John Nkengasong, director of Africa-CDC [Photo: Aljazeera]
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer says it is set to supply the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Agency (CDC) at the African Union (AU), with its coronavirus pills.
“The memorandum of understanding is with the legal office at the African Union”, said CDC director John Nkengasong.
The drug – Paxlovid – is intended for use soon after symptoms develop in people at high risk of severe disease.
Nkengasong championed the Covid pills while expressing concern about some African countries where vaccination rates are still very low, saying people should not be complacent as the virus still posed a grave risk.
“These molecules have a very unique role to play in a campaign to fight against this terrible pandemic,” he said.
He says African countries should be using a combination of public health measures, vaccines, testing and other treatments in their efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic this year.
This comes after Kenya signed a deal with Moderna to build its first mRNA facility.
Senegal and Rwanda have also signed an agreement with BioNTech for the construction of its first start-to-finish factories to make mRNA vaccines in Africa.
A newsmaker, reporter and anchor at Pearl Radio, Ndalilah Sharon is witty and savvy.
She is also a firm believer of Christ.