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January 20,2022

Andrew Campbell 

World Health Organization announced on January 20 that cases of COVID-19 have dropped in Africa, and deaths are decreasing for the first time since the virus's fourth wave, which was dominated by Omicron.

According to the WHO's African regional office, freshly reported cases reduced by 20% in the week up to January 16th, while the number of deaths fell by 8%. The 56-day flareup was described as Africa's "shortest upsurge yet."

Vaccination rates in Africa, however, remain low, with only 10% of the continent's population entirely vaccinated, despite increased vaccine supply in recent months. Africa has received around 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and has delivered 327 million doses. To reach a large portion of the population, significant efforts are required to increase vaccination rates.