Covid-19: syringe shortage threatens vaccination in Africa
Today a new threat hangs over vaccination campaigns in Africa: that of the lack of syringes.
AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth, File
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to develop on the African continent.
According to WHO Africa, which held its weekly press briefing Thursday, October 28, there are now nearly 8.5 million cases across the continent.
The disease has already killed more than 217,000 people.
Although vaccines are starting to arrive in substantial quantities, only 5.7% of the population today have completed a full vaccination schedule.
And the countryside is at risk of being put on the brakes, as Africa is now running out of syringes.
Advertising
Read more
Rwanda has one of the best COVID-19 vaccination rates in Africa.
Two million Rwandans have received the two injections and 90% of adults in Kigali are vaccinated.
However, today a new threat looms: that of the lack of syringes.
"
This is a big problem, especially when you have vaccines in stock and you cannot administer them because you run out of syringes,"
explains Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, director general of the Rwanda Biomedical Center.
Also, the vaccines that we receive through mechanisms like Covax often have a very close expiration date, and that puts more pressure on us.
The shortage of syringes is really being felt.
"
Another difficulty is that some vaccines require special syringes.
Sibusiso Hlatjwako is the Africa director of PATH, a health NGO, which has just completed a study on the shortage of syringes in Africa: “
The Pfizer vaccine uses a different syringe than the others.
It is a new model that cannot be used for other vaccines.
Manufacturers would therefore have to launch new production lines, which can take a whole year.
If nothing is done to face this shortage, countries will have to make difficult choices: use syringes for vaccines against Covid or for those against childhood diseases ...
"
According to PATH, the African continent is already missing more than a billion syringes.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Rwanda
Africa
Coronavirus
Vaccines