NAIROBI – Africa’s top public health official says 60% of the continent’s population needs to be vaccinated against the coronavirus in the next two to three years.
The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told reporters on Thursday that if it takes four to five years, “the virus will be endemic in our communities.” African health officials are taking heart in vaccine progress, but concerns are growing that the continent of 1.3 billion people will be near the end of the line in obtaining doses.
Nkengasong isn’t sure whether vaccines will be available in Africa before the second quarter of next year. But he is pushing back against fears and misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines, saying that “if.