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. 2022 Aug 15;75(Suppl 1):S136-S140.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac401.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Africa: Current Considerations and Future Projections

Olubukola T Idoko  1 , Effua Usuf  1 , Uduak Okomo  1 , Chizoba Wonodi  2 , Kondwani Jambo  3 , Beate Kampmann  1 , Shabir Madhi  4 , Ifedayo Adetifa  1
Affiliations

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Africa: Current Considerations and Future Projections

Olubukola T Idoko et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

The burden of severe Covid-19 has been relatively low in sib-Saharan Africa compared to Europe and the Americas. However, SARS-CoV-2 sero-prevalence data has demonstrated that there has been more widespread transmission than can be deduced from reported cases. This could be attributed to under reporting due to low testing capacity or high numbers of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in communities. Recent data indicates that prior SARS-CoV-2 exposure is protective against reinfection and that vaccination of previously SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals induces robust cross-reactive antibody responses. Considering these data, calls for a need for a re-think of the COVID-19 vaccination strategy in sub-Saharan African settings with high SARSCoV-2 population exposure but limited available vaccine doses. A potential recommendation would be to prioritize rapid and widespread vaccination of the first dose, while waiting for more vaccines to become available.

Keywords: Africa; SARS-CoV-2; burden; vaccines.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. B. K. participates in a DSMB for a COVID-19 vaccine and has advised the COVAX group on use of COVID vaccines in pregnant women. She also directs the vaccine center at LSHTM and the IMPRINT network. She also holds several grants for vaccine research studies outside of COVID-19 vaccines. E. U. claims participation in a PaTs COVID drug trial and held a position on the National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group, The Gambia. I. A. received an African Research Leader Fellowship grant (MR/S005293/1) and NIHR-MPRU at UCL grant (2268427 LSHTM) and has also participated in the WHO Programme Advisory Group, Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme, the WHO Technical Advisory Group, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and WHO Africa Region, Regional Immunisation Technical Advisory Group. O. T. I. is currently an employee of Sanofi Pasteur. All views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect those of her employer. All other authors report no potential conflicts.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Distribution of studies related to coronavirus disease 2019 worldwide. Image source https://www.clinicaltrials.gov downloaded 20 February 2022.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Distribution of studies related to coronavirus disease 2019 in Africa. Image source https://www.clinicaltrials.gov downloaded 20 February 2022.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Why access to coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines is a problem in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Solutions to the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine access challenges.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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