The African Union has announced that a task force it established has secured a total of 270 million coronavirus vaccine doses for countries across the continent.
The body revealed that 50 million shots of the vaccines which would be from Pfizer, AstraZeneca (through Serum Institute of India) and Johnson & Johnson, would be available from April to June.
“From the onset of this pandemic, our focus as a continent has been on collaboration and collective effort. We have held steadfastly to the principle that no country should be left behind,” said Chair of the African Union and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
All 270 million vaccine doses will be made available this year, he added
These vaccines have been secured alongside a vaccine program from COVAX, a World Health Organization and Gavi Vaccine Alliance initiative that aims to provide worldwide access to effective Covid-19 vaccines.
Ramaphosa said that while the initiative was “vital” it may “not extend beyond the needs of frontline health care workers, and may thus not be enough to contain the ever-increasing toll of the pandemic in Africa.”
As at Thursday, 14th January, 2021, there are about 92,941,301 COVID-19 cases with 1,990,635 deaths and 66,465,614 recovered.
Currently there are about 24,485,052 active cases out of which 24,372,853 are in mild condition and 112,199 are in serious or critical conditions.
