Greetings to everyone participating in today’s press conference, bienvenue à tous les collègues de la presse. We’re going to be talking about the roll out of COVID-19 vaccines in African countries.
I am pleased to be joined for this conversation by the Honourable Minister of Health of Angola, my sister, Dr Silvia Lutucuta, and by Professor William Kwabena Ampofo, the Head of the Virology Department at Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana, and also the Chairperson of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative.
More than 4 million COVID-19 cases have now been reported on the African continent, with 43,000 new cases in the past week, and 108,000 lives sadly lost. In the past month, new cases have decreased by 41% compared to the previous month but there is an upward trend in about 12 countries including Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Guinea (where an outbreak of Ebola is also ongoing).
At WHO, we anticipate that several countries are likely to experience a third wave in the coming weeks. Governments are easing restrictions, and there is population fatigue frankly in adhering to public health measures, and people will soon be travelling and visiting family for Easter holidays in many countries and some countries have upcoming elections with potential for mass gathering, and also variants are circulating that appear to be more transmissible.
Vaccination is the fastest route to social and economic recovery from this pandemic. Through the COVAX Facility more than 16 million doses have been delivered to 27 African countries. This is in addition to more than nine million doses received through bilateral deals and donations. Around seven million doses have been administered.
Thirty African countries have now started vaccination of frontline health-care workers and other priority groups.
So, although Africa received vaccines late and in limited quantities, a lot of ground has been covered in a short space of time. This is due to the time and effort invested in planning and preparing, the continent’s vast experience in mass vaccination campaigns and the determination of its leaders and communities to effectively curb COVID-19. We will hear more about this from the Honourable Minister of Health of Angola.
As another example, in Ghana more than 420 000 people have been vaccinated in just two weeks. That covers more than 60% of the population targeted in the first instance in the Greater Accra region, which has been heavily impacted by the outbreak. This is better than some countries which have had access to vaccines for some months.
So, while the roll out is going well and we anticipate all African countries will receive their first deliveries by the end of March, some countries have already used up the doses from their first shipments. COVAX supply networks are working hard to confirm the next deliveries.
To keep expanding coverage, WHO and partners are supporting countries on detailed microplanning and running simulation exercises, addressing rumours and misinformation, engaging community mobilizers to pre-list and register priority populations, and reinforcing cold chain and logistics capacities right up to the provincial level.
Throughout this pandemic, African countries have faced enormous challenges in obtaining essential commodities, like test kits, personal protective equipment, and vaccines, due to global supply chain disruptions and even export bans by countries manufacturing these products. We look forward to hearing more about this from Professor Ampofo.
This inequitable situation has reignited action to build manufacturing capacities on the continent, and we are collaborating with the African Union, the Africa CDC, UNIDO (the UN Industrial Development Organization), the UN Economic Commission for Africa, and other partners, to advance this work and this is where Prof. Ampofo is playing a key role in leadership.
International solidarity remains vital, including sharing of vaccine doses by wealthy countries that have surplus supplies, and supporting the COVAX mechanism in its goal of equitable vaccine distribution.
Now, in relation to the precautionary suspension of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in some countries in Europe, the European Medicines Agency is meeting today, and we expect that it will issue a recommendation. WHO has issued an interim statement on this issue. The WHO COVID-19 Sub-committee of the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is carefully assessing the safety data and we will soon communicate the findings to the public.
What I can say now is that around 17 million people have received the AstraZeneca vaccine in the United Kingdom and Europe alone and forty people have experienced blood clotting, and a few of these have sadly died. It is important to note that this rate of occurrence of blood clotting is much lower than would be expected in the general population, as these blood clots are the third most common cardiovascular disease globally. But, based on the data available, the benefits of receiving and using this vaccine outweigh the risks.
I encourage countries therefore, to continue with their vaccination campaigns and not to pause as we are in a race against time. The more people are protected, the less likelihood of mutations producing more dangerous variants of the virus, thus endangering the whole world.
As African countries have started vaccinating, we’ve seen more people coming forth, in countries like South Africa and Ghana, eager to get the vaccine. I commend those political and other leaders who have come forward to be vaccinated and motivate their fellow citizens. I encourage everyone who is eligible, when it is their turn – whether they be health-care workers and other essential workers, older people, those with underlying conditions, to get vaccinated, for your sake, and for that of our communities and countries.
Finally, I was saddened to hear of the passing of His Excellency the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, President John Magufuli, and would like to convey my deepest condolences to his family and to the Tanzanian nation. WHO stands ready to support the Government and people of Tanzania on all priority health issues.
I thank you again for having joined us today and I look forward to our conversation.
Thank you.