AFRICA’S COVID-19 CASES SURPASS 7.84 MLN AS VACCINES ARE STILL FAR OFF

Sat 04 September 2021:

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 7,844,232 as of Friday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic across the continent stands at 197,986.

Some 7,015,476 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease so far, it was noted.

South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Ethiopia are among the countries with the most cases in the continent, according to the agency.

In terms of the caseload, southern Africa is the most affected region, followed by the northern and eastern parts of the continent, while central Africa is the least affected region in the continent, it was noted.

Vaccine apartheid

Matshidiso Moeti, Africa director for the WHO, recently lashed out at Western nations, accusing them of hoarding vaccines when there should be a more even distribution of jabs.

The continent saw 248,000 new confirmed cases last week, with at least 28 countries seeing a surge in infections driven by the Delta variant.

“This is a preventable tragedy if African countries can get fair access to the vaccines,” Moeti told reporters.

According to some health experts, if Africa continues to proceed at such a slow pace with its vaccination programme, it could prolong the pandemic.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said it was “unconscionable” that some countries are now offering booster shots “while so many people remain unprotected”.

“I think it is very difficult for us to talk about booster doses in Africa,” Moeti said last week. “We have not covered even 5 percent of the population yet with the initial vaccinations that are needed to slow down the spread of the virus and, most importantly, stop what we think might be a fourth wave which is coming.”

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