JOHANNESBURG, Jan 13 (Reuters) – The African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team has secured a provisional 270 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for African countries, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday.

“As a result of our own efforts we have so far secured a commitment of a provisional amount of 270 million vaccines from three major suppliers: Pfizer, AstraZeneca (through Serum Institute of India) and Johnson & Johnson,” Ramaphosa, who is the African Union chair, said in a statement.

Ramaphosa said all 270 million doses would be made available this year, with at least 50 million available “for the crucial period of April to June 2021”. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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