The European Union has agreed to return millions of COVID vaccines doses partially produced in South Africa back to the African continent.
South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare operates the plant that is partially producing Johnson & Johnson vaccines, where vaccine substance from Europe is sent to be bottled and shipped.
The plant is supposed to produce 400 million doses for the AU’s African Vaccine Acquisition Trust through 2022, to be purchased by African nations using World Bank financing. Shipments started in August, with 6.4 million doses delivered to countries, but they have been limited due to the manufacturing plant’s production capacity.
The announcement came as Africa struggles to immunise its population against COVID, partly due to a lack of supply resulting from wealthier countries buying up most vaccines, and also from widespread vaccine hesitancy.
“All the vaccines produced at Aspen will stay in Africa and be distributed to Africa,” said Strive Masiyiwa, special African Union envoy. “This issue has been corrected and corrected in a very positive way.”
The announcement came after a meeting in Berlin between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, he said, adding that the first supplies were expected this month.
“In addition, the Europeans committed to give us 200 million doses before the end of December,” Masiyiwa said at the briefing by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 2.93% of people who have been fully immunised against COVID, said Africa CDC director John Nkengasong. The World Health Organization meanwhile warned that eight out of 10 African countries were likely to fall short of the “crucial” goal of vaccinating the most vulnerable 10% of their populations against COVID by the end of the month.
Source: Eyewitness News
