Pivotal point of the third wave of COVID-19 in Africa – WHO Regional Director for Africa

After eight consecutive weeks of a rapid surge, new cases of COVID-19 in Africa have slowed, led by a sharp drop in South Africa which accounts for the bulk of reported cases on the continent, although the trend may be of short-lived, new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show.

The number of new cases in Africa fell 1.7% to nearly 282,000 in the week ending July 18. Yet the deletion of data from South Africa, which accounts for 37% of those cases, reveals a unique and uninterrupted increase of nine weeks. The current peak is 80% higher than the previous peak for Africa when data for South Africa is excluded. Without data from South Africa, cases in Africa rose 18% to more than 182,000 in the week ending July 18.

“Don’t kid yourself, Africa’s third wave is definitely not over. This small step forward offers hope and inspiration but should not obscure the big picture of Africa. Many countries are still at the highest risk and Africa’s third wave has risen faster and higher than ever. The Eid celebrations we celebrated this week could also lead to an increase in cases. We all need to double preventive measures to take advantage of these fragile gains, ”said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.

Twenty-one African countries have seen cases increase by more than 20% for at least two consecutive weeks – which is an increase of three countries from the previous week – and the highly transmissible Delta variant has been found in 26 African countries . The Alpha variant is present in 38 countries and Beta in 35. South Africa’s gains remain uncertain as protests disrupted the country’s response, including disease surveillance and testing. Violent mass rallies could also trigger a further rise in cases.

It comes as WHO urges African countries to urgently step up COVID-19 vaccinations as pressure on vaccine shipments eases. Around 60 million doses are expected to arrive in the coming weeks from the United States of America, Team Europe, the United Kingdom, purchased doses and other partners through the COVAX facility. Over half a billion doses are expected via COVAX alone this year.

“A massive influx of doses means Africa must pull out all the stops and accelerate the rollout of vaccines five to six times if we are to get all those doses up to speed and fully immunize the most vulnerable 10% of all Africans. by the end of September, “said Dr Moeti.

Almost 70% of African countries will not meet the 10% vaccination target for all countries by the end of September at the current rate. About 3.5 million to 4 million doses are given each week on the continent, but to meet the September target this must increase to at least 21 million doses each week.

To date, only 20 million Africans, or 1.5% of the continent’s population, are fully immunized and only 1.7% of the 3.7 billion doses administered worldwide have been administered in Africa. High-income countries administered 62 times more doses per person than low-income countries.

The World Bank estimates that in addition to the US $ 9.5 billion needed to purchase enough vaccine to provide adequate protection against COVID-19, an additional US $ 3 billion is needed to fund operations.

“To increase adoption, countries need to scale up operations, investments in operational costs, and tackle confidence in vaccines. Countries need a sufficient number of vaccination sites and health workers, sufficient storage of vaccines, as well as adequate transport and logistics for distribution, ”said Dr Moeti .

To boost vaccine uptake, African countries need to tackle the fear of side effects that are the main drivers of people’s reluctance to get vaccinated. This includes using political and traditional leaders as vaccine champions, community mobilization efforts, and tackling misinformation and disinformation on social media.

WHO is working with African countries to better plan and assess operational and delivery processes to support the second phase of COVID-19 vaccine deployment, including conducting reviews of the first.

Dr Moeti spoke at a virtual press conference today facilitated by APO Group. She was accompanied by the Hon. Dr Osagie E. Ehanire, Minister of Health, Nigeria, and Hon Dr Sidi Zahaf, Minister of Health, Mauritania. Dr Richard Mihigo, Coordinator, Immunization and Vaccine Development Program, WHO Regional Office for Africa, was also present to answer questions; Dr Thierno Balde, Team Leader, Operational Partnerships, WHO Regional Office for Africa; and Dr Nicksy Gumede-Moeletsi, regional virologist, WHO Regional Office for Africa.