Vaccines to Africa must have good shelf lives, says expert

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that at least 2.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated to the continent’s countries have expired, citing short shelf lives as the major reason. Africa CDC director John Nkengasong told an online briefing Thursday that more than 60% of the 572 million vaccine doses delivered to the continent have already been administered. He said that just over 10% of Africa’s population of 1.3 billion people are fully vaccinated. The continent’s 54 countries have confirmed 10.4 million COVID-19 cases and 235,000 deaths. Africa’s omicron wave appears to be receding, with new confirmed cases down by 20% from the previous week and deaths dropping by 8%.