Aspen struck a deal in March to package, sell and distribute the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, in what was hailed as a game-changing moment for an under-vaccinated continent frustrated by slow Western aid.
But South African society’s expectations of high demand in Africa, where only one-sixth of adults are fully immunized, have not materialized. Its CEO warned last week that it would be forced to reallocate around half of its vaccine production capacity if orders did not resume.
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Africa’s largest public health agency, has asked organizations that buy vaccines for the continent to prioritize sourcing from African producers.
However, COVAX – the global COVID-19 vaccine sharing program that is instrumental in Africa’s response to the pandemic – is not currently planning to place Aspen orders due to oversupply.
COVAX is supported by WHO, the global vaccine alliance Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
“In the case of Aspen, the current aggregate demand situation means that we are not currently able to purchase large quantities of vaccines,” a Gavi spokesperson said.
“However, we are in discussions to see if a collaboration would be possible as part of the expansion of regional supply.”
Kate O’Brien, director of immunization, vaccines and biologicals at WHO, said COVAX has already secured the 380 million doses of vaccine needed for the global program for the second and third quarters of this year.
“COVAX … has a supply in excess of current country demand, and that’s a good thing,” she told Archyde.com.
LOCAL PRODUCTION IN DANGER?
As rich countries used their purchasing power to corner early supplies, Africa initially struggled to stock up on COVID-19 vaccines, leading to calls for a strengthening the continent’s vaccine production capacity.
The African Union’s goal is to locally produce 60% of all routine vaccines – covering everything from COVID to measles – administered in Africa by 2040, up from 1% currently, and several such factories are in production. creative course.
The WHO and the European Union are supporting regional vaccine manufacturing initiatives. And South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda and Kenya are all seeking to establish vaccine production centers.
Recently, however, acute shortages of COVID-19 vaccines have given way to a glut of doses, as COVAX donations and drugmaker supplies have increased and African government vaccination campaigns struggle to keep pace.
Aspen CEO Stephen Saad has warned that the current lack of demand is calling into question the viability of local production, putting Africa’s future vaccine security at risk.
“Lives are at stake here,” he told Archyde.com, adding that if Africa, and the rest of the world, did not sustain its capabilities, the continent would remain at the back of the queue in the next pandemic.
Last year, the Biovac Institute, another South African vaccine producer, reached an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech to manufacture around 100 million doses per year of their COVID-19 vaccine for the African Union (AU). Production is due to start later this year.
“The lack of demand is certainly worrying for all,” said Morena Makhoana, CEO of the Biovac Institute. “It underscores why we need a dedicated vaccine capability in order to have entities that can navigate the ups and downs of the vaccine industry.”
Ayoade Alakija, co-chair of the AU-backed African Vaccine Supply Alliance, said it was unfair to blame procurement organizations for insufficient demand.
African governments are now largely responsible for the vaccine glut, she said, because they failed to mount successful mass vaccination campaigns and ensure their countries’ ability to absorb vaccine supplies.
African political leaders…seem to have gone from the idea of ’we don’t have vaccines’ to manufacturing vaccines, forgetting about the two intermediate steps,” she said.