COVID-19 Coronavirus: EU to ship almost 100 million vaccine doses to Africa. Von der Leyen, “global solidarity effort”

99.6 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be shipped to a number of African countries by the end of the year, thanks to a donation by Team Europe and Gavi Vaccine Alliance. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged the EU would share at least 500 million vaccine doses with low and middle income countries by mid-2022. The first batches have reached Niger (496,800 doses) and, in the coming days, others will reach Djibouti (50,400), Nigeria (2,764,800), Togo (633,600), Central African Republic (302,400), the Republic of the Congo (230,400), the Republic of Guinea (496,800), and Mauritania (144,000). In the weeks to come, the doses will reach other African countries. For President von der Leyen, this is a “global solidarity effort against COVID-19” supported by Team Europe. “We will continue to share our vaccines”, the president added, and also to work for equal access to vaccines, supporting “the build-up of global vaccine manufacturing capacities, especially in Africa”.
Sarah Numico