The World Health Organisation says the world could face a serious shortage of COVID vaccine syringes in 2022, with potentially dire consequences for the global effort to bring the pandemic under control.
The Director, WHO Africa region, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said this at an online press conference on Thursday.
Moeti added, “There is a looming threat that syringe supplies will dry up. UNICEF predicts for example a global shortage of around two billion of the auto-disposable syringes needed for COVID-19 vaccines and routine immunisation. Already some African countries like Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa have experienced delays in receiving vaccines and unless drastic measures are taken to boost syringe production, Africa faces a crisis.”
She said with just 5.7 per cent of the African population fully vaccinated, the continent remains vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease.
Moeti added that African nations will need 30 million doses of vaccines per week which is nearly double of the 17 million it currently receives.
The WHO director stated that it was working with manufacturers to boost the production of syringes.
