Vaccine bandits:<\/strong>\u00a0A black market for vaccines<\/a>\u00a0is undermining Kenya\u2019s vaccination campaign, just weeks before a mandate\u00a0goes into effect<\/a>. Corrupt officials are diverting vaccines, falsifying records, and smuggling vials (to mostly remote areas) for $30 to $50 each. These vaccine bandits create significant health concerns: the doses are often transported without adequate refrigeration, they risk contamination, and they aren\u2019t being administered by healthcare professionals with proper sanitation or precautions. The Kenyan government offers doses for free to its citizens, but the country\u2019s\u00a0shortage of vaccines, high demand, and other vaccination hurdles<\/a>\u00a0have enabled the illicit market to develop. Just\u00a05.5% of Kenyans<\/a>\u00a0are fully vaccinated, and the existence of a thriving vaccine black market\u00a0further undermines<\/a>\u00a0blanket claims about vaccine hesitancy in \u201cAfrica\u201d (a continent of 54 countries).<\/p>\n Canary in the contagion:\u00a0<\/strong>South Africa saw an unprecedented\u00a01,715%\u00a0increase in COVID-19 cases in two weeks. Children are the\u00a0second-largest demographic<\/a>\u00a0hospitalized. Despite this phenomenon, authorities say there isn\u2019t evidence to suggest younger patients are more vulnerable to Omicron or get more sick from it. Thus far, the rate of severe infections at hospital admission was\u00a0halved compared to the third wave<\/a>, and symptoms\u00a0appear to be less severe<\/a>\u00a0overall. Experts\u00a0are urging caution<\/a>\u00a0against overreacting to news (good or bad) of Omicron\u2019s virulence until more research is done. The US and other countries are closely monitoring Omicron data from South Africa for clues on\u00a0what\u2019s in store for them<\/a>. A dose of irony, given the\u00a0crippling travel bans<\/a>\u00a0many of those same countries imposed on South Africa in the wake of Omicron\u2019s discovery.<\/p>\n Science friction<\/strong>: An in-depth laboratory report released Tuesday suggests that Omicron\u00a0is able to elude<\/a>\u00a0many of the antibodies from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, though it provides some protection, especially from severe disease. On Wednesday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that a three-dose course of their vaccine\u00a0effectively neutralized<\/a>\u00a0Omicron in laboratory tests, but that only two doses resulted in significantly lower neutralizing antibody levels. Hours later, South Africa\u00a0approved<\/a>\u00a0the Pfizer-BioNTech booster for those over 18. Omicron\u2019s alarmingly high number of mutations has led virologists\u00a0to call for better vaccines<\/a>\u00a0that are less susceptible to variants.<\/p>\n Vaccine uber<\/strong>: A mobile vaccine clinic in Malawi\u00a0is expanding access to vaccines and helping overcome hesitancy<\/a>\u00a0by meeting people where they are, including at markets and shopping malls. This reduces barriers for those who can\u2019t afford to travel to a clinic, and enables health workers to speak directly with people and dispel misinformation. Malawi is a critical country for targeted interventions, as just\u00a03.16% of the population<\/a>\u00a0is fully vaccinated, and it\u2019s\u00a0one of the few African countries<\/a>\u00a0where vaccine acceptance has meaningfully declined over time (to 73.4%<\/a>, around the same rate as\u00a0in the US<\/a>). Health officials in Mozambique\u00a0are taking a similar<\/a>\u00a0mobile delivery approach to increase vaccination rates.<\/p>\n $ is for $upport:<\/strong>\u00a0The US government is\u00a0investing $400 million in Global VAX<\/a>, a new program to bolster low- and middle-income countries\u2019 vaccination campaigns, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. Global VAX is also aiming to help countries manufacture vaccines locally (notably, no mention of tech transfers). The\u00a0EU just announced funding for UNICEF<\/a>, also aimed at vaccination rollout programs. It seems they\u2019re taking notes from the\u00a0many African leaders<\/a>\u00a0who have called for increased rollout support. Hesitancy has received a lot of lip service recently, but many low-income countries simply\u00a0aren\u2019t equipped<\/a>\u00a0to distribute and administer doses they receive on short notice.<\/p>\n Vaccine refuse<\/strong>: Speaking of, the short shelf lives of donated vaccines, as well as limited healthcare infrastructure and investment, contributed to Nigeria\u2019s recent\u00a0wastage of 1 million doses<\/a>. Some of those were reportedly delivered to the country with as little as four weeks left until expiry, less than half the amount of time\u00a0the African Union has requested<\/a>. Nigeria\u2019s precarious security and health infrastructure mean that health workers\u00a0in some parts of the country<\/a>\u00a0are traveling long distances, risking kidnapping by gang members, and going unpaid to deliver vaccines \u2014 incredible dedication. Vaccine wastage\u00a0is not<\/a>\u00a0an African phenomenon: Last January, British officials forecasted 10% vaccine wastage. France reported wastage rates as high as 25% last April, and Germany and Switzerland have similarly struggled to deploy all their doses. The US\u00a0threw away<\/a>\u00a0more than 15 million doses (?) between March and September, in part due to \u2026 (drumroll) \u2026 vaccine hesitancy.<\/p>\n IP sharing is caring<\/strong>: The WHO is in talks with Chinese and Indian pharmaceutical companies to\u00a0share vaccine patents and technologies<\/a>\u00a0with C-TAP (the COVID-19 technology access pool). Both countries are key players in the manufacturing game: China is currently the largest vaccine supplier to low- and middle-income countries, and India is one of the world\u2019s largest manufacturers of vaccines. Bharat Biotech is currently negotiating its licensing agreement (the WHO recently approved its Covaxin vaccine for emergency use). Sinopharm and Sinovac have also expressed interest. Good news. But there is evidence that Sinopharm and Sinovac\u2019s doses\u00a0may not be very effective<\/a>\u00a0at preventing transmission, including for new variants like Omicron. Meanwhile, South Africa\u2019s Biovac Institute will kick off its finish-and-fill\u00a0Pfizer dose manufacturing in early 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n Economic contagion<\/strong>: Omicron could limit growth, further worsen inflation, and slow China\u2019s economic engine,\u00a0jeopardizing\u00a0the global economic recovery. The aftershocks could be severe: food inflation in sub-Saharan Africa was already\u00a011%\u00a0before<\/em>\u00a0Omicron<\/a>, nearly double pre-pandemic levels. Further economic disruptions\u00a0could exacerbate<\/a>\u00a0global supply chain problems. On a more positive note, the implementation of the African Continental Free-Trade Area could help the continent counter the pandemic\u2019s economic impacts. That is, \u201cif stronger support measures<\/a>\u00a0targeting women, young traders and small businesses are implemented.\u201d Advancing women\u2019s equality could boost Africa\u2019s GDP 10% by 2025. Such measures are urgently needed given that COVID-19 could set the continent\u2019s women and girls\u00a0back by a generation<\/a>. Africa literally can\u2019t afford to\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>cash in on its potential.<\/p>\n MTN\u2019s strong signal:\u00a0<\/strong>Africa\u2019s largest mobile operator, MTN,\u00a0will fire<\/a>\u00a0employees who refuse to get vaccinated by the beginning of next year. The move signals how the private sector can help fight vaccine hesitancy \u2014 assuming that there\u2019s sufficient vaccine supply. Meanwhile, First Capital Bank, based in Malawi and Southern Africa,\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0it would give annual bonuses to vaccinated employees.<\/p>\n Top news Vaccine bandits:\u00a0A black market for vaccines\u00a0is undermining Kenya\u2019s vaccination campaign, just weeks before a mandate\u00a0goes into effect. Corrupt officials are diverting vaccines, falsifying records, and smuggling vials (to mostly remote areas) for $30 to $50 each. These vaccine bandits create significant health concerns: the doses are often transported without adequate refrigeration, they risk […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":162445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"163796,163741,163616,162098,162097,162096","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"topic":[179],"contributor":[125],"one_content_audience":[],"one_content_type":[],"one_content_tone":[],"class_list":["post-162003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-one","topic-aftershocks","contributor-one-campaign"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe numbers<\/h2>\n
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