'Africa needs at least 750M coronavirus vaccine doses'

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

At least 60% of Africa’s 1.2 billion people need to be immunized for a COVID-19 vaccination drive to prove effective, the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

“By that count, Africa will need at least 750 million doses of the coronavirus vaccines,” John Nkengasong said in a weekly online news briefing.

He said every person will need two doses – one of the antidote and another for boosting immunity – so the total amount required could be over 1 billion.

Some 5% to 7% of vaccine doses may be wasted in the process, he added.

Nkengasong said Africa will use a combination of financial sources to buy vaccines, including a $12 billion support package from the World Bank for countries that need assistance.

The African Export-Import Bank and other institutions will also chip in, according to the official.

His remarks came as Africa’s COVID-19 cases crossed 2.3 million (2,304,485) on Thursday, including 54,916 fatalities and over 1.96 million (1,968,447) recoveries.