“Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants.”
“Africa has weathered the pandemic relatively well, in part because of its young population. But now, the rollout of vaccines has put rich countries at a definitive advantage. Many have bet on several vaccines and signed contracts for enough doses to immunize their populations several times over, constraining supplies for the rest of the world.”
“The South African trial of the vaccine, conducted in about 2000 people, found such a low efficacy against mild and moderate disease, under 25%, that it would not meet minimal international standards for emergency use.”
“Although Africa reported its millionth official COVID-19 case last week, it seems to have weathered the pandemic relatively well so far, with fewer than one confirmed case for every thousand people and just 23,000 deaths so far. Yet several antibody surveys suggest far more Africans have been infected with the coronavirus—a discrepancy that is puzzling scientists around the continent.”
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