John Nkengasong

The Africa Union's health watchdog on Thursday praised the United States' support for a waiver on patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines as a "remarkable expression of leadership".

The European Union has announced a sum of €100 million as part of its humanitarian initiative to support coronavirus vaccination campaigns in Africa.

Many Africans who have received their first Covid-19 vaccine do not know when they will get a second shot because deliveries are delayed, the continent's top public health official said on Thursday.

Africa countries are facing potential delays to their vaccine rollouts because of global supply issues, according to both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC).

The African Union's disease control body said on Thursday it has dropped plans to secure AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines for its members from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine supplier, amid global shortfalls of the shot.

The Trusted Travel Pass pilot programme was developed by the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as digital health passports look likely to become a standard requirement for international travel.

The African Union said on Thursday that it considers that the benefits of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine outweigh the risks and recommended that vaccinations continue across the continent.

The number of confirmed Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Africa has reached 3,982,844 as of Wednesday noon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The African Union is backing calls for drugmakers to waive some intellectual property rights on Covid-19 medicines and vaccines to speed up their rollout to poor countries, the head of its disease control body said on Thursday.

The African Union’s vaccine task team said on Friday that Russia had offered it 300 million doses of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine and that the offer included a financing package for countries wanting to secure the shots.

Africa's total reported death toll from Covid-19 was approaching 100 000 on Thursday, a fraction of those reported on other continents but rising fast as a second wave of infections overwhelms hospitals.

African countries that have not reported the circulation of the 501Y.V2 coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa should proceed with the rollout of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the African Union's disease control body said on Thursday.

African leaders will open a two-day virtual summit Saturday to discuss the continent's Covid-19 response as well as security issues that have been overlooked during the pandemic.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent stood at 3,515,047 as of Friday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The African Union has secured an additional 400 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for its members, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Thursday.

Africa’s coronavirus case fatality rate has risen alarmingly to 2.5%, higher than the global level of 2.2%, the head of the continent’s disease control body said on Thursday.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC), on Thursday said that African countries do not have an adequate oxygen supply to treat all patients during the second wave of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

African governments must take urgent steps to prepare for distribution of coronavirus vaccines, the continent's health watchdog said on Thursday, after the African Union announced it had secured 270 million doses.

The second wave of coronavirus hitting Africa is “more aggressive” than the first, according to the head of the African Centres for Disease Control (CDC), John Nkengasong.

Another new variant of the novel coronavirus seems to have emerged in Nigeria, the head of Africa's disease control body said on Thursday, cautioning more investigation was needed.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged the African continent to brace itself for possible second wave COVID-19 infections.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday urged the African continent to brace itself for possible second wave COVID-19 infections.