The Plan To Turn Africa into a Breeder of New COVID-19 Mutant Strains
June 14, 2021 (EIRNS)—The Africa Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 47 of their 54 countries will fail to meet the most minimal of COVID-19 vaccination levels—10% of the population by the end of September. The original plan was to vaccinate 20%—the health workers, the elderly and the health-compromised—by June 30, but that plan was pushed back recently, at the World Health Assembly, to half of that by Sept. 30. Only 32 million doses have been applied of the 500 million dose plan. To get to half of that, 218 million more doses are needed.
For the last four weeks, official new cases have been on the rise, representing the beginning of a third wave in Africa. Egypt, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia have a bulk (72%) of the new cases. Zambia more than doubled their daily new cases last week, going from 700 to 1,600. South Africa has had the most cases and the most deaths (57,000), and only 183,000 jabs for 58.5 million people. (That’s proportional to about 1 million jabs for Americans rather than the 300 million-plus actual). When COVID took off in India in the second week of April, South Africa had about 800 official new cases/day. In the last two weeks, up through yesterday, the 7-day average has gone from 3,400 to 7,200 per day. Neighboring Lesotho, which has been averaging about 1-3 new cases/day for over 3 months, jumped from June 12 to June 13 from 6 to 72 new cases.
WHO’s Africa Regional Director Dr. Matshidiso Moeti summed up: “As we close in on 5 million cases and a third wave in Africa looms, many of our most vulnerable people remain dangerously exposed to COVID-19. Vaccines have been proven to prevent cases and deaths, so countries that can, must urgently share COVID-19 vaccines. It’s do or die on dose sharing for Africa.”
Pfizer announced in May that it would provide upwards of 2 billion vaccine doses for low- and middle-income countries, with “at cost” pricing for the low-income countries. Last week, Biden took them up on 500 million of the 700 million doses they offered to America for this purpose, of which 200 million are to be delivered to COVAX between August and December. Africa’s share in August and September should amount to around 20% of the 218 million more doses needed for half of their minimum. And it will do nothing in June and July for the threatening third wave.
WHO’s Director Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been clear that Western countries—particularly America—are putting themselves in jeopardy by leaving the 20% most infectable people in the world unprotected, choosing to vaccinate their least-endangered groups, such as children. However, the simple reality is that, even after vaccinating every child in the United States that will accept the vaccine, there is presently a glut of almost 100 million unused, and never-to-be used vaccines, with another 200 million scheduled for delivery to the government by Pfizer and Moderna in June and July. Of these 300 million doses, Biden plans to ship out 80 million. (This separately from Biden’s “500 million” participation in the Pfizer plan.)
That arithmetic says there are 220 doses that can be sent to Africa throughout June and July. To not do so is a plan to turn Africa into a breeder of new COVID-19 mutant strains.
