The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Monday said the number of COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 10,327,787 cases as of Sunday evening, reported Xinhuanet.
According to the Africa CDC, the death toll across the continent stands at 234,267 with 9,224,148 recoveries so far. The countries with the most cases on the continent are South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, and Ethiopia.
The specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) said South Africa has recorded the maximum number of COVID-19 cases that stand at 3,556,633 cases, followed by Morocco with 1,045,25 cases as of Sunday evening.
Notably, several African countries are going through fourth or fifth waves of infections.
On Thursday, the Africa CDC director said they are currently in talks with Pfizer about bringing in supplies of its antiviral Paxlovid treatment pills for COVID-19 to the continent.
Paxlovid was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths, and data suggested it retains its effectiveness against Omicron, Pfizer has said.
“We are in really close discussions with Pfizer to see what can be done to make the drugs available on the continent and accessible on the continent, that is the Paxlovid drugs,” said John Nkengasong, director of the Africa CDC.
Rates of vaccination against COVID-19 are extremely low in Africa, with just around 8 percent of the continent’s population fully vaccinated against the disease.
The total number of vaccine doses administered in 53 African countries have reached 308 million, and the total number of full dose administered is 131 million, according to data provided by the WHO Africa.
The UN health body says Africa is unlikely to reach the global target of 70 percent vaccination set for mid-2022 until the end of 2024.
Considering the low level of vaccination rates in Africa, the WHO has urged wealthier countries to consider giving donations with a longer shelf life to match the absorption capacity.
