The vaccination rate on the continent does not exceed 2.5%.. This is how fragile Africa suffers from Corona

About 100 years ago, influenza swept the world, infecting 30% of the world's population, and killing between 3% and 6% of them.

Currently, it is estimated that the Corona virus has infected 10% of the world’s population, and it is not over yet, but it is still developing and a more rapid and widespread infection, despite the vaccination race to besiege it and reduce its effects, especially in the most fragile and poor countries such as African countries.

How did the pandemic start in Africa and where did it reach?

The Corona pandemic has spread to all countries of the African continent, but to varying degrees, and most cases appeared without symptoms for reasons related to the measures taken, demographic aspects, climatic, environmental and genetic factors, and others related to immunity.

The first case of corona in Africa was reported in Egypt on February 14, 2020, and then in Nigeria in the south.

Statistics indicate that the number of reported injuries on the African continent has reached 9 million and 300 thousand cases so far, and the number of reported deaths has reached 226 thousand cases.

South Africa comes first on the continent in the number of injuries and deaths, with an average of 20 thousand injuries and 44 deaths per day, and about 3 million injuries since the beginning of the pandemic.

Seychelles is ranked last, with the lowest number of injuries, 3,731 cases.

In general, the countries of South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Libya and Egypt are the most affected on the continent.

How did Africa deal with the pandemic?

The response of Africans in dealing with the virus varied, as the spread was slow at its beginning and its effects were invisible, and countries began to apply binding rules to mitigate infection, in light of societies that have little ability to deal with health measures, and some of them do not believe in them.

Some countries resorted to complete closures for a long period, especially those that suffer from a weak health sector, while other countries preferred partial closures.

But the emergence of dilemmas related to food shortages unleashed the African peoples’ refusal to adhere to measures to contain the virus. This is not the belief of a percentage of Africans that the virus is a myth invented by the white man, and that it will not harm them.

What is the nature of the mutants that spread in Africa?

A number of corona mutants appeared in the world and soon reached Africa, as well as another mutant discovered in South Africa, which is alarming due to the rapid spread of its infection.

Until December 2021, 22 African countries have reported the new mutant (omicron), and the exciting thing is that whenever the weight of a mutant subsides, a new one (alpha, beta, and finally omicron) appears and is different from the previous one.

The most prominent mutants prevalent in Africa are:

• The original SARS (Covid 2) virus, spreads to all African countries.

• The British strain, which exceeds the original Corona virus by 50% in transmissibility, and spreads in the sub-Saharan region and West Africa, and to a lesser extent in the north of the continent.

• The South African strain (B 1.351), is characterized by an increase in transmissibility by 50%, and spreads in the south of the equator and the west of the continent, and a small percentage in the north.

• Indian dynasty, spread south of the equator, and to a lesser extent in the west and north of the continent.

• The Nigerian, Tanzanian and Cameroonian strain are still being studied to determine their features.

One of the vaccination centers in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the rates of obtaining the vaccine in African countries do not exceed only 2.5% (Reuters)

Africa Vaccine Map

The reality of vaccination with Corona vaccines in Africa revealed tragic conditions due to the financially able countries racing to monopolize them, leaving poor countries and their peoples plundered to death, especially in this continent.

Reports show that all the vaccines spread in Africa are the same as those used around the world, but the countries of this continent are much lower than the global average, in terms of vaccine availability, (20 doses per thousand people).

The global average is 227 doses per thousand people, which is a clear imbalance caused by the lack of justice in the distribution of vaccines, as the rates ranged from 0% in 6 African countries to 66% in some countries, even though they are few, such as the Seychelles, which is the most vaccinated country in Africa.

The bulk of the continent depends on donations from the Vaccine Sharing Mechanism (COFAX), as well as donations from China, India and the United States of America.

Perhaps the most prominent characteristic of the situation of vaccination in Africa is the slowness due to the lack of vaccines at all, and the inability of African countries to purchase them for their citizens, and Africans see this as a grave injustice to them, as the average vaccination in Africa does not exceed 2.5%, which is a sufficient indicator to reveal the situation of the continent and its misery.

What are the implications of the mutations for poor peoples?

According to the reports of international organizations, despite the low number of injuries and deaths in Africa compared to European and Asian countries, what could result from the pandemic is shocking and frightening, and may have catastrophic effects on countries that suffer from structural imbalances in the economic aspects, such as:

• Food security crises, especially those that suffer from previous gaps, such as Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, or those that depend on the supply of food from abroad, such as Mauritania, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Gambia.

  This will lead to an increase in the number of people suffering from food insecurity. While their number in 2019 was about 135 million, it is expected to reach 300 million by the end of 2021, which is a large and impressive percentage.

• The loss of large numbers of employees and small workers to their businesses due to weak local demand.

• Inflation increases and prices rise due to panic and uncertainty.

• The increase in migration waves as a result of the deteriorating economic conditions due to the effects of the pandemic.

It is difficult to count the effects of the pandemic on Africa, and it is sufficient that its governments rush to their creditors to reschedule their debts to alleviate the impact of the Corona pandemic, which revealed the continent’s fragility, and the weakness of its social, economic and administrative structure.