africa might hit 70% COVID-19 vaccination goal in late 2024, WHO warns

Click to play video: 'COVID-19 infections surge 255% in South Africa in a week, but only 6% ICU beds occupied'
COVID-19 infections surge 255% in South Africa in a week, but only 6% ICU beds occupied
WATCH: COVID-19 infections surge 255% in South Africa in a week, but only 6% ICU beds occupied – Dec 9, 2021

The African continent might not reach the target of vaccinating 70 per cent of its 1.3 billion population against COVID-19 until the second half of 2024, a target many of the world’s richer countries have already met, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

The warning comes as the world faces a new surge in cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant.

Health officials in South Africa, which first announced the variant, say early data indicate it causes less severe illness and shorter, less intensive hospital stays. But some richer countries have rushed to allow booster vaccine doses in response, even as less than eight per cent of Africa’s population has received two doses.

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.

Get weekly health news

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“We will never get out of this if we don’t work together as one world,” Flavia Senkubuge, president of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, told reporters at the WHO briefing.

Story continues below advertisement

Just 20 of Africa’s 54 countries have fully vaccinated at least 10 per cent of their populations against COVID-19. And 10 countries have fully vaccinated less than two per cent of their populations.

The WHO Africa director, Matshidiso Moeti, pushed back against any suggestion that African nations are allowing large numbers of vaccine doses to go to waste amid poor infrastructure and vaccine hesitancy.

The African continent has received about 434 million vaccine doses, and some 910,000 of them have expired in 20 countries, representing less than a quarter of one per cent, Moeti said.

The main challenge in Africa, she said, remains access to vaccine supplies.

Click to play video: 'WHO asks for more doses to be sent to poorer nations amid global vaccine inequities'
WHO asks for more doses to be sent to poorer nations amid global vaccine inequities

Sponsored content

AdChoices