From 2022, South Africa will begin donating roughly 2 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine to other African countries, through a medical supplies platform set up by the African Union (AU).
“This donation embodies South Africa’s solidarity with our brothers and sisters on the continent with whom we are united in fighting an unprecedented threat to public health and economic prosperity,” the South African government said in a joint statement with an AU vaccine task team.
The 2,030,400 donated doses would be distributed to the lowest-income countries as quickly as possible, AU COVID-19 envoy Strive Masiyiwa said.
About 38% of adults in South Africa have been fully vaccinated, way above many other African countries, but well short of the government’s year-end target.
