Africa to get discount

PLAN: UNION BELIEVES VACCINES WILL COST MEMBERS ABOUT R45 Prices much lower compared to what wealthier nations are paying.

African countries will pay between $3 (about R45) and $10 per vaccine dose to access 270 million Covid-19 shots, secured this month by the African Union (AU), according to a draft briefing on the plan prepared by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who serves as AU chair, said last week arrangements had been made with the bank to support member states who want access to vaccines. Countries can pay back the loans in instalments over five to seven years, the document seen by Reuters showed.

Afreximbank’s press office declined to answer questions on the terms outlined, saying the document was in draft form and meant for confidential discussion by members of a team created to secure vaccines and financing for the continent’s coronavirus immunisation programmes.

The AU team also declined to comment.

The document provides the first public details on the prices manufacturers are offering African nations outside of the Covax global vaccine-sharing scheme led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Gavi vaccine alliance.

Although the prices are heavily discounted compared to what wealthier nations are paying, some experts worry about countries already struggling to manage the economic fallout of the pandemic having to borrow more money.

“No country should have to take on debt to pay for the vaccine,” said Tim Jones, head of policy at the Jubilee Debt Campaign, a British charity working to end poverty.

The companies supplying shots – Pfizer Inc, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and the Serum Institute of India – did not immediately respond to requests for comment. AstraZeneca, whose shots Serum will provide, declined to comment.

John Nkengasong, who heads the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the prices were comparable to those available through Covax.

“My thinking is that the vaccines market will open up in the coming months, when for example Johnson & Johnson and others land on the market,” Nkengasong said. “For now, what is critical is access to the market, secure quantities and start vaccinating.”

As richer nations race ahead with mass vaccination campaigns, Africa is still scrambling to secure supplies as it grapples with a second wave of infections and concerns about more-infectious variants of the virus. More than 3.3 million Covid-19 cases and over 80 000 deaths have been recorded on the continent to date, according to a Reuters tally.

The AU is concerned that vaccine supplies from Covax in the first half of the year may not extend beyond the needs of frontline healthcare workers.

Covax is due to start rolling out vaccines to poor and middle-income countries next month, with about 600 million doses earmarked for Africa this year.

Doses secured by the AU that will supplement that supply are due to start arriving in March.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is the cheapest option and one of the best suited to African health systems as it does not require storage at ultra-low temperatures, like the vaccine from Pfizer and German partner BioNTech.

Serum will provide 100 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine at $3 each, according to the draft, roughly what it said would be the price for India’s government. That is enough to vaccinate 50 million people with its two-dose regimen.

Pfizer will provide 50 million doses of its two-shot vaccine at $6.75 each. By comparison, the European Union and US are paying around $19 a dose, while Israel is paying $30.

J&J, which is expected to report Phase III trial results in the coming weeks, will provide 120 million doses of its single-shot vaccine at $10 each. The US government is paying around $14.50, including development costs.

Population size will determine how much of each vaccine various African countries will be offered.

Vaccine markets will open in coming months