Sarah Dwyer is an International Foreign Policy Correspondent for Today News Africa based in California. Sarah earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from San Jose State University. She focuses on COVID-19 relating to US-Africa ties.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 82.2% of the United State’s population ages 5+ have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, but Africa is a different story.
According to WHO Africa, less than 13% of Africa is fully vaccinated with the last dose of primary series, despite the continent holding approximately 17% of the world population.
Last July, Africa CDC director John Nkengasong stated in a briefing, “Let me put it bluntly, we are not winning in Africa this battle against the virus…All we need is rapid access to vaccines.”
Out of the 54 countries that make up the African continent, only five currently manufacture vaccines at different levels. But Africa still imports 99% of its vaccines and consumes 25% of global vaccine supply.
Last fall U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to distribute 1.1 billion doses to aid in the global vaccination campaign.
However, the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit health organization based in San Francisco, says it is not enough.
“These donations remain a fraction of what the U.S. has promised to provide by the end of this year and into next and are far from sufficient to meet global needs,” the KFF said in response to Biden’s pledge.
Yet, in an April 19 report published by the KFF, only 519.6 million doses have been delivered, while 6 million are in transit and 574.3 million of the remaining pledged have not been shipped.
But 519.6 million delivered does not mean 519.6 million doses have been administered.
Richard Mihigo, a coordinator within the WHO immunizations program in Africa said the agency analyzed the vaccine shipments and found the average shelf life of doses that reached Africa was only two to three months.
While progress in supply has been made, the priority for the immunization of Africa relies on timely distribution.
Though nearly all African nations have begun vaccinating, none are on track to meet the World Health Organization’s target of 70% total population coverage by mid-2022.
