Tribune. As of October 6, 46% of the world’s population had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and more than 6.3 billion doses had been administered worldwide, according to the site OurWorldInData. An undeniable success on the scientific, technical and political levels.
It is in this context that we must consider the data published by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC), which shows that only 4.3% of the African population is now fully vaccinated. Africa therefore does not seem able to meet the goal set by the World Health Organization (WHO) of having vaccinated 40% of its population by the end of the year, because it is short of 500 million doses for this, according to the WHO regional office.
This considerable gap (over 45% of the world’s population but only 4% of Africans) is morally shocking – only the richest would be protected -, makes no epidemiological sense – viruses do not know borders and their circulation favors the appearance of variants – and questions at the political level – what value are therefore the speeches on solidarity of the most powerful leaders of the planet if they do not translate on the ground? It must therefore be denounced.
Strengthen the immune system
Voices have been raised in recent weeks to criticize the choice of rich countries to organize, in this context, a vaccination campaign for a booster injection – “the third dose”.
We think it is a mistake to pose the debate in this way by opposing a legitimate issue of global vaccine distribution – both an ethical and political question – and the recommendations for a booster dose in the countries which have already achieved the best. vaccination, provided that this third dose is scientifically justified because of the age or comorbidities of the target populations.
Indeed, the protection provided by anti-Covid-19 vaccines – especially against the Delta variant – decreases significantly six months after vaccination, as demonstrated by a large study conducted in Israel (Yaïr Goldberg et al., New England Journal of Medicine, September 15, 2021). Hence, for fragile people already vaccinated, the need for a booster injection in order to strengthen their immune defenses.
The available studies show that this is what happens when the vaccination schedule is completed in this way. The administration of a third dose should also be considered for vulnerable populations in countries with limited resources. Presenting, by opposing them, the very low vaccination coverage in Africa and in countries with limited resources, and the addition of a reminder to the vaccination schedule of the most fragile is all the less justified as https://www.airfinity.com/insights/more-than-a-billion-available-stock-of-western-covid-19-vaccines-by-the-end?s=03 “target =” _ blank “rel = “noopener” title = “New window”> the world is no longer in the situation of shortage of vaccine doses he knew at the start of 2021.
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