India AstraZeneca shot delay could be 'catastrophic' for Africa – health official

will undermine Africa's vaccination plans, and could have a"catastrophic" impact if extended, the head of the continent's disease control body said on Thursday, April 1.

The hold"will definitely impact our ability to continuously vaccinate people," the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told a news conference in Addis Ababa. That AU target primarily relies on supplies from the global COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, through which 64 poorer countries including many in Africa are supposed to get doses from the SII. COVAX aims to provide enough shots for African countries to inoculate at least 20% of their populations.

African countries have reported 4.25 million coronavirus infections and 112,000 related deaths, though experts have said the actual numbers could be higher.

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