The regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, expressed concern about the epidemiological situation on the continent amid the advance of the omicron variant.
“With travel and the end of the year festivities coming, limited vaccination, the increase in cases of Covid and the new variant paint a sinister picture for the region”, said the South African, during a press conference on Thursday (9) in which the entity presented new data on the coronavirus in Africa.
Since the identification of the omicron variant, sequenced for the first time in South Africa, the African continent has received international attention due to its low rates of immunization.
According to a report by the WHO regional office released on Thursday, Africa has so far received more than 372 million doses and has applied 248 million of them (66%). Although the pace of vaccination has increased in recent months, only 7.8% of the African population is fully vaccinated. Of the total of 8.2 billion doses of immunizing agents administered worldwide, only 3% were applied in Africa.
Also according to WHO Africa, cases almost doubled in African countries in the week ending on the 5th. There were 107,000 new infections registered in the period —93% more than in the previous week.
Scientific evidence is lacking to determine the weight of the omicron variant in this increase in cases, but currently, according to the WHO, Africa accounts for 46% of the almost 1,000 cases of the new strain identified in 57 countries worldwide. Despite this, the organization’s statement describes as “signs of hope” the preliminary data that point to a low level of hospitalizations in South Africa.
Between November 14th and December 4th, the occupancy rate of ICU beds in the country was 6.3%, which is considered very low compared to the period when South Africa was facing the peaks caused by the delta variant , in July. According to WHO, data from one of the South African districts most impacted by omicron shows that, of more than 1,200 patients admitted with Covid-19, 98 were receiving supplemental oxygen and only four were relying on mechanical ventilation.
The entity, however, makes the reservation that this is a small sample and that most people admitted to the analyzed health units were under 40 years of age. In other words, it is too early to draw conclusions. “As the clinical profile of patients changes, the impact of omicrons may change.”
In the statement, Moeti again criticized the travel restrictions imposed on countries on the continent. The data show that, so far, ten African countries have reported cases of the new strain, but even nations in which no omicron infection has been confirmed have become targets of the ban.
“With omicron now present in nearly 60 countries around the world, travel bans aimed primarily at African countries are difficult to justify,” said Moeti. The director also reinforced that, although the mutation was identified for the first time in Africa, “it is not clear if the transmission was occurring silently in other regions”.
“What we do know is that the uneven distribution of Covid-19 vaccines around the world is creating an ideal environment for variants to emerge and spread explosively. “he added.
At the same event, Rwandan Richard Mihigo, coordinator of the WHO Africa immunization program, also expressed concern about the slow progress of vaccination on the continent. “Only six of Africa’s 54 countries have reached the global goal of vaccinating 40% of their population by the end of this year, leaving millions of people unprotected from Covid-19. This is dangerous and unsustainable.”
On Thursday, the director of Africa’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, said governments in African countries are left with no choice but to impose rules that make vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory. Amidst inequality in access to immunization allied to logistical problems, the appeal of mandatory vaccination has already been discussed on other occasions by the Cameroonian doctor who presides over the African CDC.
According to Nkengasong, although Africa has lagged behind in terms of distributing doses of immunizing agents, the lack of vaccines is no longer an excuse, and the main problem facing the continent in this regard would be vaccine hesitation.
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