SHORTAGE OF SYRINGES THREATENS AFRICA’S COVID VACCINE DRIVE

Fri 29 October 2021:

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that a shortage of syringes could hamper Africa’s efforts to inoculate people against COVID, even as vaccine supplies flood in.

According to WHO Africa, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, is predicting an “imminent shortfall” of up to 2.2 billion single-use syringes needed to administer vaccines.

The auto-disable syringes used to administer Pfizer-COVID BioNTech’s vaccination are among them, according to the company.

According to a weekly online briefing, the shortages will last at least until the first quarter of next year.

“Early next year, COVID-19 vaccines will start pouring into Africa, but a scarcity of syringes could paralyse progress,” Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa warned.

“Syringe production both globally and locally must be stepped up. Countless African lives depend on it,” she added.

The looming threat of a vaccine commodities crisis hangs over the continent. Early next year #COVID19 vaccines will start pouring into #Africa, but a scarcity of syringes could paralyze progress. pic.twitter.com/yQ7UvWDKI5

— Dr Matshidiso Moeti (@MoetiTshidi) October 28, 2021

According to the WHO, unless there is a significant acceleration, only five African countries, or less than 10% of the population, will reach the target of 40% vaccination by the end of the year.

Countries like Seychelles, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia, and Cape Verde – which have already met this goal – account for just 51 million of the continent’s 1.2 billion people.

According to the Africa CDC, there have been 8.5 million coronavirus infections and over 218,000 deaths in the continent.

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