South Africa will stop sending J&J vaccines to Europe, according to the UA envoy

The agreement was reversed in part due to interventions by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron, Masiyiwa told a news conference. on Thursday.

Masiyiwa said von der Leyen of Europe also pledged to send J&J vaccines, which were packaged by J&J’s South African company Aspen, to African nations.

“All vaccines produced in Aspen will remain in Africa and will be distributed in Africa,” Masiyiwa said.

“All vaccines at this facility are now under the control of the South African government, which has promised that these vaccines will go to Africa.”

The submission marked by criticism

The planned shipment of the J&J vaccine to Europe had sparked outrage among health activists in Africa, who criticized the deal, citing slow vaccination rates on the continent compared to Europe which had a much higher uptake. of Covid vaccines.

Only 3 per cent of the more than 1 billion people in Africa have been completely vaccinated against Covid-19, a stark contrast to Europe, where 57 per cent have received a full course of vaccination, according to the World Health Organization.

Many African countries are unlikely to be able to vaccinate up to 10 percent of their most vulnerable populations in September, the WHO said.

The African Union has bought 400 million doses of the J&J vaccine, which Masiyiwa said will be distributed across the continent by September 2022.

Johnson & Johnson vaccine is highly valued in Africa for its single-dose vaccination style and storage and transportation flexibility.

“In addition, Europeans pledged to give us 200 million doses before the end of December,” Masiyiwa added.