Specialist states COVID vaccine likely won't be available in Africa until Q2 of 2021

Get the current market patterns in your inbox

Stay on top of the latest market patterns and financial insights with the Axios Markets newsletter. Register for totally free.

Capture up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and unique reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Denver news in your inbox

Catch up on the most essential stories impacting your hometown with Axios Denver

Des Moines news in your inbox

Capture up on the most essential stories impacting your home town with Axios Des Moines

Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox

Catch up on the most crucial stories affecting your hometown with Axios Minneapolis-St. Paul

Tampa-St. Petersburg news in your inbox

Capture up on the most important stories affecting your home town with Axios Tampa-St. Petersburg

Africa CDC director Dr. John Nkengasong. Picture: Mohammed Abdu Abdulbaqi/Anadolu Agency by means of Getty

Africa may need to wait till the 2nd quarter of 2021 to roll out vaccines, Africa CDC director John Nkengasong said Thursday, according to the Associated Press

Why it matters: ” I have actually seen how Africa is ignored when drugs are readily available,” Nkengasong stated.

• Africa exceeded two million validated cases last week. The continent will require around 1.5 billion vaccine doses, Nkengasong said at a press briefing, but only 24%of the 47 sub-Saharan African countries have plans in place for resources and financing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The huge image: The Africa CDC has explored vaccine choices with Russia and China, among others. The goal is to immunize 20%of the population by the end of 2021, WHO Africa chief Matshidiso Moeti stated in a separate rundown.

• But immunizing top priority populations alone will require more than $5 billion– even without expenses for shipment, according to the WHO.
• The freezer essential for preserving vaccines is another obstacle.
• In the meantime, authorities have actually dispersed 2.7 million antigen tests to make it possible for faster and easier screening, which Nkengasong said is “perhaps a game-changer.”

Read More

http://medicalbillingcertificationprograms.org/specialist-states-covid-vaccine-likely-wont-be-available-in-africa-until-q2-of-2021/