Africa exceeds 5 million Covid-19 infections amid vaccine shortage

Addis Ababa, Jun 12 (EFE).- Africa exceeded 5 million coronavirus cases on Saturday amid a vaccine shortage as a third wave of infections hits the continent.

Since Egypt reported the continent’s first coronavirus cases on 14 February 2020, the African Union’s 55 countries have registered 5,011,502 infections, which accounts for around 2.9 percent of the global total, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed.

Some 134,239 have died from the disease, which represents 3.6 percent of the global death toll, according to the AU.

Five countries account for 63 percent of the cases in Africa: South Africa (34 percent), Morocco (11 percent), Tunisia (7 percent), Ethiopia (6 percent) and Egypt (5 percent).

As of 10 June, a little over 49 million tests had been conducted on a continent of 1.3 billion inhabitants.

The data was published after Africa CDC director John Nkengasong warned on Thursday of the aggressive advance of the third wave of infections in Africa, where the Delta variant that originated in India has spread.

Amid a vaccine shortage, only seven countries in Africa will be able to inoculate 10 percent of their population by September, unless the continent receives 225 million additional gabs, the World Health Organization revealed on Thursday.

“Vaccines have been proven to prevent cases and deaths, so countries that can, must urgently share Covid-19 vaccines. It’s do or die on dose sharing for Africa,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said. EFE

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