<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-465807838-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412723" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-465807838-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-465807838-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-465807838-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-465807838-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-465807838-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-465807838-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>NEW YORK, NY &#8211; MARCH 10: Entrepreneur Noubar Afeyan speaks onstage at the 100 LIVES initiative, to express gratitude to the individuals and institutions whose heroic actions saved Armenian lives during the Genocide 100 years ago, on March 10, 2015 in New York City. The program, led by Ruben Vardanyan, Vartan Gregorian and Noubar Afeyan, establishes the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity as a means to empower modern-day saviors. During the event, the group reiterated the need to combat genocide and advance human rights efforts. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for 100 LIVES)</figcaption></figure>



ROME, Oct 12 (Reuters) &#8211; Rwanda, Senegal and&nbsp;South&nbsp;Africa could be potential locations for Moderna&#8217;s planned vaccine factory in Africa, the U.S. drugmaker&#8217;s co-founder and chairman said as it steps up its search for a site on the continent.



Moderna said last week it would build a plant in Africa to produce up to 500 million doses of vaccines a year, including its COVID-19 shot, as pressure grows on pharmaceutical companies to manufacture drugs in lower-income countries.



Noubar Afeyan, a biochemical engineer of Armenian origin who co-founded Moderna in 2010, said in an interview with Reuters late on Monday that the selection process would likely intensify now it has announced its Africa plans.



Health experts have said Rwanda, Senegal and&nbsp;South&nbsp;Africa could be candidates because they either have existing vaccine expertise and production, or have expressed an interest in developing such an industry.



Asked by Reuters whether those three countries were on Moderna&#8217;s list of potential candidates, Afeyan said: &#8220;I can confirm that, yes.&#8221;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/moderna-plans-african-mrna-vaccine-factory-as-pressure-grows/">Moderna plans African mRNA vaccine factory as pressure grows</a></h3>



He declined to give further details about which countries Moderna has been talking to as the selection process is ongoing.



&#8220;What matters to us most is the conditions under which we could operate. That is, the healthcare system &#8230; the presence of trained folks who can actually at least help us on some of the clinical testing that needs to be done,&#8221; said Afeyan.



&#8220;We know several countries that already have good healthcare systems and quite a lot of interest in working on this, so we will find partners,&#8221; he said.



South&nbsp;Africa has a medical research capacity and a domestic pharmaceutical industry, Senegal&#8217;s Pasteur Institute produces yellow fever vaccines and Rwanda has expressed interest in making vaccines and drugs.



Some countries in North Africa, such as Tunisia and Egypt, also have pharmaceutical industries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BOOSTER DECISION</h2>



In August, German drugmaker BionTech said it was considering building malaria and tuberculosis vaccine production sites in Rwanda and Senegal.



Public health and government officials in Africa welcomed the news last week, but said the plant won&#8217;t address the continent&#8217;s urgent need for COVID-19 vaccines now.



Under 5% of&nbsp;Africans have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the continent&#8217;s top public health official, John Nkengasong, noted after Moderna&#8217;s announcement.



Afeyan said the overall goal was to have a plant that could make multiple vaccines so that &#8220;in the future, if there is a pandemic, and there will certainly be, then we can very rapidly convert it and provide the vaccine security on the continent&#8221;.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://cnbcafrica.com/2021/who-backed-vaccine-hub-for-africa-to-copy-moderna-covid-19-shot/">WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa to copy Moderna COVID-19 shot</a></h3>



Afeyan&#8217;s comments come as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews the booster dose of Moderna&#8217;s vaccine for adults, as well as its shot for teenagers.



A panel of independent FDA advisers will meet on Thursday to discuss the booster dose.



He said Moderna&#8217;s request for emergency authorisation for its teen shot filed in June has not been delayed, but rather boosters were considered a more urgent issue at the moment.



&#8220;I think they are sequencing decisions and evaluations and they are considering the booster decision more urgent,&#8221; he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-patents-and-donations">PATENTS AND DONATIONS</h2>



Moderna&#8217;s plans in Africa comes as debate rages between drugmakers and governments about waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and give more developing countries access to shots.



Politico reported last week that the U.S administration has urged Moderna to increase its vaccine production to boost donations to countries in need but the company is hesitating for fear it would be paid less for the shots it contributes.



&#8220;Our interests with the White House are common and that is to get as many&#8230; vaccines as possible next year to low-income countries as we have this year. In that regard, we&#8217;re similar,&#8221; Afeyan said, when asked about the Politico report.



&#8220;I only know what the discussions with the White House have been, and I think they&#8217;ve been very constructive,&#8221; he said.



Moderna said on Friday it aimed to deliver 1 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to low-income countries in 2022, in addition to the doses it has already committed to the global vaccine-sharing programme COVAX.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"> Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/nordic-countries-are-restricting-the-use-of-modernas-covid-vaccine-heres-why/">Nordic countries are restricting the use of Moderna’s Covid vaccine. Here’s why</a></h3>



These vaccines will be part of the 2 to 3 billion doses the company has forecast to produce next year.



Afeyan said the notion that Moderna was not ramping up production to meet the requirements of countries in need was inconsistent with simple arithmetic.



&#8220;OECD countries have a need for a billion doses. The only way the other two billion doses could be used is to be used in low- to middle-income countries,&#8221; he said.



The focus now was on the mechanism for doing that, whether through COVAX or direct bilateral agreements, for example with the&nbsp;African&nbsp;Union or other constituencies.



&#8220;That&#8217;s&#8230; yet to be worked out. But we have every commitment,&#8221; Afeyan said.



(Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni and Emily Roe; Editing by Josephine Mason and David Clarke)

100 LIVES Event: George Clooney Joins Humanitarian Leaders to Launch Global Prize in NYC

Moderna’s search for African site set to intensify – chairman

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106881485-16207651482021-05-06t180801z_207210362_rc2ian9odblc_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-latam-usa.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412672" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106881485-16207651482021-05-06t180801z_207210362_rc2ian9odblc_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-latam-usa.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106881485-16207651482021-05-06t180801z_207210362_rc2ian9odblc_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-latam-usa-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106881485-16207651482021-05-06t180801z_207210362_rc2ian9odblc_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-latam-usa-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A healthcare worker holds syringes with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a vaccination centre, in El Paso, Texas, May 6, 2021. Jose Luis Gonzalez | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Finland, Denmark and Sweden are limiting the use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine in young people over concerns around rare cardiovascular side effects.



Finland’s national health authority, THL, announced Thursday that it would pause the use of Moderna’s Covid vaccine in young men. All males aged 30 or younger would be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine instead, THL said.



The decision by THL followed announcements from its Swedish and Danish counterparts on Wednesday that both would be restricting the use of the Moderna vaccine in similar demographics.



In Sweden, the use of the vaccine will be stopped in people born in 1991 or later, while Denmark is pausing the Moderna shot in everyone under the age of 18.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-the-issue"><a></a>What’s the issue?</h2>



The decision the three countries have made to limit the use of the Moderna vaccine centers around concerns it could be linked to cases of myocarditis, a condition where the heart muscle becomes inflamed. All three health authorities cited an unpublished Nordic study which had been sent to the European Medicines Agency for assessment, according to Reuters.



In most cases, people with myocarditis recover without any complications, but in some rare and more severe cases, there can be damage to the heart.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/moderna-plans-african-mrna-vaccine-factory-as-pressure-grows/">Moderna plans African mRNA vaccine factory as pressure grows</a></h3>



Myocarditis was most likely to develop in younger men and boys after receiving their second dose of the Moderna vaccine, according to Finland’s THL.



Speaking at a coronavirus news briefing Thursday, Mika Salminen, director of health security at THL, said the possible risks posed by the Moderna vaccine seemed to be higher for younger male individuals.



“THL’s instructions are that the Moderna vaccine should not be given to men and boys under the age of 30 for the time being, but that the Pfizer vaccine should be used instead,” he said, according to local media reports.



Finland offers Covid-19 vaccinations to everyone over the age of 12. Of the population eligible for vaccination in Finland, 84% have received their first dose and 72% have received two doses.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Sweden’s health body, meanwhile, said data suggested that instances of myocarditis and pericarditis — an inflammation of the outer lining of the heart — were higher among young people who had been immunized, Reuters reported Wednesday.



A spokesperson for Moderna was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. The company told Reuters that these are “typically mild cases and individuals tend to recover within a short time following standard treatment and rest.”



“The risk of myocarditis is substantially increased for those who contract COVID-19, and vaccination is the best way to protect against this,” the spokesperson added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Benefits vs. risks</h2>



Despite the risks associated with the immunization for young men, THL’s Salminen said Thursday that it was still important for everyone who was eligible to receive two doses of a vaccine.



According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the known risks of Covid-19 and its potentially severe complications far outweigh the possibility of having a rare adverse reaction to a vaccination. That includes the potential risk of developing myocarditis.



In August, a U.S. study found that males between the ages of 12 and 17 — the demographic most likely to develop myocarditis — were six times more likely to suffer heart inflammation from being infected with Covid-19 than from being vaccinated against the virus.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/who-backed-vaccine-hub-for-africa-to-copy-moderna-covid-19-shot/">WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa to copy Moderna COVID-19 shot</a></h3>



After a second dose of a vaccine, there were 67 cases of myocarditis per million males in that age group. After contracting the coronavirus, the rate of myocarditis in that age group shot up to 450 cases per million, the study found.



Meanwhile, research from Imperial College London in March found that half of patients hospitalized with severe cases of Covid were left with damage to their hearts.



According to the U.S. CDC, most cases of post-vaccination myocarditis occur after a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine in male adolescents and young adults. Symptoms — which include pain or tightness in the chest, shortness of breath and heart palpitations&nbsp;— usually occur within days of vaccination.

106881485-16207651482021-05-06t180801z_207210362_rc2ian9odblc_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-latam-usa

Nordic countries are restricting the use of Moderna’s Covid vaccine. Here’s why

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412157" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A healthcare worker fills a syringe with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Giorgio Companies site in Blandon, PA where the CATE Mobile Vaccination Unit was onsite to administer Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines to workers Wednesday morning April 14, 2021.
Ben Hasty | MediaNews Group | Reading Eagle via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) &#8211; Moderna plans to invest about $500 million to build a factory in Africa to make up to 500 million doses of mRNA vaccines each year, including its COVID-19 shot, as pressure grows on the pharmaceutical industry to manufacture drugs on the continent.



Moderna&#8217;s proposed site will also include bottling and packaging capabilities. The company said it would begin the process of deciding the country and location soon.



&#8220;We expect to manufacture our COVID-19 vaccine as well as additional products within our mRNA vaccine portfolio at this facility,&#8221; CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement on Thursday.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-who-backed-vaccine-hub-for-africa-to-copy-moderna-covid-19-shot">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/who-backed-vaccine-hub-for-africa-to-copy-moderna-covid-19-shot/">WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa to copy Moderna COVID-19 shot</a> </h3>



The move comes as a debate rages between drugmakers and governments about waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and give more developing countries access to shots after rich nations bought up most of this year&#8217;s supply.



The United States said it would support it, but the idea has faced opposition from pharmaceutical firms, which argue they need to oversee any technology transfer due to the complexity of the manufacturing process.



Pfizer and its partner BioNTech struck a deal in July for South Africa&#8217;s Biovac to help make around 100 million doses a year of their COVID-19 vaccine for Africa.



But Moderna is the first company to plan its own factory on the continent. It has supplied more than 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine so far.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/moderna-says-its-covid-vaccine-is-100-effective-in-teens-plans-to-seek-fda-ok-in-early-june/">Moderna says its Covid vaccine is 100% effective in teens, plans to seek FDA OK in early June</a></h3>



The company wants to &#8220;extend Moderna&#8217;s societal impact through the investment in a state-of-the-art mRNA manufacturing facility&#8221;, Bancel said.



The World Health Organization has been trying to persuade Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech to join forces with its plan for an African tech transfer hub.



A senior WHO official told Reuters last month there hadn&#8217;t been much progress in talks with Moderna.



On Wednesday, Sweden and Denmark paused the use of Moderna&#8217;s vaccine for younger age groups after reports of possible rare cardiovascular side effects and citing data from an unpublished Nordic study. The shares closed down 9% in New York on Wednesday. 



(Reporting by Josephine Mason; editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)

106868516-1618439730880-mod

Moderna plans African mRNA vaccine factory as pressure grows

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106913632-16267943792021-06-25t184217z_2101887965_rc2u7o9yru9z_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-who.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-411829" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106913632-16267943792021-06-25t184217z_2101887965_rc2u7o9yru9z_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-who.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106913632-16267943792021-06-25t184217z_2101887965_rc2u7o9yru9z_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-who-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106913632-16267943792021-06-25t184217z_2101887965_rc2u7o9yru9z_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-who-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a bilateral meeting with Swiss Interior and Health Minister Alain Berset on the sidelines of the opening of the 74th World Health Assembly at the WHO headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland May 24, 2021.
Laurent Gillieron | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Oct 6 (Reuters) &#8211; The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday the only approved vaccine against malaria should be widely given to African children, potentially marking a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually.



The WHO recommendation is for RTS,S &#8211; or Mosquirix &#8211; a vaccine developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.



Since 2019, 2.3 million doses of Mosquirix have been administered to infants in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi in a large-scale pilot programme coordinated by the WHO. The majority of those whom the disease kills are under age five.



That programme followed a decade of clinical trials in seven African countries.



&#8220;This is a vaccine developed in Africa by African scientists and we&#8217;re very proud,&#8221; said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.



&#8220;Using this vaccine in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year,&#8221; he added, referring to anti-malaria measures like bed nets and spraying to kill mosquitoes that transmit the disease.



One of the ingredients in the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/chilean-tree-holds-hope-new-vaccines-if-supplies-last-2021-10-06">Mosquirix vaccine is sourced from a rare evergreen native to Chile called a Quillay tree. </a>Reuters reported on Wednesday that the long-term supply of these trees is in question.



Malaria is far more deadly than COVID-19 in Africa. It killed 386,000 Africans in 2019, according to a WHO estimate, compared with 212,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the past 18 months.



The WHO says 94% of malaria cases and deaths occur in Africa, a continent of 1.3 billion people. The preventable disease is caused by parasites transmitted to people by the bites of infected mosquitoes. Symptoms include fever, vomiting and fatigue.



The vaccine&#8217;s effectiveness at preventing severe cases of malaria in children is only around 30%, but it is the only approved vaccine. The European Union&#8217;s drugs regulator approved it in 2015, saying its benefits outweighed the risks.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/who-agrees-to-study-major-reforms-meet-again-on-pandemic-treaty/">WHO agrees to study major reforms, meet again on pandemic treaty</a></h3>



&#8220;This is how we fight malaria, layering imperfect tools on top of each other,&#8221; said Ashley Birkett, who leads global malaria vaccine work at Path, a non-profit global health organization that has funded development of the vaccine with GSK and the three-country pilot.



Another vaccine against malaria called R21/Matrix-M that was developed by scientists at Britain&#8217;s University of Oxford showed up to 77% efficacy in a year-long study involving 450 children in Burkina Faso, researchers said in April. It is still in the trial stages.



GSK welcomed the WHO recommendation.



&#8220;This long-awaited landmark decision can reinvigorate the fight against malaria in the region at a time when progress on malaria control has stalled,&#8221; Thomas Breuer, GSK&#8217;s chief global health officer, said in a statement.



GSK shares held steady in New York following the announcement, which came after the close of trading in its London-listed shares.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-funding-challenge">FUNDING CHALLENGE</h2>



The recommendation was jointly announced in Geneva by the WHO&#8217;s top advisory bodies for malaria and immunization, the Malaria Policy Advisory Group and the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.



Experts said the challenge now would be mobilising financing for production and distribution of the vaccine to some of the world&#8217;s poorest countries.



GSK has to date committed to produce 15 million doses of Mosquirix annually up to 2028 at a cost of production plus no more than 5% margin.



A global market study led by the WHO this year projected demand for a malaria vaccine would be 50 to 110 million doses per year by 2030 if it is deployed in areas with moderate to high transmission of the disease.



The GAVI vaccine alliance, a global public-private partnership, will consider in December whether and how to finance the vaccination programme.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/high-blood-pressure-driven-by-obesity-poverty-who-study/">High blood pressure driven by obesity, poverty – WHO study</a></h3>



&#8220;As we&#8217;ve seen from the COVID vaccine, where there is political will, there is funding available to ensure that vaccines are scaled to the level they are needed,&#8221; said Kate O’Brien, director of WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.



A source familiar with planning for the vaccine’s development said the price per dose was not yet set, but would be confirmed after GAVI&#8217;s funding decision and once there is a clear sense of demand.



The WHO&#8217;s decision had personal meaning for Dr. Rose Jalong&#8217;o, a vaccinology specialist at the Kenyan health ministry.



&#8220;I suffered from malaria as a child, and during my internship, and during my clinical years I attended to children in hospital because of severe malaria who needed blood transfusion and unfortunately some of them died,&#8221; she said.



&#8220;It&#8217;s a disease I have grown up with and, seeing all this in my lifetime, it&#8217;s an exciting time.&#8221;



(Reporting by Maggie Fick in Nairobi and Aaron Ross in Dakar; Editing by Katharine Houreld, Mark Potter and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

106913632-16267943792021-06-25t184217z_2101887965_rc2u7o9yru9z_rtrmadp_0_health-coronavirus-who

WHO backs malaria vaccine rollout for Africa’s children in major breakthrough

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106358803-1580214979670gettyimages-1195327759.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412559" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106358803-1580214979670gettyimages-1195327759.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106358803-1580214979670gettyimages-1195327759-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106358803-1580214979670gettyimages-1195327759-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the World Health Organization’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, speaks during a press conference following an emergency committee meeting over the new coronavirus in Geneva on Jan. 22, 2020. Pierre Albouy | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



A World Health Organization official said Tuesday that unvaccinated people are “dying unnecessarily” from Covid-19, citing global vaccine inequities as one of the main obstacles to immunizing more people against the virus.



Some 56 countries fell short of the WHO’s goal of getting 10% of their populations immunized against the virus by the end of September, officials said in a Q&amp;A livestreamed on its social media channels. Increasing access to vaccines would help reduce Covid deaths and hospitalizations as the world approaches 5 million coronavirus fatalities, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for Covid-19.



“Not meeting that target is heartbreaking; it’s more than heartbreaking, it’s more than frustrating,” she said. “It’s beyond words, I have to say, because if we had used the more than 6 billion vaccines that have been administered today differently, we would be in a very, very different situation right now.”



She said the data on Covid vaccines shows very clearly that they are safe and effective at preventing hospitalizations and death.



“They just need to be accessible” to more people, she said. “The result of this are people who are dying unnecessarily.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-who-officials-try-to-figure-out-why-delta-is-so-much-more-dangerous-than-earlier-covid-strains">Read more: <a href="ore: WHO officials try to figure out why delta is so much more dangerous than earlier Covid strains">WHO officials try to figure out why delta is so much more dangerous than earlier Covid strains</a></h3>



Van Kerkhove’s comments echo those of U.S. health officials who have said that almost all Covid deaths recorded nationwide have been among unvaccinated patients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Sept. 10 that unvaccinated people are 11 times likelier to die from Covid, 10 times likelier to require hospitalization for their symptoms and roughly 4.5 times likelier to contract the virus overall.



But with inoculations stalling in poorer nations and hospitals struggling to keep up with the more transmissible delta variant, Van Kerkhove said vaccines should be prioritized for those most vulnerable, and she called for the continued use of masks and social distancing to mitigate against Covid outbreaks.



“You can’t have it both ways, where you have everything opened up and you have everybody living and pretending that this is over while you have your ICUs full,” Van Kerkhove said. &nbsp;



The WHO opposes the distribution of Covid booster doses, urging wealthier countries to distribute their supplies to developing nations in hopes of immunizing at least 40% of every country by the end of the year. The disparities in distribution are particularly evident in Africa, where the organization reported on Sept. 30 that just 15 of the continent’s 54 nations have vaccinated 10% or more of their population.



More than two dozen countries on the continent have fully immunized 2% or less of their populations, while two African nations have yet to receive any vaccines, the agency said.

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WHO says unvaccinated people are ‘dying unnecessarily’ from Covid as hospitals fill

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106951569-1633354116012-gettyimages-1228009637-NZ_AUCKLAND_LOCKDOWN.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412526" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106951569-1633354116012-gettyimages-1228009637-NZ_AUCKLAND_LOCKDOWN.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106951569-1633354116012-gettyimages-1228009637-NZ_AUCKLAND_LOCKDOWN-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106951569-1633354116012-gettyimages-1228009637-NZ_AUCKLAND_LOCKDOWN-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Police officers wearing protective masks talk to motorists at a checkpoint in the Bombay area of Auckland, New Zealand, on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — New Zealand has become the latest country to abandon a zero Covid strategy, with the virus proving much harder to stop now the highly infectious delta variant is dominant.



After adopting one of the world’s strictest approaches to trying to control the spread of Covid-19, New Zealand announced on Monday that the country would no longer pursue an approach that would attempt to eliminate all Covid cases.



This zero Covid strategy, also employed by the likes of China and Taiwan, involves strict lockdowns (even after the detection of just one or a handful of cases) and extensive testing, heavily controlled or closed borders, as well as robust contact tracing systems and quarantine mandates.



The move comes after a lockdown in the city of Auckland failed to stop the virus in the face of the more virulent delta variant. It is estimated to be 60% more transmissible than the alpha variant originally discovered in late 2020, and which itself usurped a previous, less infectious version of the virus.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/why-are-covid-cases-so-high-when-millions-are-fully-vaccinated-blame-the-delta-variant-experts-say/">Why are Covid cases so high when millions are fully vaccinated? Blame the delta variant, experts say</a></h3>



New Zealand has been notoriously strict in its tackling of Covid; Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the entire country under a strict lockdown in August after a single suspected case of Covid caused by the delta variant — at that time the country’s first coronavirus case in six months — was reported in Auckland.



But on Monday, Ardern said that the city’s lockdown would be eased gradually and that the country’s strategy towards tackling Covid was changing.



“For this outbreak, it’s clear that long periods of heavy restrictions has not got us to zero cases,” Ardern said during a press conference.  “But that is OK. Elimination was important because we didn’t have vaccines. Now we do, so we can begin to change the way we do things.”



Ardern said it was important that the country maintain strict controls, however, saying it still needed to “contain and control the virus as much as possible, while we make our transition from a place where we only use heavy restrictions to a place where we use vaccines in everyday public health measures.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-it-s-not-working"><a></a>Why it’s not working</h2>



It’s the first time that New Zealand has publicly signaled a shift away from a zero Covid strategy, coming after its neighbor Australia also abandoned its zero tolerance, or “Covid zero” approach in early September, saying it had shifted to a position of “learning to live with” the virus.



Similarly to in New Zealand, Australia’s decision to abandon the strategy came after a strict lockdown in Melbourne railed to quell an outbreak there.&nbsp;



At the time, Victoria state’s Premier Daniel Andrews noted that “we have thrown everything at this, but it is now clear to us that we are not going to drive these numbers down, they are instead going to increase.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106952211-1633418585660-gettyimages-1278192979-0501_2020100315504296.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412529" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106952211-1633418585660-gettyimages-1278192979-0501_2020100315504296.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106952211-1633418585660-gettyimages-1278192979-0501_2020100315504296-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/106952211-1633418585660-gettyimages-1278192979-0501_2020100315504296-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Victoria Police patrol at St Kilda beach on October 03, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Coronavirus restrictions eased slightly across Melbourne from Monday 28 September as Victoria enters into its second step in the government’s roadmap to reopening. Darrian Traynor | Getty Images News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Experts are not surprised by the shift in strategy, noting that the spread of the delta variant makes such approaches futile.



“It’s no surprise that New Zealand has abandoned its ‘zero covid’ strategy – the highly transmissible delta variant has changed the game and means that an elimination strategy is no longer viable,” Lawrence Young, a virologist and&nbsp;professor&nbsp;of molecular oncology at the University of Warwick, told CNBC Monday.



“That doesn’t mean that NZ’s and Australia’s robust approach to managing the pandemic – strict border restrictions, quarantine measures and strong contact tracing – hasn’t been effective but continued heavy restrictions are damaging to individuals and society,” he said.



Zero tolerance policies will become harder as the rest of the world opens up, he added, but stressed that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t remain vigilant. “We need to stop the virus spreading and mutating by doing everything we can to support the global roll out of vaccines.”



Trying to completely suppress the spread of Covid-19 has often been questioned by experts, but in countries where vaccination rollouts have been slower, lockdowns have served to slow, if not eradicate, the spread of the virus.



Defending the Auckland lockdown Monday, Ardern said pursuing a zero Covid strategy had been the “right choice and the only choice” for Auckland while vaccination rates had remained low, with only 25% of Aucklanders fully vaccinated at the time.



Now, seven weeks later, she said that 52% of Aucklanders were fully vaccinated, with 84% having had one dose. Clinical data shows that full vaccination against Covid-19 is highly effective at protecting people against severe Covid infection, hospitalization and death.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Zero Covid adherents</h2>



Zero Covid strategies remain in place in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, however, with none of them showing signs of relinquishing it just yet. Other Asian economies that have adopted similar approaches include Macau, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.



The data shows that this strategy has helped keep cases and deaths in the region much lower than in Europe and the U.S. The latter has seen the highest death toll from Covid in the world, with over 703,000 deaths.



On Monday, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center said there had been zero new local cases of Covid-19 and five imported ones, marking the fourth consecutive day without a local infection.



On the same day, Hong Kong also recorded four new cases (all imported, continuing a trend seen in recent weeks), while China reported 26 new cases of confirmed infections on Monday, again, with all of them cited as imported cases, although the accuracy of China’s data during the pandemic has been questioned.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/pfizer-says-its-covid-vaccine-is-safe-and-generates-robust-immune-response-in-kids-ages-5-to-11/">Pfizer says its Covid vaccine is safe and generates robust immune response in kids ages 5 to 11</a></h3>



Experts in the region say there’s good reason for not giving up on zero Covid strategies yet, particularly when vaccination rates are patchy.



David Hui, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who leads an expert committee that advises the government, told CNBC that Hong Kong won’t reconsider its zero-tolerance Covid-19 strategy to one of “living with the virus” until the vaccination rate is higher.



“In contrast to Singapore, [the] U.K. and other Western countries, the overall vaccination rate in Hong Kong is too low (67% with one dose and 62.9% of population fully vaccinated with two doses) to adopt living with the virus. The vaccination rate among those aged 70 years or under is around 30%,” he said.



“If we live with the virus, many elderly unvaccinated subjects will develop severe disease and our healthcare system will collapse.”



The Economist Intelligence Unit noted in a report in July that it expects zero‑Covid markets in Asia to retain tight border controls throughout 2021, only loosening from early 2022 when mass vaccination is achieved.



“Deaths among ‘zero Covid’ countries in Asia have been much lower than global peers and the economic impact less severe, contributing to a much shallower recession in Asia in 2020 than in other regions,” it said, noting that, “if the rest of the world had adopted a similar approach, zero‑Covid might prove a sustainable strategy. However, it now risks becoming one that will undercut rather than support economic activity as the global economy reopens.”



Still, the EIU noted, the policies ultimately adopted by zero‑Covid countries will still be more conservative than those in force in North America and Europe. “The approach is likely to target “low Covid”, with the approaches currently taken by Japan and South Korea serving as potential models,” it said.



The EUI believed China and Taiwan were the economies in the strongest position to maintain a zero‑Covid strategy, owing to their low reliance on cross border flows of capital and talent.

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Zero Covid strategies are being abandoned after the delta variant ‘changed the game’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="562" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/472OTSDNRBJA5GOZDMFVS2NF4Q-820x562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-409687" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/472OTSDNRBJA5GOZDMFVS2NF4Q-820x562.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/472OTSDNRBJA5GOZDMFVS2NF4Q-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/472OTSDNRBJA5GOZDMFVS2NF4Q-117x80.jpg 117w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/472OTSDNRBJA5GOZDMFVS2NF4Q-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/472OTSDNRBJA5GOZDMFVS2NF4Q.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>
Funeral workers wearing personal protective equipment carry a casket during the burial of a COVID-19 victim, amid a nationwide coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown, at the Olifantsvlei cemetery, south-west of Joburg, South Africa January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



Oct 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Worldwide deaths related to COVID-19 surpassed 5 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, with unvaccinated people particularly exposed to the virulent Delta strain.



The variant has exposed the wide disparities in vaccination rates between rich and poor nations, and the upshot of vaccine hesitancy in some western nations.



More than half of all global deaths reported on a seven-day average were in the United States, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and India.



While it took just over a year for the COVID-19 <a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi">death toll to hit 2.5 million</a>, the next 2.5 million deaths were recorded in just under eight months, according to a Reuters analysis.



An average of 8,000 deaths were reported daily across the world over the last week, or around five deaths every minute. However, the global death rate has been slowing in recent weeks.



There has been increasing focus in recent days on getting vaccines to poorer nations, where many people are yet to receive a first dose, even as their richer counterparts have begun giving booster shots.



More than half of the world has yet to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations">according to Our World in Data.</a>



The World Health Organization this week said its COVAX distribution programme would, for the first time, distribute shots only to countries with the lowest levels of coverage.



Co-led by the WHO, COVAX has since January largely allocated doses proportionally among its 140-plus beneficiary states according to population size.



&#8220;For the October supply we designed a different methodology, only covering participants with low sources of supply,&#8221; Mariangela Simao, WHO Assistant Director General for Access to Vaccines, said in a recording of a conference presentation last week posted on the WHO&#8217;s website.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-pfizer-says-its-covid-vaccine-is-safe-and-generates-robust-immune-response-in-kids-ages-5-to-11">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/pfizer-says-its-covid-vaccine-is-safe-and-generates-robust-immune-response-in-kids-ages-5-to-11/">Pfizer says its Covid vaccine is safe and generates robust immune response in kids ages 5 to 11</a></h3>



The United States, which has been battling vaccine misinformation that has caused about one-third of the population to avoid inoculations, surpassed 700,000 deaths on Friday, the highest toll of any country.



U.S. cases and hospitalizations have been trending lower, but health officials are bracing for a possible resurgence as cooler weather forces more activities indoors.



Russia reported 887 coronavirus-related deaths on Friday, the largest single-day death toll it has recorded since the pandemic began and the fourth day in a row it has set that record. Only 33% of Russia&#8217;s eligible population has received a first vaccine dose.



As a region, South America has the highest death toll in the world accounting for 21% of all reported deaths, followed by North America and Eastern Europe contributing more than 14% of all fatalities each, according to Reuters analysis.



However, India, one of the first countries ravaged by the Delta variant, has gone from an average of 4,000 deaths a day to less than 300 as its vaccination campaign is rolled out.



About 47% of India&#8217;s eligible population has received a first shot, with officials administering around 7,896,950 doses per day over the past week, a Reuters analysis of Our World in Data showed.



The Delta variant is now the dominant strain around the globe and has been reported in 187 out of 194 World Health Organization member countries.



(Reporting by Kavya B and Roshan Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Jane Wardell)

472OTSDNRBJA5GOZDMFVS2NF4Q

Global COVID-19 deaths hit 5 million as Delta variant sweeps the world

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50952193293_13f8a326b9_b.jpg" alt="President Cyril Ramaphosa joins healthcare workers to rece… | Flickr"/><figcaption>President Cyril Ramaphosa: Image via Flickr </figcaption></figure>



South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has eased restrictions aimed at combating the coronavirus pandemic to the country&#8217;s lowest alert level, the second such loosening this month as the country looks to open up its economy ahead of the summer holiday season.



In a televised address, Ramaphosa announced the country would move down one level in a five-tier system of restrictions, where five is the highest, to an &#8216;adjusted level 1&#8217; as South Africa emerges from its third wave dominated by the Delta variant of the virus.



&#8220;The current trends in the progression of the pandemic mean that a number of the restrictions in place can be eased,&#8221; Ramaphosa said.



In addition to relaxing a curfew, now in place from midnight to 4 a.m., Ramaphosa announced that the maximum number of people permitted to gather outdoors will increase to 2,000 from 500, while the maximum number of people allowed at funerals could double to 100.



However, with local government elections set for Nov. 1, Ramaphosa urged people to get vaccinated to help prevent a resurgence of infections, as vaccine hesitancy crimped an inoculation programme that has struggled to get out of the starting blocks.



&#8220;Campaign activities pose the greatest risk to a surge in new infections,&#8221; he said, adding that should South Africa reach its target of vaccinating 70% of its adult population by December, an estimated 20,000 lives could be saved.



Thus far around 8.6 million people, or more than one-fifth of all adults, have been fully vaccinated, he said.



On Sunday, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said the country had exited its third and worst COVID-19 wave, with the national 7-day moving average of daily case numbers and percentage of people testing positive for the coronavirus showing sustained decreases.



South Africa has reported just under 88,000 COVID-19 deaths and a total of 2.9 million laboratory-confirmed cases, the worst in Africa on both counts, since detecting its first infection in March last year, the latest data showed.&nbsp;

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South African president Ramaphosa eases COVID-19 restrictions to lowest level

<figure class="wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"><ul class="blocks-gallery-grid"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20746213365_e408aa2865_z.jpg" alt="" data-id="412407" data-full-url="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20746213365_e408aa2865_z.jpg" data-link="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/?attachment_id=412407" class="wp-image-412407" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20746213365_e408aa2865_z.jpg 640w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20746213365_e408aa2865_z-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20746213365_e408aa2865_z-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></figure></li></ul><figcaption class="blocks-gallery-caption">Flickr Image: Mayor Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Joe Buscaino, Councilmember Paul Krekorian and members of the Fire Commission</figcaption></figure>



Los Angeles officials on Wednesday signaled they would vote next week to prohibit unvaccinated people from entering most businesses in the United States&#8217; second-largest city, one of the nation&#8217;s most severe crackdowns so far of the COVID-19 pandemic.



All but one of the City Council members present on Wednesday said they supported the proposed &#8220;emergency&#8221; ordinance, which would require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, shopping centers, gyms and other indoor spaces.



&#8220;I am sick and tired of yahoos going into Trader Joe&#8217;s (grocery store) refusing to wear a mask,&#8221; City Council member Paul Kerkorian said in angry remarks. &#8220;I am fed up with people who want to make this into such a politicized issue they have lost all semblance of civility in our society.&#8221;



If the proposal is approved next week, as expected, Los Angeles would join San Francisco and New York among major U.S. cities requiring proof of vaccination for indoor businesses. The new rule would take effect in November.



Political leaders across the United States, led by Democratic President Joe Biden, have ratcheted up pressure on the unvaccinated in recent weeks. Laws requiring proof of vaccinations are deeply controversial in the United States, with many Americans criticizing them as unconstitutional and authoritarian.



A majority of the Los Angeles City Council was prepared to vote in favor of the proof-of-vaccine measure on Wednesday. They were frustrated in that effort by council member Joe Buscaino, who, by withholding his vote, stood in the way of a so-called &#8220;unanimous consent.&#8221;



Buscaino said the vaccine mandate could not be enforced, citing a report by the city&#8217;s Department of Building and Safety that it was not equipped to take on such a law enforcement role.

Doctor giving a senior woman a vaccination

Los Angeles moves toward barring the unvaccinated from most businesses

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412329" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla addresses a press conference after a visit to oversee the production of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the factory of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer in Puurs, Belgium April 23, 2021. John Thys | Pool | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



There will be a return to normal life within a year, Pfizer CEO and Chairman Albert Bourla said on Sunday, adding that it’s likely annual Covid vaccination shots will be necessary.



“Within a year I think we will be able to come back to normal life,” Bourla said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”



Returning to normal life will have caveats, he said: “I don’t think that this means that the variants will not continue coming, and I don’t think that this means that we should be able to live our lives without having vaccinations,” Bourla said. “But that, again, remains to be seen.”



Bourla’s prediction about when normal life will resume is in keeping with that of Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. “As of today, in a year, I assume,” Bancel told the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, according to Reuters on Thursday, when asked for his estimate of a return to normal life.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-pfizer-s-ceo-says-covid-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-after-six-months">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/pfizers-ceo-says-covid-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-after-six-months/">Pfizer’s CEO says COVID vaccine effectiveness drops to 84% after six months</a></h3>



In order to make that happen, Pfizer’s Bourla suggested it is likely annual coronavirus vaccine shots will be needed.



“The most likely scenario for me is that, because the virus is spread all over the world, that it will continue seeing new variants that are coming out,” Bourla said. “Also we will have vaccines that they will last at least a year, and I think the most likely scenario is annual vaccination, but we don’t know really, we need to wait and see the data.”



On Friday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky authorized the distribution of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 booster shots for those in high-risk occupational and institutional settings, a move that overruled an advisory panel. Walensky approved distributing the booster shots to older Americans and adults with underlying medical conditions at least six months after their first series of shots, in line with the advisory panel.



The World Health Organization strongly opposes a widespread rollout of booster shots, saying wealthier nations should give extra doses to countries with minimal vaccination rates. 



Bourla said on Sunday it is “not right to decide if you’re going to approve or not boosters” on any other criteria than “if the boosters are needed.”



On Tuesday, Tom Frieden, former head of the CDC, criticized Moderna and Pfizer for not sharing vaccination intellectual property more broadly to help accelerate global vaccination rates.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/s-africa-signs-deal-for-20-mln-pfizer-covid-19-doses-2/">S.Africa signs deal for 20 mln Pfizer COVID-19 doses</a></h3>



“While focusing on selling expensive vaccines to rich countries, Moderna and Pfizer are doing next to nothing to close the global gap in vaccine supply. Shameful,” Frieden said tweeted on Twitter.



Bourla said it is not a good idea to wave intellectual property.



“Intellectual property is what created the thriving life sciences sector that was ready when the pandemic hit,” Bourla said. “Without that, we wouldn’t be here to discuss if we didn’t with us or not because we wouldn’t have vaccines &#8230; Also, we are very proud of what we have done. I don’t know why [Frieden] is using these words. We are very proud. We have saved millions of lives.”



Pfizer is selling vaccines at different prices to countries with different levels of wealth. Developing countries are buying vaccines at cost from Pfizer, Bourla said. And Bourla pointed to the fact that Pfizer is selling one billion vaccine doses to the U.S. government at cost. The U.S. government is then donating those vaccine doses “at no cost, completely free, to the poorest countries of the world,” he said.

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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicts normal life will return within a year and adds we may need annual Covid shots

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412250" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/5db5fa4b-301c-4532-b09f-f43b431e627b-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>A teen gets a dose of Pfizer&#8217;s COVID-19 vaccine last month at Holtz Children&#8217;s Hospital in Miami. Nearly 7 million U.S. teens and preteens (ages 12 through 17) have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine so far, the CDC says.</figcaption></figure>



Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and generates a “robust” immune response in a clinical trial of kids ages 5 to 11, the drugmakers announced in a press release Monday.



The companies tested a two-dose regimen of 10 micrograms — about a third the dosage used for teens and adults — administered three weeks apart. The shots were well tolerated and produced an immune response and side effects comparable to those seen in a study of people ages 16 to 25, they said.



Common side effects for teens and adults include fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



The data, which included more than 2,200 children, will be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration and other health regulators “as soon as possible,” the companies said.



“We are eager to extend the protection afforded by the vaccine to this younger population, subject to regulatory authorization, especially as we track the spread of the Delta variant and the substantial threat it poses to children,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a release.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-sinovac-to-trial-covid-19-vaccine-in-south-african-children-as-part-of-global-study">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/sinovac-to-trial-covid-19-vaccine-in-south-african-children-as-part-of-global-study/">Sinovac to trial COVID-19 vaccine in South African children as part of global study</a></h3>



The new data comes as many parents say they are anxious to get their children vaccinated, especially as schools reopen and the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread. The strain has led to a surge in hospitalizations across the U.S., including among young kids who are currently ineligible to get the shots.



So far, the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine has been cleared by the FDA for people as young as 12, while Moderna’s and Johnson &amp; Johnson’s vaccines have been authorized for adults.



The FDA is expected to issue a decision sometime this week on which groups are eligible to get a third dose, or booster shot, of the Pfizer vaccine. An FDA advisory committee on Friday unanimously recommended Pfizer booster shots to people age 65 and older and other vulnerable Americans.



Bourla said last week that Pfizer could submit data on children from ages 5 to 11 by the end of this month.



Additionally, Pfizer expects to release clinical trial data on how well its Covid vaccine works in children as young as 6-months-old to 5 years old as early as the end of October, he said.



The release shared Monday didn’t mention whether any of the kids in the trial experienced myocarditis, a rare heart condition seen in a small number of adolescents and young adults.

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Pfizer says its Covid vaccine is safe and generates robust immune response in kids ages 5 to 11

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412157" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106868516-1618439730880-mod-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A healthcare worker fills a syringe with Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Giorgio Companies site in Blandon, PA where the CATE Mobile Vaccination Unit was onsite to administer Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines to workers Wednesday morning April 14, 2021. Ben Hasty | MediaNews Group | Reading Eagle via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Moderna on Wednesday released more data on so-called breakthrough cases it says supports the push for wide use of Covid-19 vaccine booster shots.



The U.S. drugmaker shared a new analysis from its phase three study that showed the incidence of breakthrough Covid cases, which occur in fully vaccinated people, was less frequent in a group of trial participants who were more recently inoculated, suggesting immunity for earlier groups had started to wane.



There were 88 identified breakthrough cases out of 11,431 people vaccinated between December and March, the company said in a release, compared with 162 breakthrough cases out of 14,746 trial participants vaccinated in July through October of last year.



There were also fewer severe cases of Covid-19 cases in the group that received the vaccine more recently, according to a manuscript of the results shared by the company. Three Covid-19 related hospitalizations occurred in the group that got the shots early on, resulting in two deaths, according to the data. There were no hospitalizations or deaths in the group that recently received the vaccine, although the finding on severe cases was not statistically significant.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-who-backed-vaccine-hub-for-africa-to-copy-moderna-covid-19-shot">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/who-backed-vaccine-hub-for-africa-to-copy-moderna-covid-19-shot/">WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa to copy Moderna COVID-19 shot</a></h3>



“There’s a large debate, we all know, about whether or not vaccine boosters are going to be necessary into the fall,” Moderna President Stephen Hoge said in a phone interview. “That debate, what makes it really hard is it’s not really about whether the vaccine worked last month. It’s really about whether it’s going to work this winter.”



The analysis hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet.



The new data comes two days before a key Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisory committee meeting, when a panel of outside experts will debate whether there is enough data to support widely distributing booster shots across the U.S.



The group, called the agency’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, is scheduled to debate administering third doses of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine as federal health regulators say they need more time to review Moderna’s application for extra doses.



The data shows that “we do see a significant increase in the risk of Covid-19 for those who are vaccinated a year ago versus six months ago,” Hoge said.



“If you take that number, which in the paper is roughly 28 cases per 1,000 person, and you extrapolate that across the 60 million Americans who’ve received that vaccine. The incremental number of cases of Covid-19 that would happen between here and the hospitals is about 600,000, more than half a million cases of Covid-19,” he said.



Earlier Wednesday, FDA scientists declined to take a stance on whether to back booster shots of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine, saying U.S. regulators haven’t verified all the available evidence.



The FDA appears to be skeptical about some of the data provided, including efficacy numbers out of Israel, where researchers there have released observational studies showing the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against infection waned over time.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more:<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/moderna-says-its-covid-vaccine-is-100-effective-in-teens-plans-to-seek-fda-ok-in-early-june/"> Moderna says its Covid vaccine is 100% effective in teens, plans to seek FDA OK in early June</a></h3>



It sets the stage for a tense meeting Friday as the Biden administration has said it wants to begin offering booster shots to the general public as early as next week, pending authorization from the FDA. The move is part of President Joe Biden’s broader plan to confront a higher number of Covid cases fueled by the fast-spreading delta variant.



The administration has cited three studies, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that showed the vaccines’ protection against Covid diminished over several months. The White House’s plan calls for people to get a third dose eight months after they got their second shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.



Scientists and other health experts have repeatedly criticized the plan, saying data the federal health officials cited wasn’t compelling and characterizing the Biden administration’s push for boosters as premature.



A leading group of scientists published a paper Monday in the journal The Lancet that argued booster shots are not needed at this time for the general public. While Covid vaccine effectiveness against mild disease may wane over time, protection against severe disease appears to persist, the scientists said.



Widely distributing booster shots to the general public is “not appropriate” at this time, the authors, including two senior FDA officials and multiple scientists from the World Health Organization, wrote in the journal.

Moderna releases new data on Covid breakthrough cases it says supports need for booster shots

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="580" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/vaccine-5873170_1280-820x580.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-408136" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/vaccine-5873170_1280-820x580.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/vaccine-5873170_1280-300x212.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/vaccine-5873170_1280-113x80.jpg 113w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/vaccine-5873170_1280-768x543.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/vaccine-5873170_1280.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Vaccine
Photo: via Flickr</figcaption></figure>



NEW DELHI, Sept 15 (Reuters) &#8211; India is considering resuming exports of COVID-19 vaccines soon, mainly to Africa, as it has partly immunised a majority of its adults and supplies have surged, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.



India, the world&#8217;s biggest maker of vaccines overall, stopped vaccine exports in April to focus on inoculating its own population as infections exploded.



The government wants to vaccinate all of its 944 million adults by December and has so far given at least one dose to 61% of them.



The resumption of exports deliberations come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#8217;s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-host-leaders-australia-japan-india-sept-24-white-house-2021-09-13">visit to Washington</a> next week where vaccines are likely to be discussed at a summit of the leaders of the Quad countries &#8211; the United States, India, Japan and Australia.



&#8220;The export decision is a done deal,&#8221; said the source, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media on the matter. &#8220;India wants to help out Africa with both vaccines and its COVID operational model.&#8221;



India&#8217;s Ministry of External Affairs, <a href="https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1437407259819130885">one of whose senior officials met with the chief of the World H</a>ealth Organization on Monday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ministry coordinates India&#8217;s vaccine exports.



The WHO said on Tuesday it was in a constant dialogue with Indian officials to resume supplies to global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX.



&#8220;We have been assured that supply will restart this year,&#8221; senior WHO official Bruce Aylward said <a href="https://www.who.int/multi-media/details/who-press-conference-on-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)---14-september-2021#">in a briefing</a>.



&#8220;We are hoping we can get an assurance it can start even faster than later this year, and in the coming weeks.&#8221;



Before India stopped exports, it donated or sold 66 million doses to nearly 100 countries.



India&#8217;s own inoculations have jumped since last month, especially as the world&#8217;s biggest vaccine maker, the Serum Institute of India, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indias-covid-vaccine-supply-jumps-raising-export-hopes-2021-08-30">has more than doubled its output</a> of the AstraZeneca shot to 150 million doses a month from its April levels.



A government source told Reuters in June that the U.S. experience showed that vaccinations tend to slow down after a big majority of people get their shots. That might give India a chance to export excess output, said the source.



The African Union on Tuesday accused manufacturers of denying them a fair chance to buy vaccines, and urged manufacturing countries &#8211; in particular India &#8211; to lift export restrictions.



Out of 5.7 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines administered around the world, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-who/update-1-african-union-slams-vaccine-manufacturers-for-restricting-access-idINL8N2QG4CK">only 2% have been in Africa</a>. 



(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Michael Perry)

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India considers resuming vaccine exports soon, focus on Africa, says source

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106921772-1628084601228-gettyimages-1234445243-AFP_9JW2F6.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-411416" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106921772-1628084601228-gettyimages-1234445243-AFP_9JW2F6.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106921772-1628084601228-gettyimages-1234445243-AFP_9JW2F6-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106921772-1628084601228-gettyimages-1234445243-AFP_9JW2F6-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A paramedic prepares doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for patients at a walk-in COVID-19 clinic inside a Buddhist temple in the Smithfield suburb of Sydney on August 4, 2021.
Saeed Khan | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



GENEVA, Sept 14 (Reuters) &#8211; The African Union on Tuesday accused manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines of denying African countries a fair chance to buy them, and urged manufacturing countries &#8211; in particular India &#8211; to lift export restrictions on vaccines and their components.



&#8220;Those manufacturers know very well that they never gave us proper access,&#8221; Strive Masiyiwa, AU Special Envoy for COVID-19, told a World Health Organization briefing from Geneva.



&#8220;We could have handled this very differently.&#8221;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-j-j-in-deal-to-supply-covid-19-vaccine-to-african-union-member-states">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/jj-in-deal-to-supply-covid-19-vaccine-to-african-union-member-states/">J&amp;J in deal to supply COVID-19 vaccine to African Union member states</a></h3>



Out of 5.7 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines administered around the world so far, only 2% have been in Africa.



Masiyiwa stressed that, in aiming to vaccinate 60% of its population, the African Union and its partners had expected to buy half the doses needed, while half were expected to come as donations through the COVAX programme, backed by the WHO and the GAVI global vaccine alliance.



&#8220;We want access to purchase,&#8221; he said.



GAVI CEO Seth Berkley said his organisation had been counting on supplies from India &#8211; the world&#8217;s largest vaccine manufacturing centre &#8211; at the start of the outbreak &#8211; but had received no doses from India since March, when India imposed export restrictions.



Masiyiwa added: &#8220;The suppliers over the last eight to nine months have made it clear that the biggest challenge they face is export restrictions.&#8221;



He urged the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to begin working on a standby pandemic readiness fund to help poorer nations buy vaccines in future, instead of having to rely on a sharing facility like COVAX &#8211; which has so far managed to provide only 260 million doses.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/african-union-says-jj-vaccine-shipments-begin-warns-of-slow-pace-of-deliveries/">African Union says J&amp;J vaccine shipments begin, warns of slow pace of deliveries</a></h3>



&#8220;Vaccine sharing is good &#8211; but we shouldn’t have to be relying on vaccine sharing, particularly when we can come to the table with structures in place and say we also want to buy,&#8221; he said.



Along with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, he reiterated a demand for patent waivers on vaccines of global importance, saying that Africa wanted to set up its own manufacturing capacity.



Efforts to develop an African base for <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/exclusive-who-backed-vaccine-hub-africa-copy-moderna-covid-19-shot-2021-09-14">COVID-19 vaccine production</a> will focus on trying to replicate Moderna&#8217;s MRNA.O shot, but a lack of progress in talks with the U.S. company mean the project will take time, Martin Friede, WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research coodinator, told Reuters. COVAX is set to fall nearly 30% short of its previous goal of 2 billion shots this year.



GAVI and the WHO have blamed the shortfall on a range of factors including export restrictions on the Serum Institute of India (SII).



(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy, Emma Farge; Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by William Maclean)

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African Union slams vaccine manufacturers for restricting access

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106913464-1626783928878-gettyimages-1233680604-AVDjune7.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-410942" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106913464-1626783928878-gettyimages-1233680604-AVDjune7.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106913464-1626783928878-gettyimages-1233680604-AVDjune7-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106913464-1626783928878-gettyimages-1233680604-AVDjune7-140x80.jpeg 140w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>In this Photo illustration a World Health Organization(WHO) logo seen displayed on an Android phone.
Avishek Das | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, Sept 14 (Reuters) &#8211; Efforts to develop an African base for COVID-19 vaccine production will focus on trying to replicate Moderna&#8217;s shot, but a lack of progress in talks with the U.S. company mean the project will take time, a senior WHO official told Reuters.



The drive to produce vaccines in Africa is designed to help more developing countries access COVID-19 shots after rich nations bought up most of this year&#8217;s supply.



Moderna said last October it would not enforce patents related to its shot during the pandemic, raising hopes that other companies might be able to copy it and help boost COVID-19 vaccine production.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/moderna-says-its-covid-vaccine-is-100-effective-in-teens-plans-to-seek-fda-ok-in-early-june/">Moderna says its Covid vaccine is 100% effective in teens, plans to seek FDA OK in early June</a></h3>



In practice, though, it is hard to replicate a vaccine without the information on how it is made, and the World Health Organization-backed tech transfer hub in South Africa &#8211; set up in June to give poorer nations the know-how to produce COVID-19 vaccines &#8211; has so far not reached a deal with the company.



&#8220;The talks have not yielded any results,&#8221; Martin Friede, WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research coodinator, told Reuters.



Moderna did not respond to a request for comment.



The case highlights the challenges faced by the WHO as it battles to expand vaccine production to help address the glaring inequalities between rich and poor nations in the pandemic.



More than three quarters of the 5.5 billion COVID-19 shots administered worldwide have gone to high and upper-middle income countries, which make up just over a third of the world&#8217;s population.



Currently only 3% of Africa is vaccinated, the African Union&#8217;s top health official said last week, compared with more than half of the United States and three quarters of Spain.



Friede said Moderna&#8217;s vaccine had been chosen as an abundance of public information and its pledge not to enforce patents made the shot slightly easier to copy than some rivals.



&#8220;We have to make a choice now. The deadline is upon us; time to start ordering chemicals. We&#8217;ve chosen Moderna,&#8221; he said.



But even if the hub manages without Moderna&#8217;s help, it could take more than a year to get a distributable vaccine as clinical trials would only begin in the latter half of 2022, he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tussle-over-waivers">TUSSLE OVER WAIVERS</h2>



In May, the United States said it would support waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines in order to help speed an end to the pandemic.



But the idea has faced opposition from pharmaceutical firms, which argue they need to oversee any technology transfer due to the complexity of the manufacturing process.



Pfizer and its partner BioNTech separately struck a deal in July for South Africa&#8217;s Biovac to help make around 100 million doses a year of their COVID-19 vaccine for Africa. Their shot, like Moderna&#8217;s, uses so-called mRNA technology.



However, the deal is to &#8220;fill and finish&#8221; the vaccine, the final stages of production where the product is put into vials, sealed and packaged for shipping. It does not cover the complicated process of mRNA production, which Pfizer and BioNTech will do at their European plants.



Neither responded to requests for comment.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/whos-tedros-hopes-african-covid-vaccine-sites-to-near-production-by-end-2021-2/">WHO’s Tedros hopes African COVID vaccine sites to near production by end-2021</a></h3>



The WHO has been trying to persuade Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech to join forces with its African tech transfer hub.



But COVID-19 vaccine makers have warned that non-authorised producers would compete for vital raw materials and production gear that the established players &#8211; most of which have earned huge profits from vaccination &#8211; rely on.



Hub consortium partner Afrigen Biologics will produce the initial batch of doses, before transferring the skills and technology to local manufacturing partner, Biovac Institute &#8211; both are Cape Town-based &#8211; which will mass produce the vaccines.



&#8220;This is not something that we are asking industry to give us for free,&#8221; Friede said about talks with the companies for access to information, adding that royalties, territorial limitations and other constraints could be built into a deal.



Healthcare analysts doubt the plan can be mobilised quickly.



&#8220;There are many steps which will require lots of iterations before they can be ready for prime time commercial grade production,&#8221; said Prashant Yadav, a global healthcare supply chain expert at the Center for Global Development in Washington. 



(Additional reporting by Michael Erman in New Jersey, Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, Nikolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen and Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt Editing by Tim Cocks and Mark Potter)

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WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa to copy Moderna COVID-19 shot

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1229611954-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-392210" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1229611954-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1229611954-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1229611954-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1229611954-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1229611954-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1229611954-1110x740.jpg 1110w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>BRAZIL &#8211; 2020/11/13: In this photo illustration a medical syringe is seen with Johnson and Johnson company logo displayed on a screen in the background. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Sept 13 (Reuters) &#8211; Johnson &amp; Johnson said on Monday its Ebola vaccine regimen demonstrated antibody immune responses in adults and children, citing data published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.



The two-dose regimen was well-tolerated and induced antibody responses to the Zaire ebolavirus species 21 days after the second dose in 98% of all participants, the company said, citing data from a late-stage trial.



The regimen, Zabdeno and Mvabea, generated immune responses that persisted in adults for at least two years.



J&amp;J added that there were no safety signals of concern.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-johnson-johnson-s-hiv-vaccine-fails-mid-stage-africa-study">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/johnson-johnsons-hiv-vaccine-fails-mid-stage-africa-study/">Johnson &amp; Johnson’s HIV vaccine fails mid-stage Africa study</a></h3>



&#8220;These peer-reviewed data support the prophylactic use of the Johnson &amp; Johnson Ebola vaccine regimen to protect people at risk of Ebola, which is essential to our vision of preventing Ebola outbreaks before they can begin,&#8221; J&amp;J&#8217;s Chief Scientific Officer Paul Stoffels said.



The company added that a booster shot administered two years after the initial vaccination induced a strong immune response within seven days.



Ebola typically kills about half of those it infects, although vaccines and new treatments have proven highly effective in reducing fatality rates.



Last month, the World Health Organisation warned that on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Africa is facing new outbreaks of the viral haemorrhagic fevers Marburg and Ebola, risking huge strains on ill-equipped health systems.



J&amp;J&#8217;s vaccine regimen had received European approval in July 2020 and prequalification from the WHO, which allows medicines to be procured by developing countries, in April 2021. 



(Reporting by Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D&#8217;Silva and Shailesh Kuber)

In this photo illustration a medical syringe is seen with

J&J reports promising Ebola vaccine data

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106941220-1631597811132-gettyimages-1332552532-a23i3071_20210805120639355.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412076" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106941220-1631597811132-gettyimages-1332552532-a23i3071_20210805120639355.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106941220-1631597811132-gettyimages-1332552532-a23i3071_20210805120639355-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106941220-1631597811132-gettyimages-1332552532-a23i3071_20210805120639355-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Firefighter paramedic Cuevas (R) administers a Covid-19 vaccination dose to a person at a vaccination event at Culver City Fire Department Station 1 on August 05, 2021 in Culver City, California. Mario Tama | Getty Images News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



As more and more people return to the workplace following months of working from home, the question of one’s vaccination status is becoming increasingly relevant and, in an increasing number of cases, a condition of employment.



In both the U.S. and Europe there are a growing number of jobs and sectors which are now requiring people to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 — not only in the more obvious public-facing roles like healthcare and education but also in the technology, hospitality, travel and finance sectors.



When Covid vaccine rollouts began in the U.S. and Europe around nine months ago, the majority of the workforce had to wait in line to receive a shot, with the elderly and healthcare workers prioritized.



But vaccinations in high-income countries have since become more accessible to all adults and employers have encouraged their staff to be immunized, both for their workers health and to get their businesses back to normal.



As vaccination drives roll out to the remaining sections of society that are not yet immunized — mainly adolescents — those adults that remain unvaccinated could find it increasingly difficult to return to work, or find employment in some sectors and companies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-less-leeway-on-jobs"><a></a>Less leeway on jobs</h2>



The net closed in further on unvaccinated people last week with President Joe Biden warning that “patience is wearing thin” regarding the unvaccinated, particularly as U.S. Covid cases remain high as the highly infectious delta variant spreads.



In a significantly stricter tone, Biden outlined a plan last Thursday to boost Covid vaccination rates nationwide, pressuring private employers to immunize their workforce as well as mandating the shots for federal employees, contractors and health-care workers.



The share of job postings requiring vaccination has skyrocketed since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Aug. 23, according to jobs site Indeed, showing a growing trend among employers requiring candidates to be fully immunized.



“A few weeks ago, job postings on Indeed requiring vaccination started to take off and have accelerated since,” AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab noted, adding that in the seven days through to Aug. 30, the share of postings per million specifically requiring vaccination against Covid rose 119% from the previous month.



Job postings that required vaccination but did not specify Covid followed the same trend, up 242% over the same period. Nonetheless, Indeed noted that such postings requiring vaccination represented less than 1% of all job ads on its site, although it indicated that number could rise



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/sa-to-introduce-digital-vaccine-certificates-as-early-as-next-week-health-minister/">SA to introduce digital vaccine certificates as early as next week – health minister</a></h3>



In the seven days ending Aug. 30, the share of job postings per million recommending, rather than requiring, vaccination jumped 40% month over month.



“With Delta variant cases surging, employers are undoubtedly wondering how they can keep their business’s recovery on track. Vaccine requirements are a way to keep staff and customers safer and business operations running,” Konkel noted.



“In the weeks ahead, it will be important to watch whether job postings encouraging vaccination lose ground to those requiring shots. Employers advertising no vaccination are probably betting their stance will give them a leg up in finding workers &#8230; but some experts would argue it has harmful public health consequences,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Which jobs want vaccination?</h2>



Some sectors have seen the number of job ads requiring vaccination rise dramatically, although again the Indeed job data show that those requiring immunization remain a small proportion of the total jobs on offer.



Understandably given the front-line nature of the sectors, the percentage of job postings requiring vaccination in the personal care and home health industry rose 333% in the month to August 30 and had increased 326% in the community and social service sector, Indeed data showed.



But other sectors saw the requirement for vaccination appear in more job postings too.



For example, the percentage of job postings requiring vaccination in the legal sector rose 210% in the month to Aug. 30, was up 146% in the education sector, rose 219% in the administrative assistance sector and jumped 180% in the media and communications industry.



Statewide, Arizona led the nation in job postings requiring vaccination while Washington state was second.&nbsp;Regionally, the West Coast and New England had slightly higher shares of job postings requiring vaccination than other parts of the country.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/covid-19-has-cost-30-million-african-jobs-african-development-bank-says/">Covid-19 has cost 30 million African jobs, African Development Bank says</a></h3>



“As the delta variant wreaks havoc, vaccination rates are increasing. But, with winter ahead, some employers are taking matters into their own hands by mandating vaccination. Job postings requiring vaccination are spread across a variety of sectors and geographic locations. Time will tell how much further this trend goes. At the same time, a small but growing number of job seekers, particularly in nursing, are searching for opportunities that don’t require vaccination,” Konkel said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Am I required to get vaccinated?</h2>



This will often depend on what job you do and your employer. President Biden announced last week a new requirement for federal employees to get a Covid vaccine, with no option for regular testing. He also signed an executive order extending the requirement to contractors that work with the U.S. government, impacting a total of 2.1 million employees.



Biden also said he is asking the U.S. Department of Labor to issue a rule that requires employers with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccines or require weekly testing, according to officials.



Business owners are generally supportive of the plan and a large number of firms have already announced some of all of their workers will have to get Covid shots or provide proof of vaccination.



The U.S. is not alone in tightening the rules on some workers; the U.K. government has said that all care home workers will need to be fully vaccinated from Nov. 11 onward, unless they have an exemption on medical grounds. Meanwhile, France and Greece have made similar announcements for public sector workers and, in Italy, teachers are now required to show immunity to Covid before they enter a classroom.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106941219-1631597375235-gettyimages-1232428376-BCHKshop.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412077" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106941219-1631597375235-gettyimages-1232428376-BCHKshop.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106941219-1631597375235-gettyimages-1232428376-BCHKshop-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106941219-1631597375235-gettyimages-1232428376-BCHKshop-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>McDonald’s is among the companies announcing that it will require its U.S.-based office workers to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Influential U.S. lobbying group the AARP notes that an increasing number of people — both those looking for jobs and the currently employed — are asking whether they are required to get a Covid vaccination&nbsp;if they want to keep their jobs:



“The short answer: Yes. An employer can make a vaccination a requirement if you want to continue working there. But there are significant exceptions for potential concerns related to any disability you may have and for religious beliefs that prohibit vaccinations,” the AARP noted in late August.



“With many Americans still hesitant to get vaccinated even as the delta variant spreads, more employers are telling workers they either need to be vaccinated or comply with a rigorous regiment of testing, wearing masks and practicing physical distancing if they want to return to work. Refusal to be vaccinated could lead to job loss and also&nbsp;make a person ineligible for unemployment benefits.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>What employers should do</h2>



As millions of people return to the office after months of home working, there are increasing reports of tensions between vaccinated and unvaccinated workers.



Employment experts say it’s vital for employers to communicate openly and clearly with employees about their vaccination expectations and safety protocol before a return to the workplace.



“Employers should give adequate notice to their employees of return to work dates, vaccination requirements, on-site work rules, and accommodation procedures,” Anthony Mingione, an employment lawyer and partner in the New York office of law firm Blank Rome, told CNBC last week.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/africas-covid-19-third-wave-stabilises-as-vaccine-levels-rise-who/">Africa’s COVID-19 third wave stabilises as vaccine levels rise – WHO</a></h3>



“Effective communication also includes conveying expectations for workplace decorum, reminding workers of the privacy rights of their colleagues, and making sure that the consequences for violations are understood in advance.  Employers also have to be equipped to handle the issues that will arise when employee availability is impacted by a lack of child care or school closure, immunocompromised family members, or Covid-19 quarantines.  Other than following the law, the most important thing in resolving conflicts is to apply policies consistently,” he said.



Lucy Lewis, partner at global HR lawyers Lewis Silkin, noted that, for employers facing persistent vaccine hesitancy among their workers, it would be best for companies to establish open lines of dialog between employee and employer.



“Our experience has been that the most successful way to engage in discussion around requiring vaccination has been to be open to actively listening: encourage employees to share their reasons for not being vaccinated.&nbsp;In some cases, there may be a genuine underlying reason [e.g. medical] why vaccination is not possible and, in those cases, alternative steps can be taken [e.g. regular testing for office attendance],” she noted.



In any case, such discussions provide an opportunity to encourage vaccination by explaining why it is important, Lewis said, “and ensure that reluctant employees are relying on trusted sources for information around vaccine safety.”

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