Africa has recently recorded a 43% increase in mortality rate due to Delta COVID-19 variant, with hospital admissions to have spiked rapidly and governments facing oxygen and intensive care bed shortages.
As per credible reports, the number of deaths increased to 6,273 as of 11th July 2021 from 4,384 in the previous week. Africa is now only a fraction below the weekly high of 6,294 deaths which were recorded in January.
Sources claim that the cases of COVID-19 have been increasing for the last eight weeks, reaching 6 million on 13 July 2021. The country recorded one million cases the previous month. Apparently, the Delta variant, which is the most transmissible of all, has been found in 21 African nations, while the Alpha variant has been found in 35 countries and the Beta variant in 30.
Around 83% of the fatalities recorded last week were from Uganda, Namibia, Tunisia, Zambia, and South Africa. The fatality rate in the continent stands at 2.6% against the global average of 2.2%, which is proportionate to the casualties among confirmed cases.
Furthermore, the cases are rising due to insufficient vaccine supplies. The continent had only vaccinated 52 million people since March when the vaccine rollout began this year. It counts for just 1.6% of the 3.5 billion people vaccinated worldwide.
As of now, 18 million people are fully vaccinated in Africa, or 1.5 percent of the continent's population, compared to nearly 50 percent in several high-income countries. However, additional supplies of vaccines are expected in the coming weeks and months, which will help enhance the vaccination rates.
As per a press release, by September 2021, it is estimated that an extra 190 million COVID-19 vaccine doses will be required to fully vaccinate 10% of Africa's population, with an additional 750 million doses needed to vaccinate 30% by the end of 2021.
Source Credit - https://www.afro.who.int/news/covid-19-deaths-africa-surge-more-40-over-previous-week