According to the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), the “acute phase” of the Covid-19 pandemic could end this summer, when 70% of the world’s population will be vaccinated. But for this, we must support the development of vaccines in certain regions of the world, particularly in Africa.
- Cape Town, South Africa-based Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines has announced that it has designed the African continent’s first messenger RNA vaccine against Covid-19.
- She used the sequencing that Moderna made public.
- The first clinical trials will start in November.
An optimistic forecast. Traveling to South Africa, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wants to believe in the imminent end of the “acute phase” of the Covid-19 pandemic. Facing the press, he said on Friday February 11 that it could happen this year, “on the condition of course that 70% of the world’s population is vaccinated by the middle of the year, around June or July”.
“If so, the acute phase can truly end, and that’s what we expect. It’s in our hands. It’s not a matter of luck, it’s a matter of choice”added the head of the WHO.
Only 1 in 10 Africans are vaccinated against Covid-19
Today, the WHO estimates that 53% of the population has received a complete vaccination course. But behind this figure, hides very strong disparities according to the continents. Thus, if 60% of the populations of Europe and the American continent are vaccinated, the vaccination rate of the African population is around 11.3%, the lowest in the world.
Hence the need to “support the development of local vaccine manufacturing in Africa and elsewhere in the world in order to improve health security” on all continents, recalled Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was then visiting Cape Town with the Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation, Meryame Kitir, the biotechnology company Afrigen. It is currently developing the first messenger RNA vaccine against Covid-19 in Africa.
African mRNA vaccine planned for 2024
Supported by the WHO and by Covax, an international initiative that aims to ensure equitable access to vaccination against Covid-19 in 200 countries, Afrigen’s vaccine was developed from the sequencing of publicly available genetic code from the Moderna laboratory. Clinical trials will begin in November and registration is expected in 2024.
“This vaccine will be more suitable for the contexts in which it will be used, with fewer storage constraints and at a lower price”said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
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