According to the most powerful vaccine manufacturer, slow vaccination rollouts in developing nations are due to vaccine hesitancy as well as poor infrastructure.
Chief executive of Serum Institute of India (SII), Adar Poonawalla has said that the vaccine stock could be out of date due to factors like vaccine hesitancy, and that the world now has more Covid shots than it needs.
A complex array of issues are slowing down the rollout of vaccines in some parts of the globe because of underfunded infrastructure in public health in countries that are poorer.
Reports suggest South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi have all asked vaccine manufacturers and donors to delay sending more doses because they have been unable to use the supplies they have, according to the New York Times.
According to the latest data, only 246 Million of 384 Million doses that were delivered to African countries have been used. This suggests that a third or more of Africa’s stock of the drug, which is 138,000,000 doses, may still be in storage.
India’s Mr Poonawalla, who said 200m doses of vaccine were now available in states, said that India’s 33% population is not fully vaccinated.
Poonawalla stated that the orders for vaccinations aren’t coming through in the most vulnerable countries in Africa (where only 11% are currently vaccinated).
Adar Poonawalla (pictured), the CEO of Serum Institute of India and the largest global vaccine manufacturer, said that slow vaccination rollout isn’t due to a shortage of stock.
The greatest danger to overcoming the pandemic is vaccine hesitancy, which Mr Poonawalla said last month. Pictured: An employee packs boxes containing vials of Covishield, a version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, at the Serum Institute of India in Pune
Photo: Our World in Data’s latest figures show the proportion of countries that have been fully immunized.
Speaking to the Sunday Times today, he said: ‘It’s a combination of vaccine hesitancy and nations not coming forward and placing orders in the way in which they claim they would, particularly the African nations.
“I am happy to put that statement on the record, and I hope they see it. Maybe they will be activated and take action.”
“Everywhere I go, the World Health Organisation (and others) talk about vaccine inequalities. But the African countries are refusing orders.
“We barely have 20 million worth of orders coming from African nations. They claim that their progress is slow and they are waiting on donations from the USA. There is a little disconnect.
According to Mr Poonawalla, India was concerned that stock might run out as they have too many resources. Similar problems were found in other countries.
He added that ‘there is more supply, in the short term, than countries can absorb on a monthly basis’ and that he does not think ‘there’s a single country that needs more vaccine but can’t get it’, adding: ‘It’s just a matter of them being able to put those jabs in arms’.
After months of concerns about poor countries having to wait in vain for vaccination doses from rich countries, this announcement comes as a relief.
According to WHO, the Omicron variant was discovered in 38 countries. However, it hasn’t yet caused any deaths.
South Africa delayed the distribution of vaccine doses, reportedly due to a slower uptake when it comes to getting jabbed. Pictured: Noesqui Moanza received a dose from Pfizer at Cape Town International Convention Centre Friday.
Officials from WHO stated that COVID-19 vaccination was increasing in Africa. Five countries, including South Africa, now have vaccinated over 40% of their population, while coverage remains low elsewhere.
A number of leaders representing developing countries decried the inequalities in vaccinations, and demanded that richer nations share any excess vaccines.
Hage G. Geingob of Namibia, the President of Namibia, stated that the situation is so dire it amounts to a ‘vaccine Apartheid’. Many developing countries are left out of this equation.
Samia Suuluhu Hashedan, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania called the levels of vaccine inequity “appalling.”
Gordon Brown claimed last week that rich countries not sharing vaccines is now “coming back to haunt” us. The new Omicron super mutant variant has taken root in South Africa, and is spreading around the globe.
Although supplies have improved, and donors have flood in to help pay for vaccines, vaccination in the developing world is still slow.
According to data from Airfinity, 246 million of 384 million doses delivered to African countries have been administered, suggesting a third of Africa’s vaccine deliveries — or 138 million doses — remain in storage.
Last month, Mr Poonawalla stated that “vaccine hesitancy” is the biggest threat to overcoming the pandemic.
On social media, the SII chief stated that: “The vaccine industry worked tirelessly in order to supply enough stock for the country.
“Today, more than 200 millions doses are available in all 50 states. Every adult should be vaccinated.
“Vaccine Hesitancy is the biggest threat to a successful response to this pandemic.”
According to Our World In Data only 33% of 944 million adults in the country have received their full vaccines so far. Many others skipped their second dose as infections declined.
An online conference by WHO officials stated that the COVID-19 vaccine was improving in Africa. South Africa is one of five countries where more than 40% have been vaccinated, but coverage remains poor elsewhere.
The government of South Africa has sought to increase the daily doses.
Shabir Madhi who was the lead in the South African clinical trial for AstraZeneca Covid-19, stated that there is “a lot of apathy” and “hesitancy.”
Separately, Dr John Nkengasong (head of Africa Centres for Disease Control) stated at an online conference that vaccine supplies to Africa had increased.
He stated that vaccines were beginning to flood to Africa in a predictable and consistent manner. However, the problem now is to make sure they are actually used in an environment where there’s still a lot of vaccine resistance.
He said, “The uptake is less than we would like to see.”
He said that some African countries delayed delivery of vaccines. This included doses under the African Union’s African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team.
On Wednesday, December 1, 2021, a woman was tested for COVID-19 by the Lenasia South Hospital near Johannesburg, South Africa.
Andrew Croxford from the British Immunology Society said South Africa’s high vaccination rate and strain development are not the fault of rich countries.
He said that’major vaccination hesitancy’ is hampering the country’s jab drive. Furthermore, he added that no country could vaccinate all its population even if it flew a billion vaccines.
South Africa’s vice-director general of the Department of Health, Dr Nicholas Crisp said Wednesday that the country had ‘plenty of vaccines and capacities but hesitancy remains a challenge.
South Africa asked Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer to delay delivery of Covid vaccines because it now has too much stock, health ministry officials said earlier this week.
Around 40% of South Africans have been fully immunized, which is higher than the average for most African countries, but still far below the government’s goal of 70% by year end.
In a country of 60 million people, it has been consuming an average 106,000 doses per day over the last 15 days. It was slowing down due to insufficient doses early this year.
Deliveries have now been delayed by oversupply. This makes the country an anomaly in a continent with many people still without vaccines.
As a continent, the continent is not able to provide the almost 470 million doses required for the World Health Organization goal of fully immunizing 40% of the global population by year’s end.
Dr Croxford, writing on social media said that:[There are]There are many opinions about the low rates of vaccination in South Africa.
According to the author, “It seems that supply is not the issue, but demand. This is where vaccine hesitancy has a major impact on our efforts.
It could have taken longer, of course. But not every country has the same 100 percent ceiling on full vaccination, even though you can fly over a billion doses. And cultural differences might limit what is possible.
“Who knows which anti-vaxx myths might find fertile ground here?”
Dr Crisp stated that South Africa has 16.8 million doses of medication in stock, and that deliveries have been delayed.
A spokesperson for the Health Ministry stated to Reuters that the stock was sufficient to last for 158 days. We deferred certain deliveries. This is all due to our hesitancy.
“We have plenty of vaccines and capacities, but it is difficult to overcome hesitancy.
“Unfortunately this means that some unvaccinated individuals may suffer from an unhappy Christmas season, which could lead to congestion in hospitals.”
He didn’t say when the deliveries would take place.
Stavros Nicolaou, chief executive of Aspen Pharmacare, which is packaging 25 million doses a month of J&J vaccines in South Africa, said most of the vaccines bound for South Africa would now go to the rest of the continent.
Mr Nicolaou is the chairman of Public Health at Business for South Africa and also heads Business for South Africa’s lobby. He stated that deliveries will likely be delayed until next year’s first quarter.
Vaccines packaged at Aspen’s plant are part of the African Union’s agreement to buy 220 million doses from J&J.
The AU and J&J did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Pfizer spokesperson stated that the company is flexible enough to respond to vaccine needs in different countries while meeting its quarterly supply agreements with South Africa.
Nigerian authorities are using religious leaders as a way to encourage their people to do the right thing and receive the jab.
In Nigeria’s religious society, mosques and churches have been as effective at enlisting skeptical communities in polio campaigns a decade back than they were in the past.
Nigerians were scarred after a failed clinical trial by Pfizer in 1996 that resulted in 11 deaths and hundreds of disabilities. 2011: Settlement reached by the US company with plaintiffs.
Mukhtar Muhammed (a presidential advisor on Covid-19), warned that if there is no vaccination, it will be a breeding ground for viruses to evolve mutations. He urged developing countries to get more.
However, vaccine availability can also be a problem.
Covax, the WHO’s global vaccine sharing system, provides doses of vaccine to low- and medium-income nations that have been financed in part by richer countries.
Covax and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned that donors to Africa are often made on a whim, with little shelf life and at very short notice. This makes planning difficult.
Nigeria has already received approximately 30 million doses, and another 60 million are expected to arrive in the coming year.
However, some AstraZeneca vaccines must be used immediately. Other vaccines are more stable and can take longer to reach their intended recipients.
Peter Hawkins (UNICEF country representative) said that Nigeria needs to use 2.5 million doses AstraZeneca by the end of this year.
“Normally, a country such as Nigeria wouldn’t receive vaccines or drugs that haven’t expired within six months. He said that some of the vaccines are only good for six weeks.
“Now, with four different vaccines you need to decide which one you should use and which you must prioritise. This is a complex logistical, mathematical and logistical equation.
It comes as today Boris Johnson is being challenged to ‘do the right thing’ and help ensure the world’s poorest nations can produce Covid vaccines.
Ian Blackford, the leader of the SNP in Westminster demanded that the UK Prime Minister’stop blocking the vaccine intellectual property waiver’ – even though it was only temporary – so that the developing countries can produce vaccines.
SNP MP, a member of the SNP, raised this issue with the Conservative leader in a written letter. She stressed that there must be a global strategy to combat coronavirus.
The UK has begun to offer booster vaccines, but the percentage of people in developing countries who have had their vaccinations is lower.
End of November, it was revealed that around 54.2 Percent of the population worldwide had been vaccinated with coronavirus vaccine. But this drops to only 5.8 per cent in low-income nations.
Blackford said: “We won’t defeat this virus” if the developing countries are forced to depend on vaccine donations alone. This is especially true considering that the UK donated only six million of the 100 million pledged to Covax.
“All countries should have access to the necessary tools for them to make Covid vaccines at home and to increase their production in order to create a global strategy that is effective against disease. This means that they must have the ability to access vaccine patents.
“So I’m urging Boris Johnson, to stop blocking the vaccine intellectual propriety waiver – at most temporarily – so that developing countries can manufacture vaccines.
SNP Westminster leader said: ‘This is an issue of global leadership. And with more than 100 states including the USA supporting it, it is evident that the UK has become increasingly isolated in its blocking waiver to support vaccine access around the globe.
“Indeed it’s the minimum the UK Government can do to help victims of its brutal cuts in aid and impeded humanitarian projects all over the globe.
“The new Omicron version has demonstrated that new variants can continue to emerge until vaccine equality is achieved.”
“It’s in everyone’s interest that we all share vaccine patents. This will help us beat Covid-19.
One spokesperson for No. 10 said that the Prime Minister made it clear that nobody is safe until everyone is safe. Through our support of the Covax program and pledge to give surplus vaccines to developing countries, the UK is a global leader in providing vaccines to poorer nations.
“We’re on track to reach our goal of 30,000,000 doses before the end of 2011, and even more in next year. Already, we have given 23 million doses. 18.5 million of these have been donated to Covax for distribution to developing nations.
“The UK continues to engage constructively with the Trips waiver discussion at the World Trade Organisation. We are open to any ideas that could have an impact on vaccine production or distribution.