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Less than 2% of African population received first dose of COVID-19 vaccine – Africa CDC

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The Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC) said on Tuesday only two percent of Africans have received the first vaccine dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since the commencement of the vaccination exercise on the continent early this year.

The African Union through the African COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access Strategy planned to vaccinate at least 60 percent of the continent adult population by the end of 2022.

The Director of the Africa CDC, Dr. John Nkengasong, who disclosed at the launch of a partnership between the MasterCard Foundation and the agency, said the number of vaccines available to Africa represents a small portion of the global supply and the financial costs to purchase, deliver, and administer vaccines remain significant.

READ ALSO: Vaccines our major hope for tackling COVID-19 in Africa – WHO

He said Africa CDC would build on the efforts of the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access facility (COVAX), the COVID-19 African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), and the global community to expand access to vaccines across Africa.

Nkengasong said: “This partnership with the MasterCard Foundation is a bold step towards establishing a New Public Health Order for Africa, and we welcome other actors to join this historic journey.”

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