INTERNATIONAL NEWS
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Vaccine rollout around the globe , Africa trailing
The drive to issue shots of various of the Coronavirus vaccines is taking strides , but success still lies leaps away . “ In the Covid-19 vaccine race , we either win together or lose together ,” this was a joint statement by UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore , and WHO directorgeneral Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a recent address .
With the biggest vaccination campaign in history underway , more than 152 million doses have been administered across 75 countries , according to various data sources at the time of publishing . However , more than three quarters of those vaccinations had been issued in just 10 countries that account for 60 % of global GDP . As of mid-February , almost 130 countries , accounting for 2.5 billion people , had yet to administer even a single dose .
In the US , more Americans have now received at least one dose than have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began , equating to 46 million shots , according to state-by-state reporting .
A self-defeating strategy of inequal delivery will cost lives and livelihoods , give the virus further opportunity to mutate and evade vaccines , and this will undermine a global economic recovery . UNICEF and WHO – partners for more than 70 years – have called on leaders to look beyond their borders and employ a vaccine strategy that can actually end the pandemic , and also limit the real threat of variants .
Health workers have been on the frontlines of the pandemic in lower- and middle-income settings and should receive protection first so they can protect their nations . COVAX participating countries have prepared to receive and use vaccines , health workers have been trained , and cold chain systems primed .
What ’ s missing is the equitable supply of vaccines . To ensure that vaccine rollouts begin in all countries in the first 100 days of 2021 , it is imperative that governments that have vaccinated their own health workers and populations at highest risk of severe disease share vaccines through COVAX so other countries can do the same .
The Access to Covid-19 Tools ( ACT ) Accelerator , and its vaccines pillar COVAX , is fully funded so that financing and technical support is available to lower- and middle-income countries for deploying and administering vaccines . If fully funded , the ACT Accelerator could return up to USD166 for every dollar invested .
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Vaccine manufacturers allocate the limited vaccine supply equitably ; share safety , efficacy and manufacturing data as a priority with WHO for regulatory and policy review ; step up and maximise production ; and transfer technology to other manufacturers who can help scale the global supply .
“ We need global leadership to scale up vaccine production and achieve vaccine equity .
Covid-19 has shown that our fates are inextricably linked . Whether we win or lose , we will do so together ,” UNICEF and WHO agree .
GLOBAL EFFORTS TO ERADICATE COVID
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been cleared for use across North America , Europe and the Middle East . That shot and the vaccine from Moderna were both found to reduce coronavirus infections by 95 % in trials of tens of thousands of volunteers . The vaccine by AstraZeneca Plc and University of Oxford got its first major authorisation , by the UK at the end of December 2020 .
Other countries that got a head start on vaccination campaigns include China and Russia who authorised their own shots in July and August 2020 , before they ’ d been fully tested . Since then , the countries have administered millions of doses , though they provide less frequent updates on their progress .
THE PATH TO IMMUNITY AROUND THE WORLD
Life returning to normal is a complicated question and the subject of debate among epidemiologists . While the best vaccines are thought to be about 95 % effective , it may still be possible to spread the disease after getting inoculated . Anthony Fauci , the top infectious-disease official in the US has said that vaccinating 70 % to 85 % of the population would enable a ‘ return to normalcy ’.
On a global scale , that ’ s a daunting level of vaccination . Shots are currently being reported at an average rate of 5.64 million a day . At that pace it would take years to achieve a significant level of global immunity . The rate , however , is steadily increasing , and new vaccines by additional manufacturers may soon be available . The latest figures , though , indicate that it will take an estimated 5.5 years to cover 75 % of the population with a two-dose vaccine .
With the roll-out of the global vaccination campaign , countries have experienced not only unequal access to vaccines but varying degrees of efficiency in getting shots into people ’ s arms .
Israel ’ s rate of inoculations dwarfs the efforts of other nations , with 65.7 doses administered for every 100 people . Most countries haven ’ t yet given their first shots .
THE AFRICAN CONTEXT
Delivering billions of vaccines to stop the spread of Covid-19 worldwide will be one of the greatest logistical challenges ever undertaken . To this point , the dispatch of millions of vaccines to Africa was expected to only start in February .
The joint UN-led COVAX initiative aims to start shipping about 90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines according to reports from the WHO . The immunisation
Based on current vaccination figures , it will take over 5 years to administer two doses to 75 % of the global population . roll out will be the continent ’ s largest ever mass vaccination campaign and will no doubt be riddled with challenges .
Africa has thus watched other regions embark on their vaccination campaigns from the sidelines for too long already . This planned roll-out is a critical first step to ensuring the continent gets equitable access to vaccines . The roll-out of the AstraZeneca / Oxford AZD1222 vaccine is also subject to the vaccine being listed for emergency use by the WHO .
Amid surging demand , final shipments will be based on production capacities of vaccine manufacturers and the readiness of countries , noting that recipient countries are required to submit finalised
national deployment and vaccination plans to even receive vaccines from the COVAX facility .
The initial 90 million doses will support countries inoculate 3 % of the African population most in need of protection , including health workers and other vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021 ( subject to everything working according
www . coldlinkafrica . co . za COLD LINK AFRICA • March / April 2021
to plan ).
As production capacity increases and more vaccines become available the aim is to vaccinate at least 20 per cent of Africans by providing up to 600 million doses by the end of 2021 .
The vaccination strategy for the continent allows African nations to finetune their planning for their immunisation campaigns and to ramp up readiness and finalise national deployment plans . Regulatory processes , cold chain systems and distribution plans need to be in place to ensure vaccines are safely expedited from ports of entry to the vaccination destinations .
To complement COVAX efforts , the African Union has secured 670 million vaccine doses for the continent which will be distributed over 2021 and 2022 while countries secure adequate financing . In addition , about 320 000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine , which has already received WHO emergency use status , have been allocated to four African countries – Cabo Verde , Rwanda , South Africa , and Tunisia – which have the capacity to store and distribute doses at the required -70 degrees Celsius parameters .
SOURCES :
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1 . World Health Organisation ( WHO ) 2 . United Nations ( UN )