The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Africa Director Dr. Matshidiso Moeti has assured that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe for use against Covid-19 even in countries reporting variants of the disease, reported eNCA.
“While a vaccine that protects against all forms of Covid-19 illness is our biggest hope, preventing severe cases and hospitalizations which overwhelm hospitals and health systems is crucial,” Dr. Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, said at a news briefing on Thursday.
She said that the strategic advisory group on immunization (SAGE) has recommended that countries must continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine for priority groups even if variants are present in the country while further research is conducted.
Dr. Moeti said the Astrazeneca vaccine is safe to use in the African continent, especially since the second coronavirus wave, which peaked in January, has been more deadly than the first wave. She noted that the number of deaths has increased by 40% in the last 28 days compared to the previous 28 days.
The WHO’s Africa Director said the rapid increase in the number of coronavirus related deaths on the continent have left health workers and health care systems dangerously overstretched.
Notably, the new Covid-19 variants are spreading across the continent with seven other countries now reporting the B.1351 variant that was first detected in South Africa including Ghana, Kenya, Comoros, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zambia.
The WHO official’s remarks came after the South African government announced it has decided not to deploy the AstraZeneca vaccine as widely as first planned after a study questioned its effectiveness against a variant that first emerged in the country.
Dr. Moeti urged the people of Africa to go out and get vaccinated when the vaccine is available in their country.
The WHO says the vaccination plan in Africa is on track. Over 3.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported in Africa so far.
