The vaccine itself may take a year or longer to be approved. Cape Town-based company Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines has made only microlitres of it, reports the journal Nature, and clinical trials are expected to start only in November. But have no doubt about the significance of what South African scientists have achieved. It is a landmark win in a continent whose ability to fend for itself in the crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been practically written off. South Africa has proved that with a little bit of financial help from the rich nations and technological aid from the World Health Organization (WHO), it can do what the developed nations have done.
This is a huge morale-booster for Africa, which exemplifies the glaring inequity in access to vaccines, with close to 90 per cent of the population yet to get even a single dose. This is because vaccine production is, for the most part, concentrated in a few rich countries, and supplies have not gone to low-income nations, barring a scatter of doses as donations.
Esta historia es de la edición March 01, 2022 de Down To Earth.
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Esta historia es de la edición March 01, 2022 de Down To Earth.
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