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Africa has few vaccine batches left to fight the spread of the coronavirus in 2021. Pharmaceutical groups with approved anti-Covid-19 vaccines have announced that they may have no supplies left for Africa.
In a response to Bloomberg, the African Union’s presidency announced that that Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have offered to supply Africa with 50 million Covid-19 vaccines for health workers between March and the end of this year.
On the other hand, «Moderna Inc. has no supplies for Africa», the same source revealed. The same goes for AstraZeneca Plc, which «has no shots for the continent in 2021 and has directed the African Union to negotiate with the Serum Institute of India Ltd». The latter is making the vaccine on behalf of AstraZeneca.
A representative for AstraZeneca told the newspaper that the laboratory has «created a number of supply chains around the world in order to provide broad and equitable supply to the vaccine». «The statement named Covax and the Serum Institute of India as the main channels through which African countries can access vaccines», Bloomberg reported.
The Moroccan vaccination campaign to face potential shortages
In Morocco, the launch of the national vaccination campaign depends on the acquisition and approval of batches delivered by China’s Sinopharm as well as by AstraZeneca. Several weeks ago, Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb said that the Chinese firm would provide doses covering the needs of more than 20 million people, while the second one would cover the needs of 12 million others, without giving more details about dates. Morocco’s ultimate goal is to vaccinate 60 to 80% of the general population.
Aware of the strain on vaccine production, the minister warned that «the quantity currently available worldwide will not be able to cover all the needs». Given the race to purchase enough vaccine batches by several countries, the Kingdom risks seeing these first deliveries delayed or considerably reduced.
On New Year’s Eve, Ait Taleb however promised that the operation would start «in the coming days». This promise was renewed, the day after the announcement of the creation of an industrial vaccine production unit by the Institut Pasteur. Indeed, the Minister of Health has previously declared that the sealed partnership with China also includes a transfer of know-how, with the idea of providing the means to ensure local production.
A global race for supply
For its part, South Africa, whose president is currently the head of the AU, says it is in direct negotiations with suppliers, including AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, who are conducting clinical trials in the country. Kenya, for its part, plans to acquire vaccines by the end of January or next month, but without unveiling the name of the laboratory partner.
On Saturday, Egyptian Minister of Health and Population Hala Zaye has already announced that Egypt has authorized the use of the vaccine developed by Sinopharm. On MBC Masr, she indicated that a first batch included 50,000 doses. The country is expected to receive a second delivery, of the same amount, in the second or third week of January.
While African countries will probably still have to wait before starting their vaccination campaigns, those that have already started in the West are in a race against time. Almost a week after the start of the process, Germany is nearing the end of its first batch of Pfizer vaccine and is working with BionNTech to help it start production at the recently acquired Marburg plant.
In the United Kingdom, to deal with the new, more contagious strain of the virus, health authorities have opted for an acceleration in the number of people vaccinated, by delaying the second dose.
To cover the gap at the continental level, Africa's hopes are mainly focused on China, but also on the Russian partner of AstraZeneca. The two sides have announced joint clinical trials combining their two vaccines.
