Vaccination coverage against Covid-19 in some twenty countries, most of them African, does not exceed 10%, lamented on Monday the WHO Committee of Experts in Immunization Policy (SAGE).

20 against 34 mid-January

The deployment of vaccines against Covid-19 has been carried out at an “unprecedented” pace around the world, with almost all countries having introduced the vaccine in less than 12 months, these experts noted in a press release.

However, 20 countries – up from 34 in mid-January – have still not exceeded 10% of their population vaccinated, said Kate O'Brien, the head of vaccination at the World Health Organization, at a press conference.

Most of these countries are in Africa, with the rest being in the Eastern Mediterranean regions, America, Western Pacific, and Southeast Asia.

"These are countries that are working really hard to advance their immunization programs," O'Brien said.

Help from WHO and Unicef

The WHO and its partners, including UNICEF, are helping these countries to increase their vaccination coverage, particularly in Africa.

"That's where the focus of the work is, and as part of that work, making sure those are the high-risk populations - those who need the vaccine the most and are most at risk of contracting a disease. serious or die, as well as healthcare workers – who receive vaccines on a priority basis as vaccination programs ramp up (…) in an attempt to stem the pandemic,” O’Brien said.

Overall, the available data indicate that coverage among high priority groups is "insufficient", according to the WHO committee.

Coverage for health personnel is 65% overall, and coverage for those over 60 is 69%, the statement said.

It also indicates that the Covax international mechanism for access to vaccines – which is co-led by the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), the WHO and Cepi (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) – has enough doses to vaccinate by June 70% of the population of the 92 low- and middle-income economies benefiting from this market guarantee.

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