Should Africa make covid-19 vaccination a priority?

OVER THE summer a lack of supply was the main problem. Africans queued from dawn for jabs of covid-19 vaccine, but most doses were going to rich countries. India, a big producer, banned exports. The results were grim. Senegal saw seven times the number of funerals as in normal times, according to some estimates. Gravediggers in other African countries were working overtime, too. Today only 7% of Africans are fully vaccinated against the disease.

In recent weeks, however, vaccine shipments to Africa have greatly increased. About 50m doses arrived in October, almost double the number that had landed in September. Uganda, which has administered 6m doses so far, expects to have received 21m doses by the end of this year—enough to inoculate almost every adult. With more shots on the horizon, the World Health Organisation is calling on all countries to vaccinate 70% of their total populations by mid-2022. Several African countries have set goals accordingly.