Vaccine shipments relaunched
“Nearly 4 million doses of the Covax mechanism [qui vise à garantir l’accès des pays les plus pauvres aux vaccins] arrived in Africa last week, compared to just 245,000 doses sent by the mechanism during the month of June ”, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, director of the African office of the World Health Organization (WHO), Thursday (July 29th).
But there is still a long way to go, because “Africa has fallen far behind the rest of the world in terms of immunization.” Some 21 million Africans, or just 1.6% of the continent’s population, are currently vaccinated.
WHO is still far from its goal of at least 30% of Africans vaccinated by the end of the year. The progression of the Delta variant, detected in twenty-six countries, complicates the situation. “We may need more vaccines than we originally planned”, warned Dr John Nkengasong, director of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). So far, only 15% of the approximately 520 million doses that Covax has planned to ship to the continent by the end of 2021 have been sent.
Outbreak of cases in Algeria
Men in white coats throwing themselves on oxygen tanks at the entrance of a hospital: the images that have circulated in recent days on social networks testify to the extent of the health chaos that reigns in Algeria. The most populous country in the Maghreb is submerged by a deadly third wave. The daily record of infections was broken on Wednesday, with 1,927 positive cases for Covid-19, for 49 deaths – official figures well below reality, however, believe specialists.
Faced with the influx of patients in hospitals, oxygen resources are depleted. Stockouts have been reported at several facilities and medical staff are warning against “Recklessness” see “Unconsciousness” of the population and the authorities with regard to the risks associated with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
On July 25, the authorities still extended the curfew in 35 wilayas (prefectures) out of the 58 in the country. But faced with the progression of the Delta variant, which is much more contagious, all fear a worsening of the epidemic in the coming days. According to the Pasteur Institute of Algeria, this variant already represented on July 15 more than 70% of the cases of Covid-19 identified and it could, in the coming weeks, exceed 90%.
This is the percentage of West Africans believing that only Covid-19 patients can transmit the virus, according to a socio-anthropological survey on perceptions of the pandemic carried out at the end of 2020 in five West African countries. In Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone, 2,000 people were interviewed as part of this study commissioned by the West African Health Organization (WAHO) and published at the end of July in the review Tropical medicine and international health (MSTI).
We learn that, for those surveyed, “Eggs, wild and domestic animals, fish, meat and mosquitoes are considered to be more at risk for Covid-19 than asymptomatic individuals”. Yet the WHO estimates that 80% of infections with this virus in sub-Saharan Africa have been transmitted by people without symptoms.
This shared conviction helps, according to the survey, to explain “The reasons for poor adherence to preventive measures against Covid-19” in the sub-region. In Abidjan, Ouagadougou like Praia, barrier gestures are only partially respected. And this, despite awareness messages relating to the wearing of masks, respect for social distancing and hand washing which, again according to this study, are heard and understood by most citizens. Nearly nine out of ten respondents say they were aware of it and found these tips useful to curb the spread of the virus.
This does not prevent the people questioned from considering other remedies as more effective than these barrier gestures. 55% of respondents think that the hot African climate is the first protective factor against Covid-19, ahead of modern medical treatment (53.4%) and prayer (46%).
South Africa raises its head
The African country most affected by the pandemic, which accounts for more than a third of total coronavirus infections and 40% of disease-related deaths on the continent (70,338 deaths as of July 28), finally comes out of the water. “We are well past the peak of the third wave of contaminations”, assured President Cyril Ramaphosa in a televised speech on Sunday July 25.
With fewer than 64,000 new cases recorded last week, South Africa now appears, according to the CDC, as a “Champion” of the fight against Covid-19. 10% of South Africans have already received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The vaccination campaign should accelerate further in the coming weeks. On Monday, South African company Aspen, the continent’s largest pharmaceutical firm, announced the delivery of its first batch of locally produced vaccines. “These are the first Covid-19 vaccines produced on the African continent, by an African company for African patients”, welcomed Aspen.
Faced with the drop in the number of Covid-19 contaminations, the authorities have lifted some of the restrictions imposed on the population. South Africans notably regain their freedom of movement from one province to another, for their leisure.
Eritrea, bottom of the class
The small East African country is the last state on the continent to still be resistant to Covid-19 vaccination. “We continue to hope that the situation will change”CDC Dr John Nkengasong said Thursday. Tanzania and Burundi, which so far have also been among the poor performers on immunization in Africa, have recently reconsidered their positions. Burundi on Tuesday accepted the World Bank’s offer to provide it with vaccines. The next day, Tanzania injected its first doses. Better late than never.
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