South Africa will no longer send J&J vaccines to Europe, AU envoy says

The arrangement was canceled in part due to interventions by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron, Masiyiwa said at a press briefing on Thursday.

Masiyiwa said Europe von der Leyen also pledged to return the J&J vaccines, which were packaged by J&J’s South African partner company, Aspen, to African countries.

“All vaccines produced in Aspen will remain in Africa and will be distributed in Africa,” Masiyiwa said.

“All vaccines at this facility are now under the control of the South African government, which has made a commitment that these vaccines go to Africa.”

Critical Shipping

The planned shipment of the J&J vaccine to Europe sparked outrage from health activists in Africa who criticized the arrangement, citing slow vaccination rates on the continent compared to Europe which had much higher absorption of Covid vaccines.

Only 3% of Africa’s more than 1 billion people have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 – a stark contrast to Europe, where 57% have received a full vaccination program, according to the World Organization of health.

Many African countries are likely to be unable to immunize up to 10 percent of their most vulnerable populations by September, the WHO said.

The African Union has purchased 400 million doses of the J&J vaccine, which Masiyiwa says will be distributed across the continent by September 2022.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is highly regarded in Africa because of its single dose vaccination style and flexibility in storage and transport.

“In addition, the Europeans have pledged to give us 200 million doses before the end of December,” added Masiyiwa.