Covid-19 in Africa: "The doses are there but vaccine reluctance remains strong"

Messenger RNA vaccines soon to be massively produced in Africa?

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday February 18 that six countries on the continent (South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia) would be equipped with production lines to manufacture doses of vaccine. against Covid-19. 

The UN organization, which ardently campaigns for greater vaccine equality, hopes that this device will allow Africa, where only 11.3% of the population is fully vaccinated, to catch up. 

“The vaccination rate must be multiplied by six for the continent to reach the target of 70% vaccination coverage set for the end of the first half of this year”, alerted the WHO at the beginning of February. 

While the supply of doses has increased considerably in recent months, making it possible to overcome the problems of shortage, the organization is concerned about the slowness of the deployment of vaccines on the continent. 

To take stock of the evolution of the pandemic in Africa and the new means put in place, France 24 spoke with Professor Yap Boum, the representative of Epicenter for Africa, the research branch of Doctors Without Borders. (MSF). 

France 24

Yap Boum:

This is indeed a very important announcement in more ways than one.

Because the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the extreme health dependence of Africa, of which 98% of vaccines come from abroad.

In this context, Africa, condemned to come to terms with the goodwill of donors and external production imperatives, has accumulated delays.

This was particularly the case when India, hit by a sudden epidemic outbreak, interrupted its deliveries of AstraZeneca through the Covax program. 

The vaccine production program announced by the WHO is a giant step, in the sense that it can make it possible to manufacture according to needs and therefore to provide a response adapted to local situations. 

This initiative will also boost research on the continent and allow Africa to participate in the global effort to develop better vaccines to stop the epidemic, not just to curb it and prevent forms. severe, as is currently the case.

Finally, still in terms of research, this program will make it possible to conduct clinical trials in Africa.

This aspect is crucial because the effectiveness of vaccines can vary depending on the context and populations and only one study has been conducted on the continent so far, by AstraZeneca in South Africa. 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the WHO has campaigned tirelessly to provide better access to anti-Covid-19 vaccines.

However, despite the improvement in supply, the progress of vaccination remains weak, how can this phenomenon be explained

First of all, it must be recognized that the President of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as well as the President of the Africa CDC (Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), John Nkengasong, have carried out lobbying work remarkable to obtain these vaccines.

However, supply is only part of the problem.

Today, the doses are there but vaccine reluctance remains strong.

This reality is partly due to misinformation, but also and above all to the health situation in most African countries where, despite a high contamination rate comparable to Europe, the number of deaths has remained much lower. 

For example, Cameroon has recorded only 2,000 deaths linked to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Admittedly, this figure does not include people who died within communities, but it is disproportionate to what has been observed in European countries.

Of course, not all countries are in the same boat: Morocco, Algeria or even South Africa, for example, have been more seriously affected.

But the low vaccination rate responds above all to a simple logic: the less people perceive the risk, the less they feel the need to be vaccinated. 

The WHO has called on African countries to accelerate the pace of vaccine deployment, are there still logistical problems today that are hindering access to the vaccine

It is true that today's vaccination campaigns focus a lot on cities and that it is sometimes difficult to deliver doses to more remote areas.

It is a problem of funding but also of logistical organization, which is sometimes difficult to set up in large and isolated areas with poorly developed infrastructures. 

In terms of raising awareness, governments need to focus on targeted campaigns and set priorities.

The WHO is in its role when it sets continent-wide targets, but these rules must then be adapted to the situation of the countries to be relevant.

Niger, for example, where more than 50% of the population is a minor, will not be able to reach the objective of 70% of the population vaccinated, unless there is massive vaccination of children, which is clearly not the priority in the 'actual hour. 

In Cameroon, only 7.9% of elderly people and 6.2% of people with comorbidities received at least one dose.

On average, the vaccination rate among vulnerable people is even lower than in the general population (7.8%).

It is urgent to focus the vaccine effort on this category of people who represent the bulk of deaths linked to Covid-19. 

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