Statement on the Efficacy of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) against the SARS-CoV-2 Variants

Context:

Many countries in Africa are managing the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been over 3.6 million cases and over 96,000 deaths reported on the continent since the first official case was reported on the continent on 14 February 2020. The continent’s case fatality rate of 2.6 percent is above the global average of 2.2 percent. The emergence of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant known as N501Y.V2 (or B.1.351) is associated with increased rate of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and has been of concern across the continent because of the increased pressure that the high number of new infections will place on the healthcare systems, many of which are already overburdened.