The first trial in Africa of a Covid-19 vaccine began Wednesday (24.06) in Soweto, South Africa. It was developed by the University of Oxford and has already been tested on 4,000 people.
Fifty volunteers have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in Soweto. It is an inactivated vaccine that should allow the vaccinated person to develop antibodies and resist inflammation caused by the coronavirus. Among the volunteers is this man, very happy to participate in this first test in Africa. “I am very pleased to contribute to this trial. We are all affected by the Covid-19.”
A total of 2,000 South Africans will participate in the trial, including 50 people living with HIV. The vaccine will also be tested on 4,000 people in the United States.
Virologist Shabir Madhi of the University of Wits in Johannesburg, who runs the trial, explains why it is important to test it on the continent.
“The scientific evidence will be used by the World Health Organization in its recommendations on the use of this vaccine, especially in developing countries. It is therefore important to have information from the African continent if we want that Africans benefit from the Covid-19 vaccine. ”
The WHO warning
However, the World Health Organization declared that Africa should not be a field of experimentation after the controversy caused by two French professors who had declared in April wanting to test a vaccine in Africa.
But for South African AIDS specialist Helen Rees, the continent must instead participate in the development of vaccines because otherwise the rich countries will give them as a priority to their own patients.
“South African Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize has already started a discussion, on behalf of the African Union, on Africa’s access to vaccines. And he fully supports the participation of South Africa to this essay. ”
The coronavirus pandemic is exploding in South Africa, the most affected country on the continent with 106,000 infections and more than 2,000 deaths. But according to Professor Shabir Madhi, the vaccine will not be ready until September 2021.
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