In the fight against Covid-19, up to 400 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be delivered to African Union countries. This was announced by the American pharmaceutical giant on Monday, March 29. Delivery of these vaccines by Johnson & Johnson is expected to begin as early as September, when the virus has killed more than 120,000 people on the continent and infected nearly 4.2 million people.
After months of negotiations between the African Union and the pharmaceutical group Johnson & Johnson, an agreement has finally been reached. 220 million doses of the serum will thus be distributed to the 55 member states of the African Union from September.
The countries concerned will then be able to order 180 million additional doses to be sent by 2022.
On the continent, we welcome this agreement. To get rid of the virus, the African continent must vaccinate “at least 60% of the population”, says John Nkengasong, head of the African Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.
Remember that this vaccine only requires one injection and that this should facilitate vaccination. According to the Cameroonian virologist, each dose should cost about 10 dollars.
Another advantage of this Johnson & Johnson vaccine is that it can be stored at refrigerator temperatures rather than freezing, which facilitates distribution.
The American giant has also entered into an agreement with the South African pharmaceutical group Aspen to produce and distribute this vaccine on the continent.
South Africa has already started its vaccination campaign with the same vaccine more than a month ago.
Read also: Covid-19: The African Union receives 270 million vaccines for the continent
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