November 2021, South Africa- (Omicron Explained) South Africa asked Pfizer and J&J to stop delivering vaccine doses just days before the Omicron variant was said to have begun in South Africa. hmmmmm.....
November 24, 2021 (Bloomberg) "Sou…
November 2021, South Africa- (Omicron Explained) South Africa asked Pfizer and J&J to stop delivering vaccine doses just days before the Omicron variant was said to have begun in South Africa. hmmmmm.....
November 24, 2021 (Bloomberg) "South Africa asked Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Inc. to suspend delivery of Covid-19 vaccines as it now has enough stock, an illustration of how plunging demand is undermining the country’s rollout ahead of a potential fourth wave of infections."
"Africa’s most developed economy has fully protected just 35% of adults, more than six months after doses were first made available to the public. About 120,000 people received shots on Tuesday, less than half the daily peak."
“We have over 16 million doses in country, or more than 150 days at present consumption,” Nicholas Crisp, deputy director-general of the Department of Health, said by text message Wednesday. “It makes no sense to stockpile and risk expiry when others are desperate for supplies.”
article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-24/s-africa-wants-j-j-pfizer-vaccine-delivery-delay-news24-says
November 24, 2021 (Reuters) "South Africa has asked Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and Pfizer (PFE.N) to delay delivery of COVID-19 vaccines because it now has too much stock, health ministry officials said, as vaccine hesitancy slows an inoculation campaign."
"There is a fair amount of apathy and hesitancy," said Shabir Madhi, who led the clinical study for the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa."
article: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/exclusive-south-africa-delays-covid-vaccine-deliveries-inoculations-slow-2021-11-24/
November 26, 2021 (The Hill) "Countries race to ban travel from southern Africa over new variant fears"
"Countries around the world are racing to ban travel from southern Africa after health officials identified a new COVID-19 variant that they warn may be vaccine-resistant. The head of the European Commission announced Friday that the governing body will propose banning travel from the southern African region to its member states due to uncertainty over the new variant."
article: https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/583190-countries-race-to-ban-travel-from-southern-africa-over-new-variant-fears
November 28, 2021 (NY Times) "South Africa, where Omicron was detected, is an outlier on the least vaccinated continent. On the face of it, the emergence of the Omicron variant is the unhappy fulfillment of expert predictions that the failure to prioritize vaccinations for African countries would allow the coronavirus to continue to circulate and mutate there, imperiling the world’s ability to move beyond the pandemic."
article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/world/africa/south-africa-omicron-vaccination.html
video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr0t8_61-S4
