We can’t say when 2nd COVID-19 vaccines will arrive – Africa CDC

Precariousness currently hovers over Africa’s COVID-19 vaccines distribution and vaccination campaign as a result of shortage of vaccine dosages across the nation.

Presently, people that have received their first COVID-19 vaccines doses in most African nations, have no assurance of receiving the second doses due to decreasing supplies in the midst of delays in distributions from approved suppliers.

More critically, countless people that are yet to be vaccinated in the affected nations may have to wait for more than anticipated until the expected supplies of doses come.

The director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr John Nkengasong, who announced this on Thursday, criticised the development, stating that Africa is restricted to limited access to vaccine doses.

He stated, “We cannot predict when the second doses will come and that is not good for our vaccination programme. We are in a bind as a continent. Access to vaccines has been limited for us.”

The director of Africa CDC hoped that India, where new infections have surpassed 200,000 a day, will lift its limitation without delay, even as he stated that Africa lags behind most other regions in COVID-19 vaccinations, with below 14 million dosages administered on the nation of 1.3 billion.

He said, “Ghana, for example, has administered around 742,000 doses of the 815,000 shots it has so far received and will run out by the end of next week.

“Even if Ghana had the money, they will not know where to go get the vaccine, that’s the challenge.”

Individuals who have received their first shot are now profiting from some protection from the virus; Nkegasong stated appealing to countries to use up their dosages before the expiry date.