Dec 14, 2021 - World

WHO: Africa may not hit 70% vaccination target until late 2024

Residents wait at the Grassy Park civic center vaccination point in Cape Town, South Africa, on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021.

Residents wait at the Grassy Park civic center vaccination point in Cape Town, South Africa, on Nov. 30. Photo: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Africa may not hit the target of vaccinating 70% of the continent's population against COVID-19 until August 2024, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday.

Driving the news: The continent saw an 83% surge in new COVID-19 cases over the past week as full vaccination among residents remains low, underscoring the vast global disparity of COVID-19 vaccine access, WHO said.

  • Less than 8% of Africa's population has received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to some richer countries that have started rolling out booster shots for residents, AP reports.
  • As of Dec. 13, just 20 African countries had vaccinated at least 10% of their population, according to the WHO.

What they're saying: "In a world where Africa had the doses and support to vaccinate 70% of its population by the end of 2021 — a level many wealthy countries have achieved — we probably would be seeing tens of thousands of fewer deaths from COVID-19 next year," WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said in a statement.

  • "But we can still save many lives if we can accelerate the pace of vaccination in early 2022," Moeti added.

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