( 4 minutes read)
· The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) confirmed the presence of the Indian coronavirus strain on its territory. Five cases of the variant have been reported in Kinshasa recently
· Minister of Health Jean-Jacques Mbungani Mbanda has pleaded the citizens to remain calm since the government has taken utmost care to quarantine the infected people and assured of taking other precautionary measures
· DRC has reported only very cases of infections. Recently, the country announced that it had “redeployed” 1.3 million “surplus” AstraZeneca vaccines to five neighboring countries
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) confirmed the presence of the Indian coronavirus strain on its territory. Five cases of the variant have been reported in Kinshasa recently. Minister of Health Jean-Jacques Mbungani Mbanda has pleaded the citizens to remain calm since the government has taken utmost care to quarantine the infected people and assured of taking other precautionary measures.
DRC has reported only very cases of infections. Recently, the country announced that it had “redeployed” 1.3 million “surplus” AstraZeneca vaccines to five neighboring countries. Sections of the population had refused to have the jab.
Many countries in Africa were dependent on India jab for vaccinating its people. The increase of infections in India in recent times has put a question mark on the availability of vaccination. Often dubbed the “world’s pharmacy”, India is one of the biggest suppliers of the AstraZeneca vaccine, under the Covax program to help immunization in poorer countries. It may have to be seen how India would be able to meet world’s demand since it has to vaccinate its population, numbering 1.3 billion. The country has recorded 22 million Covid-19 cases. The second wave was more severe than the first one.
India has sent 60 million doses abroad. Now, it has announced at the end of March that it was delaying overseas supplies as it works to meet its own needs. African Union (AU) health ministers held emergency talks online recently to discuss the vaccine gap as also the availability of oxygen. Africa has administered 19.6 million doses or just 2% of the global total — according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Most of the vaccine doses –close to 80% of the doses- administered worldwide have been carried out by nations perceived to have more financial affluence.
