Africa's epidemic rebounds severely, vaccination progress is slow

The cumulative number of confirmed cases of new crowns worldwide has exceeded 200 million. According to data released by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 4th, there are more than 6.82 million confirmed cases of new crown in Africa and more than 170,000 deaths.

Recently, the epidemic situation in some African countries has rebounded severely, and the new crown vaccination in some countries has been slow. According to data from the World Health Organization, the number of COVID-19 vaccines vaccinated on the African continent is less than 2% of the total global vaccinations, and only 1.5% of the African population has been vaccinated. Some analysts pointed out that the slow progress of vaccination in Africa is partly due to the reluctance of many people to get vaccinated and the limited number of vaccines available to African countries. At the same time, the new crown vaccine from China brings hope to the "speeding up" of vaccination in Africa.

South Africa is the country with the worst new crown epidemic in Africa. As of the 4th, the country has more than 2.48 million confirmed cases. South Africa entered the third wave of the epidemic on June 10. Although the government has tightened the lockdown policy twice, the speed of the epidemic has not slowed down significantly. Especially in early July, a large-scale riot broke out in the country. A large number of people looted shops without any protective measures and social distancing, which caused the epidemic to spread further.

The South African government announced on July 25 that the peak of the third wave of the epidemic has passed, a series of restrictions have been lifted, and schools have opened normally, but the number of new confirmed cases in the country is still as high as several thousand. On August 4, there were more than 13,000 new cases, and the positive rate of new crown tests exceeded 22%.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority approved the emergency use of the new crown vaccine produced by China Kexing Company in the country in early July, which will help promote the speed of new crown vaccination in South Africa. At present, the number of people receiving the new crown vaccine daily in South Africa is close to 200,000. As of the 4th, more than 3.32 million people in South Africa have completed vaccination, accounting for about 5.6% of the total population.

Kenya’s Minister of Health, Mutahi Kagwe, recently said that the spread of the delta strain and the loosening of epidemic prevention have led to a surge in confirmed cases in the country, and Kenya will face the fourth wave of the new crown epidemic. The health system in the country’s capital, Nairobi, is overwhelmed and the demand for oxygen has soared. Kagui said that Kenya has stepped up the installation of oxygen equipment in public and private medical institutions to ensure that critically ill patients receive emergency treatment. In addition, Kenya has also established isolation centers, deployed epidemic prevention personnel, improved detection capabilities, and transformed intensive care facilities to minimize the severity of a new wave of epidemics that may occur.

Botswana is experiencing the third wave of COVID-19. As of the end of July, the country had confirmed more than 110,000 cases. In response to the third wave of the epidemic, its schools across the country were closed from July 16 to August 7.

The Botswana Nurses Union recently stated that due to the surge in the number of confirmed diagnoses due to the third wave of the epidemic, nurses in the front line are facing huge safety risks and pressures. In addition, some public medical institutions lack personal protective equipment. More than 800 nurses across the country have been infected with the new crown virus. More than 20 nurses died.

At present, Botswana has received the largest number of vaccines from China-aided Coxing Vaccine, and the country’s vaccination work is ongoing. At present, nearly 240,000 people in Botswana have received the first dose of the vaccine, and nearly 130,000 people have been fully vaccinated.

A Ministerial Communiqué issued by Togo recently pointed out that the recent increase in the country’s new crown epidemic is related to the emergence of more contagious mutant strains of the new crown and the loosening of epidemic prevention and isolation. In response to this situation, Togolese Minister of Health Mustafa Mijiava called on people to comply with the quarantine regulations. Togo’s National Coordinator of the Covid-19 Coordinator, Mohamman, said that the development of the Togo epidemic is “still on the rise” and he called for the promotion of vaccination work. At present, Togo enforces 10 days of mandatory entry quarantine for tourists from Brazil, South Africa, India, the United Kingdom, Russia and Portugal.

Uganda is fighting the second wave of COVID-19. The country has increased testing equipment and hospital beds, and trained health workers. But achieving mass vaccination is even more important. The Ugandan Ministry of Health stated that the government is trying to ensure that eligible people can get the new crown vaccine. Uganda has so far received more than 1.7 million doses of the new crown vaccine. But like many African countries, the country’s vaccination progress has been very slow. So far, only about 1.14 million doses have been vaccinated in a total population of about 43 million.

The new crown vaccine aided by the Chinese government arrived in Uganda on July 31. Uzbek Health Minister Azeng said that these Chinese vaccines will effectively fill the gap in Uzbekistan's vaccine supply and help the Uzbek side to vaccinate eligible people.