January 13, 2021

African Union Secures 300 Million Coronavirus Vaccine Doses


Trustworthy and indepth news stories are more important now than ever.
Support our newsroom by MAKING A CONTRIBUTION HERE
The AU has not revealed the source of the vaccines

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The African Union has secured close to 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in the largest such agreement yet for Africa, a continental official said Tuesday.

Nicaise Ndembi, senior science adviser for the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press in an interview that the current AU chair, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to announce the news on Wednesday.

The 300 million doses are being secured independently of the global COVAX effort aimed at distributing COVID-19 vaccines to lower-income countries, Ndembi said.

“We have reached the final stage of our deals,” he said, referring questions about who will be providing the vaccines and at what cost to the upcoming announcement.

The news comes as coronavirus infections spike again in parts of Africa, especially South Africa, where a rapidly spreading variant of the coronavirus now makes up most of the new cases. The continent over the weekend surpassed 3 million confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, with more than 1.2 million in South Africa.

“We plan to have these by the end of the first quarter” of 2021, Ndembi said of the nearly 300 million doses, which will be allocated on the continental platform the AU set up last year to make it easier for Africa’s 54 countries to pool their purchasing power and buy pandemic supplies in bulk.

“We’re expecting 600 million doses from the COVAX facility,” he said, but African officials are still waiting on the details, so “we’re happy we have alternative solutions.”

Ndembi said African officials have approached at least 10 vaccine manufacturers and developers as the continent seeks to vaccinate 60% of its population of 1.3 billion people, or about 780 million people. The Africa CDC has said some 1.5 billion doses are needed for that, assuming two doses per person. It estimates the effort will cost some $10 billion.

Ndembi has said he’s very optimistic that can be achieved within two years. The Africa CDC has warned that taking much longer than that risks having the virus become endemic in parts of the African continent.

In an address to South Africans on Monday night, Ramaphosa announced the country had secured 20 million vaccine doses “to be delivered mainly in the first half of the year.” He gave no further details but said “we will make further announcements as we conclude our negotiations with vaccine manufacturers.”

Africa has scrambled on multiple fronts to obtain vaccine supplies. Ramaphosa said the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team recently created under the AU “has done tremendous work to secure vaccine doses” through what he called intensive engagement with manufacturers.

“The South African government has also been engaging directly with several vaccine manufacturers for over six months,” he said.

“Given the massive global demand for vaccines and the vastly greater purchasing power of wealthier countries, we are exploring all avenues to get as many vaccine doses as soon as possible,” Ramaphosa said.

The Associated Press

We can't do quality journalism without your support

Perhaps it goes without saying — but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. At a time when newsroom resources and revenue are declining, The Chronicles remains committed to "Serving Your Right To Know The Truth". Stand with us as we document Rwanda's remarkable journey for you and the future generation. Do you value our journalism? We can't do it without you. Show us with your support by CONTRIBUTING HERE.
Email your news TIPS to info@chronicles.rw or WhatsApp +250788351327.
You can also find us on Signal

557 Comments

  1. I’m more than happy to discover this great site. I want to to thank you for your time for this particularly
    wonderful read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and
    I have you book marked to check out new stuff on your website.

  2. Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Many thanks, However I
    am encountering difficulties with your RSS.
    I don’t know why I cannot subscribe to it. Is there anyone
    else getting identical RSS problems? Anyone that knows the answer
    will you kindly respond? Thanx!!

  3. Howdy, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a
    lot of spam comments? If so how do you prevent it, any plugin or anything you can suggest?

    I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so
    any assistance is very much appreciated.

  4. Hi! This is kind of off topic but I need some guidance from an established
    blog. Is it very hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but
    I can figure things out pretty quick. I’m thinking about setting
    up my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do
    you have any ideas or suggestions? Appreciate it

  5. Hi there i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anyplace, when i read this piece of
    writing i thought i could also create comment due to this sensible article.

  6. I have been surfing online more than three hours today,
    yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
    It is pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all site owners and bloggers made good
    content as you did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  7. Great blog here! Also your site loads up very fast! What web
    host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host?
    I wish my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol

  8. whoah this weblog is excellent i like studying your posts.
    Stay up the great work! You already know, lots of individuals are searching round for this info, you could aid them greatly.

  9. I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog.
    Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?

    Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to
    see a nice blog like this one these days.

  10. I think that everything posted made a lot of sense. But, think about this, what
    if you added a little information? I am not saying your information is not solid., but suppose you added something to
    possibly grab folk’s attention? I mean African Union Secures 300
    Million Coronavirus Vaccine Doses –
    THE CHRONICLES is kinda vanilla. You ought to look at Yahoo’s
    front page and see how they write news titles to grab people to click.
    You might add a video or a pic or two to get readers interested about everything’ve
    got to say. In my opinion, it would bring your posts a little livelier.

  11. Oh my goodness! Impressive article dude! Thank you, However I am encountering troubles with your RSS.
    I don’t know the reason why I am unable to subscribe to it.
    Is there anybody else getting identical RSS problems? Anybody who knows the answer will you
    kindly respond? Thanks!!

  12. First of all I would like to say terrific blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like to
    ask if you don’t mind. I was interested to find out how you center yourself and clear your head
    before writing. I’ve had a difficult time clearing my mind in getting my ideas out there.

    I truly do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally wasted
    simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or hints?
    Thanks!

  13. I do believe all of the ideas you have introduced on your post.

    They are very convincing and can definitely work. Still, the
    posts are very brief for beginners. May just you please lengthen them
    a bit from next time? Thank you for the post.

  14. Greetings from Carolina! I’m bored at work so I decided to browse your website on my iphone
    during lunch break. I really like the info you present here and can’t
    wait to take a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how quick your
    blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI,
    just 3G .. Anyways, awesome blog!

  15. Hello it’s me, I am also visiting this web page regularly, this web page
    is genuinely pleasant and the visitors are genuinely sharing pleasant thoughts.

  16. I got this website from my friend who told me concerning this website and
    at the moment this time I am browsing this website and reading very informative articles or reviews at this place.

  17. Nice post. I was checking continuously this
    blog and I am impressed! Extremely useful info specially
    the last part 🙂 I care for such info much. I was looking for
    this particular information for a long time.
    Thank you and good luck.

  18. Hello there, just became alert to your blog through Google, and found
    that it’s truly informative. I’m going to watch out for brussels.

    I will be grateful if you continue this in future. Many people will be benefited from your writing.
    Cheers!

  19. Howdy! I’m at work surfing around your blog from
    my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog
    and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the superb work!

  20. I’m not sure why but this website is loading extremely slow for me.

    Is anyone else having this problem or is it a problem on my end?
    I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.

  21. Terrific work! This is the kind of information that are supposed to be shared around the internet.
    Disgrace on the search engines for now not positioning this put up higher!
    Come on over and talk over with my web site . Thank you =)

  22. Greetings! Very useful advice within this article! It’s the little changes that will make the most important changes. Many thanks for sharing!

  23. Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after browsing through many of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m certainly happy I discovered it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back often!

  24. My brother recommended I may like this web site.
    He used to be totally right. This put up actually
    made my day. You cann’t consider just how a lot time I had spent for this
    info! Thank you!

  25. Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your site, how could i subscribe for a blog website?

    The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear idea

  26. That is very attention-grabbing, You are an excessively skilled blogger.

    I have joined your feed and look forward to searching for extra of
    your excellent post. Also, I’ve shared your website in my social
    networks

  27. Have you ever thought about creating an ebook or guest
    authoring on other blogs? I have a blog centered on the
    same topics you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my readers would
    value your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free
    to send me an email.

  28. An online casino no deposit bonus is not like this. All you have to do, is register an account with the online gambling platform and you are given the casino no deposit bonus for free! This is what makes no deposit bonus casinos USA some of the best online gambling platforms available. Sweden PayPal Casinos: Sweden is renowned for its delightful nature and its tolerant laws that work for web-based gambling as well. Luckily, Sweden is mentioned for the short rundown of the nations with PayPal being a potential alternative for casinos deposits that are web-based. Accordingly, you may make any amount of deposit in cash into the Swedish PayPal casinos in practically no time. As usual, the coolest casinos in Sweden with PayPal acceptance are included our rundown of PayPal casinos. PayPal works like a separate checking account for use at online vendors. A user will deposit money into their PayPal account via bank transfer, debit card or credit card and then use the money at online casinos. It’s the fast, easy, and safe choice for players.
    http://edgarmtxe615.trexgame.net/to-kazino-einai-anoichto-paysafecard
    Receiving bonus money for signing up to an online casino is great, but how do you convert your bonus money into withdrawable cash? These bonuses are great for receiving a little free money, but be aware of any wagering requirements that you’ll need to meet. Deposit Match: This is the most common type of casino welcome bonus. The online casino will agree to match a specific percentage of your first deposit amount – typically 100%, but sometimes more or less – with bonus credits. You need to make a minimum deposit, and the casino instantly matches it. Your bonus credits come with wagering requirements, which need to be satisfied before you can cash out. Some sites will also throw in extra bonus spins on top of the deposit match bonus.