COVID- 19 vaccination stagnant in Africa

Vaccinations in Botswana have gone down drastically in recent months

Botswana is not spared among countries in Africa that are experiencing stagnancy in COVID- 19 vaccinations. World Health Organisation ( WHO) analysis shows that vaccination coverage has stagnated in half of African countries, while the number of doses administered monthly declined by over 50 percent between July and September.

The WHO analysis shows that the percentage of people with complete primary vaccination series, that is, one dose for Johnson and Johnson and two doses for other vaccines, has barely budged in 27 out of 54 African countries in the past two months, from 17 August to 16 October 2022.

Although Africa is far from reaching the yearend global target of protecting 70 percent of the population, modest progress has been made in vaccinating high- risk population groups, particularly the elderly, the report reads.

Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Christopher Nyanga says that the rate of vaccination has indeed gone down.

“It is correct that generally the rate of vaccination has gone down drastically in recent months. Even in Botswana, we have seen fewer people turning up at vaccination sites despite the availability of vaccines in all parts of the country,” Dr. Nyanga said. “We believe that this was possibly because some people perceived the Omicron variant of COVID- 19, which was the driving force behind infections, to be less deadly when compared to previous variants. “Since Omicron became the dominant variant, there were less numbers of people being admitted in health facilities for severe disease symptoms or dying from COVID- 19,” he said, noting that this possibly made people to think that COVID- 19 was no longer deadly. Regional Director for WHO Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti has encouraged African countries to utilise vaccines. “The end of the COVID- 19 pandemic is within sight, but as long as Africa lags far behind the rest of the world in reaching widespread protection, there is a dangerous gap which the virus can exploit to come roaring back,” she said.

“The biggest priority is to shield our most vulnerable populations from the worst effects of COVID- 19. On this front, we are seeing some progress as countries step up efforts to boost coverage among health workers, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems,” Dr. Moeti adds. In September, 23 million doses were given, 18 percent less than the number registered in August, and 51 percent less than the 47 million doses administered in July.

The number of doses provided last month is also about a one third of the peak of the 63 million doses reached in February 2022. However, there are signs of improvement this month, with 22 million doses given as of 16 October 2022, representing 95 percent of the total administered in September, according to the research.

Based on data from 31 countries, by 16 October 2022, 40 percent of African health workers had completed their primary series. This latest data uses country estimates of population size instead of previous figures which used International Labour Organisation estimates of the health workforce.

In 15 of these countries, more than 70 percent of health workers have been fully vaccinated compared with 27 percent at the beginning of the year.

Thirty- one per cent of older adults between 50 and 65 years and older depending on country set age limits have been fully vaccinated according to data from 27 countries, an increase from 21 percent in January 2022.

Dr. Nyanga says in recent months and weeks, the burden of the disease had gradually gone down, which may also have given some people the impression that COVID- 19 has gone for good.

However, he says the ministry still records Covid- 19 cases, which shows Covid is still there. The position of the ministry therefore is that, vaccination remains crucial, including for children above the age of five. “This is to ensure that if a new wave of infections was to come our way, it would find everyone including children protected against severe disease and even death,” Dr Nyanga said.

Overall, as of 16 October 2022, just 24 percent of the continent’s population had completed their primary vaccination series compared with the coverage of 64 percent at the global level.

Liberia has now joined Mauritius and Seychelles as one of three countries to surpass 70 percent of people with full vaccination coverage. Rwanda is on the verge of achieving this milestone as well. Africa is expected to meet the global target of 70 percent of people with complete primary vaccination series by April 2025.