Doctors at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. Six senior clinicians at Wits University have volunteered to participate in South Africa’s first Covid-19 vaccine trial. PHOTO | AFP
Only three in 10 African countries are ready to deploy a Covid-19 vaccine, according to a new World Health Organisation analysis. This means Africa is not ready for what will be the continent’s largest-ever immunisation drive.
As the race for a vaccine nears the end, the WHO is calling on African countries to come up with plans and systems to carry out the Covid-19 vaccinations efficiently when the doses become available. According to the analyses which are based on country self-reports, Africa has an average score of 33 percent readiness for a Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, which is well below the desired benchmark of 80 percent.
