Covax vaccine initiative
WHO Africa calls for COVID-19 vaccine rollout momentum to be maintained
Close to 7.7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered on the African continent so far.
The European Union's medicines regulator approved the single-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, a boost for the EU's sluggish vaccination programme
Kenya received its first shipment of just over 1 million Covax-funded AstraZeneca/Oxford shots early on Wednesday.
In Covax, funding for vaccines is covered for the 92 lower- and lower-middle income economies involved, while for richer countries, it operates as a back-up insurance policy.
Critics of the South African government argue that it has done too little too late to secure vaccines, and that it doesn't have a proper plan in place for rollout.
India's COVID-19 vaccination drive had a successful start with more than 190,000 people receiving their first jabs and no one hospitalised for major side effects.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, director of the WHO Regional Office for Africa, has indicated that South Africa may have to be one of the first African countries to see a vaccine rollout as soon as they are available as it could be one of the hardest hit by the second wave of COVID-19. Dr Moeti was speaking during a virtual bi-monthly media briefing, the first for the organisation for 2021.
A waiver on some intellectual property rules at the WTO for COVID-19 vaccines would ensure more equitable access, but wouldn't solve all the problems facing developing countries.
The health department maintains it is in the process of finalising its agreement with COVAX.
The solidarity fund was meant to make a R327 million deposit to secure enough vaccines to supply 10% of the country's population.
Vaccination campaigns have already begun in Britain and the United States.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to persist in many countries around the globe, the World Health Organization has launched the COVAX programme to speed up the search for an effective vaccine and South Africa wants in on that.
The WHO said 76 rich nations were now committed to joining a global COVID-19 vaccine allocation plan co-led by the WHO that aims to help buy and fairly distribute the shots.