The European Union will return millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccines that it received from a plant in South Africa in the coming days.
This decision comes as a result of criticism by health activists, saying the EU is taking away shots from a continent that has the lowest immunization rate in the world.
According to the director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), John Nkengasong, the number of people who have been fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent is currently around 2.93%.
South African company Aspen Pharmacare, which produces Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine under a contract with the US pharmaceutical giant, will stop sending COVID-19 jabs to Europe, Strive Masiyiwa, head of the drug company, African Fund for the Acquisition of Vaccines told reporters.
“All vaccines produced in Aspen will remain in Africa and will be distributed to Africa,” he said, adding that exports to Europe had been “suspended.”
The European Union is going to return the first delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa and decided not to receive the next ones scheduled for September, following strong criticism from activists, who believe that Europe is depriving the African continent of these vaccines.
Recently, France announced that it will send 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines to Africa via the African Union throughout the next three months, according to AFP.
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