Nationnewslead reports that The World Health Organisation has urged all Africans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as the vaccines are available in their countries.
The announcement came as Africa marked the one-year milestone of the pandemic amid the spread of new more infectious variants first identified in South Africa and in the United Kingdom.
Making the call on Thursday during a press conference, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, decried the pause of the roll-out of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in South Africa, even as she called for coordinated approach in tackling the pandemic.
“This is obviously very disappointing news, but the situation is very dynamic. While a vaccine that protects against all forms of COVID-19 is our biggest hope, preventing severe cases which overwhelm hospitals is crucial.
“If cases remain mostly mild and moderate and don’t require critical care then we can save many lives. So, my message is, go out and get vaccinated when a vaccine becomes available in your country, ” Moeti said.
According to the WHO Regional Director: “The increasing deaths from COVID-19 which have we are seeing are tragic, but are also disturbing warning signs that health workers and health systems in Africa are dangerously overstretched. This grim milestone must refocus everyone on stamping out the virus.”
She said new variants are likely to emerge as the virus continues to spread so preventive measures must be maintained even as Africa gears up to start vaccinations against the virus.
“The pandemic is far from over, and vaccines are just one crucial tool in our fight against the virus. We must boost investments and support for our health workers and health systems by sticking to mask-wearing, regular hand cleaning and safe social distancing,” Moeti remarked.
On the one-year milestone, Africa faces the spread of new strains of virus deaths from COVID-19 that surged by 40 percent in the last month, pushing the continent’s death toll towards 100, 000 since the first reported case on 14 February 2020.
The new variants 501Y.V2 (also known as B1.351), first identified in South Africa, is now detected in eight African countries, while the VOC202012/01 variant (also known as B1.1.7) initially identified in the United Kingdom is now detected in six countries on the continent.
From preliminary reports WHO received from 21 countries, 66 percent reported inadequate critical care capacity, 24 percent reported burnout among health workers and 15 countries reported that oxygen production, crucial for severely ill COVID-19 patients, remains insufficient.
In the last 28 days, over 22,300 deaths were reported in Africa compared to nearly 16,000 deaths in the previous 28 days, while 32 countries reported a rise in deaths, 21 reported flat or falling rates and the continent’s COVID-19 fatality rate rose to 3.7 percent compared to 2.4 percent in the previous 28 days.
The spike in mortality comes as Africa’s second wave of cases which began in October 2020 seems to have peaked on 6 January 2021, even as the second wave spread much faster than the first and is far more lethal.
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