In what has been described as a breakthrough for Africa’s push to tackle global epidemics with home-grown solutions, South African scientists have replicated a copy of the Moderna vaccine. The vaccine was replicated by Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines in Cape Town, using publicly available data.
South Africa Has Been at the Forefront of the Continent’s COVID-19 Research
Having managed to successfully create a copy of the Moderna vaccine, the next step will be to create a vaccine capable of eliciting an immune response to the COVID-19 in the same way that current vaccines do. South Africa is doing this on the back of several pandemic successes, including identifying and bringing to light the existence of the highly infectious omicron variant of COVID-19.
Collaboration with the WHO’s Technology Transfer Hub
There has also been a push on the African continent to build vaccine infrastructure in preparation for future pandemics, and efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) to transfer vaccine technology will undoubtedly enhance what is already happening. The organization has provided messenger RNA vaccine technology to six African countries, in order to assist them in producing vaccines at home. The WHO's technology transfer hub, which is part of a collaboration between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), intends to replicate the most effective global COVID-19 vaccines. Countries such as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia have all already been chosen for this initiative.
Preparing for the Future
At the moment, only 15% of Africans have been fully vaccinated, which is a shockingly low percentage when compared to the rest of the world, so vaccines made at home will solve not only the vaccine shortage, but the logistical and storage issues as well. It will make COVID-19 vaccines readily available in larger quantities and in the best conditions, as well as build a solid infrastructure to better respond to future pandemics.
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