More than 40 African countries at high risk of COVID-19 resurgence, W.H.O. warns

By David Ochieng Mbewa

The World Health Organization on Thursday warned that more than 40 African countries face a potential resurgence in the spread of the coronavirus pandemic despite a reduction in the number of confirmed cases being registered across the continent.

W.H.O. Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti made the warning citing the case of India which is facing a deadly second wave that has ravaged big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and Pune, an overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums.

“We cannot be lulled into a false sense of security as the continent’s case count appears stable. The devastating surge of COVID-19 cases and deaths in India, and increases in other regions of the world, are clear signs of the risk of resurgence in Africa,” Moeti said.

“A WHO analysis of 46 African countries finds that almost half are facing a high risk of experiencing a surge in cases. Now is not the time to let our guard down,” she added.

Moeti added that she had discussed key issues in a meeting with Ministers of Health in the African Region, which primarily focused on expiring doses, supply shortages, vaccine safety and misinformation.

She also said the W.H.O. was waiting on additional stability data from the Serum Institute of India to determine if the shelf life of the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine doses can be extended from six months to nine months.

“We are encouraging countries to prioritize the first dose, to reach more people, rather than saving supplies for the second dose. It is imperative that the available doses are used as quickly as possible.”

AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been marred in controversy after a possible link was discovered between it and rare blood clotting issues in adults who had received the shot.

Africa’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign has been further complicated by the fact that some Africans are hesitating to get COVID-19 vaccines amid concerns about their safety, as some countries began destroying thousands of doses that expired before use.

Africa has a population of about 1.3 billion people, or 16 percent of the global population, but has received less than two percent of the COVID-19 vaccine doses administered around the world, according to the W.H.O.

Africa has reported more than 4.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 120,000 deaths.

Xinhua News Agency