Is there any COVID-19 vaccine production in Africa?

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, the African continent has fully vaccinated only 3 percent of its 1.2 billion people. This vaccination rate lags far behind other parts of the world, including Europe (nearly 50 percent), North America (44 percent), Asia (32 percent), and South America (33 percent). At this rate, it appears that neither the African Union’s goal of 60 percent vaccination by 2023 nor the global vaccine distribution mechanism COVAX’s goal of 20 percent by 2022 will be reached in time. A major reason for the low vaccination rate in Africa is the lack of available supplies. Africa manufactures less than one percent of all vaccines administered on the continent. Absent local vaccine production, African countries relying on COVAX for doses have faced severe supply shortages. With manufacturers privileging wealthy countries’ purchasing agreements and India’s export restrictions on the Covishield vaccine, the UN-backed vaccine mechanism has struggled...