COVID Shots Arrive, But Africa Has Problems with Vaccination
2021-12-12
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1COVID-19 vaccine supplies are increasing in Africa.
2But administering the treatments to people across the continent is proving difficult.
3Health experts say successful vaccination campaigns in Africa are important to ending the pandemic worldwide.
4Africa's low vaccination rates increase the risk that the virus will change, like the new Omicron variant spreading in South Africa.
5The World Health Organization says 102 million people, or 7.5 percent of Africa's population, are fully vaccinated.
6African governments repeatedly appealed for increased vaccine supply this year.
7But production restrictions and storing of extra vaccines by richer countries severely limited supplies until recently.
8Shortages of money, medical workers and equipment were already causing problems for vaccination campaigns in some parts of Africa.
9Experts warn that the expected increase of vaccines in the coming weeks could uncover those weaknesses further.
10About 40 percent of vaccines that have arrived so far on the continent have not been used.
11That information comes from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a non-profit policy organization.
12The rate of vaccine use will have to increase by four times the current level to keep up with expected supply in coming months, the institute says.
13Vaccination rates differ widely across Africa.
14Some health systems in relatively small nations and in North Africa are having more success.
15Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa and with a population of about 600,000, has vaccinated nearly 65 percent of adults.
16In Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa, with a population of nearly 90 million, the number is 0.1 percent.
17Kenya has received nearly 5 million doses in recent weeks after months of slow supplies.
18Willis Akhwale is head of the government's COVID-19 vaccine response team.
19He said Kenya vaccinated a record 110,000 people on December 1 and aims to maintain that rate for the next month.
20He said that would bring the total number vaccinated to 10 million out of a population of 47 million people.
21But the rural Sekenani health center, about 270 kilometers southwest of Kenya's capital Nairobi, faces many difficulties.
22The center started offering COVID-19 vaccinations last month.
23Gerald Yiaile, one of the workers there, said the center keeps running out of vaccine doses and has only one dependable refrigerator.
24The refrigerator is also used for other vaccines.
25Workers need motorbikes to take vaccines to the community.
26Many people are too poor to pay for travel to a healthcare site, he said.
27Yiaile asked local officials for support for mobile vaccination and has not heard back.
28"We have been forced to ask the community to come to us instead of us going to them," he said.
29Cameroon in Central Africa had 244 vaccination centers when the country began its vaccination campaign in April.
30Now, there are 1,000 centers, said Cameroon's deputy head of the immunization program.
31But health workers and officials say that power failures and a lack of workers have threatened the usability of vaccines.
32Leonard Kouadio is head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) health section in Cameroon.
33He said the country has one refrigerated truck able to transport vaccines.
34He added that Cameroon needs at least 2,500 more refrigerator temperature-measuring devices and more trucks to increase distribution.
35Mali, one of Africa's largest and poorest countries, has two refrigerated trucks to carry vaccines long distances.
36Conflict in the northern part of the country led some health workers there to flee their posts,
37said UNICEF health program director in Mali, Abdoul Gadiry Fadiga.
38Mali expects to receive about 3.5 million doses between now and the end of March 2022.
39That is more than two times the number it has received since vaccinations began, Fadiga said.
40Mali has enough storage resources to deal with the number of vaccination doses until March.
41But Fadiga added that the country still needs 288 more refrigerators and freezers for the future.
42The World Bank has approved $9.8 billion for emergency health assistance in developing countries worldwide.
43But so far only $4.4 billion have been given out.
44Also, some donated vaccine treatments were sent very close to their expiration date.
45Countries in urgent need of vaccines, including South Sudan and Congo, had to return some donations as a result.
46Namibia warned last month it may have to destroy thousands of out-of-date vaccine treatments.
47South Africa asked Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer to delay delivery of vaccines because it had too many.
48One major difficulty in giving out vaccines is community distrust,
49sometimes caused by religious belief and mistrust of Western drug companies and their governments.
50A lack of education about COVID-19 vaccines enables rumors to spread.
51That can be the result of local worker and financial shortages, health workers across Africa told Reuters.
52Ethiopia is worried that vaccines might expire before they are used because of low demand.
53The country is trying to overcome vaccine hesitancy by reaching out to communities through local religious and civil society groups, said Muluken Yohannes.
54He is a senior adviser to Ethiopia's health ministry.
55"Currently, developed countries ... have satisfied their vaccine needs. As a result, they are pushing leftover vaccines ... to developing countries," he said.
56But he added that the best time to deliver these vaccines has already passed.
57I'm Jonathan Evans. And I'm Ashley Thompson.
1COVID-19 vaccine supplies are increasing in Africa. But administering the treatments to people across the continent is proving difficult. 2Health experts say successful vaccination campaigns in Africa are important to ending the pandemic worldwide. Africa's low vaccination rates increase the risk that the virus will change, like the new Omicron variant spreading in South Africa. 3The World Health Organization says 102 million people, or 7.5 percent of Africa's population, are fully vaccinated. 4African governments repeatedly appealed for increased vaccine supply this year. But production restrictions and storing of extra vaccines by richer countries severely limited supplies until recently. 5Shortages of money, medical workers and equipment were already causing problems for vaccination campaigns in some parts of Africa. Experts warn that the expected increase of vaccines in the coming weeks could uncover those weaknesses further. 6About 40 percent of vaccines that have arrived so far on the continent have not been used. That information comes from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a non-profit policy organization. 7The rate of vaccine use will have to increase by four times the current level to keep up with expected supply in coming months, the institute says. 8Vaccination rates differ widely across Africa. Some health systems in relatively small nations and in North Africa are having more success. 9Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa and with a population of about 600,000, has vaccinated nearly 65 percent of adults. 10In Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa, with a population of nearly 90 million, the number is 0.1 percent. 11Kenya has received nearly 5 million doses in recent weeks after months of slow supplies. 12Willis Akhwale is head of the government's COVID-19 vaccine response team. He said Kenya vaccinated a record 110,000 people on December 1 and aims to maintain that rate for the next month. He said that would bring the total number vaccinated to 10 million out of a population of 47 million people. 13But the rural Sekenani health center, about 270 kilometers southwest of Kenya's capital Nairobi, faces many difficulties. 14The center started offering COVID-19 vaccinations last month. Gerald Yiaile, one of the workers there, said the center keeps running out of vaccine doses and has only one dependable refrigerator. The refrigerator is also used for other vaccines. 15Workers need motorbikes to take vaccines to the community. Many people are too poor to pay for travel to a healthcare site, he said. 16Yiaile asked local officials for support for mobile vaccination and has not heard back. 17"We have been forced to ask the community to come to us instead of us going to them," he said. 18Cameroon in Central Africa had 244 vaccination centers when the country began its vaccination campaign in April. Now, there are 1,000 centers, said Cameroon's deputy head of the immunization program. 19But health workers and officials say that power failures and a lack of workers have threatened the usability of vaccines. 20Leonard Kouadio is head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) health section in Cameroon. He said the country has one refrigerated truck able to transport vaccines. He added that Cameroon needs at least 2,500 more refrigerator temperature-measuring devices and more trucks to increase distribution. 21Mali, one of Africa's largest and poorest countries, has two refrigerated trucks to carry vaccines long distances. Conflict in the northern part of the country led some health workers there to flee their posts, said UNICEF health program director in Mali, Abdoul Gadiry Fadiga. 22Mali expects to receive about 3.5 million doses between now and the end of March 2022. That is more than two times the number it has received since vaccinations began, Fadiga said. 23Mali has enough storage resources to deal with the number of vaccination doses until March. But Fadiga added that the country still needs 288 more refrigerators and freezers for the future. 24The World Bank has approved $9.8 billion for emergency health assistance in developing countries worldwide. But so far only $4.4 billion have been given out. 25Also, some donated vaccine treatments were sent very close to their expiration date. Countries in urgent need of vaccines, including South Sudan and Congo, had to return some donations as a result. Namibia warned last month it may have to destroy thousands of out-of-date vaccine treatments. 26South Africa asked Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer to delay delivery of vaccines because it had too many. 27One major difficulty in giving out vaccines is community distrust, sometimes caused by religious belief and mistrust of Western drug companies and their governments. A lack of education about COVID-19 vaccines enables rumors to spread. 28That can be the result of local worker and financial shortages, health workers across Africa told Reuters. 29Ethiopia is worried that vaccines might expire before they are used because of low demand. The country is trying to overcome vaccine hesitancy by reaching out to communities through local religious and civil society groups, said Muluken Yohannes. He is a senior adviser to Ethiopia's health ministry. 30"Currently, developed countries ... have satisfied their vaccine needs. As a result, they are pushing leftover vaccines ... to developing countries," he said. But he added that the best time to deliver these vaccines has already passed. 31I'm Jonathan Evans. And I'm Ashley Thompson. 32Maggie Fick and Edward Mcallister reported on this story for the Reuters news service. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 33_____________________________________________ 34Words in This Story 35refrigerator - n. a device or room that is used to keep things such as food and drinks cold 36mobile - adj. capable of moving or being moved about readily 37distribution - n. the act of giving or delivering something to people 38expiration - n. the fact of coming to an end or no longer being valid after a period of time; the fact of expiring 39rumors - n. information or a stories passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true