Africa struggling to access vaccines

HARARE: Africa is not winning its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as a third virus wave sweeps the continent and countries struggle to access enough vaccines for their populations, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention director John Nkenkasong said yesterday.

The Covax programme, co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), for fair distribution of vaccines is planning a shake-up as it has been shunned by rich countries and is failing to meet the needs of the poorest.

Nkenkasong said about 1.12% people had been fully vaccinated on a continent that had recorded 5.2 million infections.