WHO: Africa might miss 70% vaccination goal until late 2024

By CARA ANNA
Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The World Health Organization says the African continent might not reach the target of vaccinating 70% of its 1.3 billion population against COVID-19 until the second half of 2024. That’s a target many of the world’s richer countries already have met. The warning comes as the world faces a new surge in cases driven by the highly infectious omicron variant. Health officials in South Africa, which first announced the variant, say early data indicate it causes less severe illness and shorter, less intensive hospital stays. But some richer countries have rushed to allow booster vaccine doses, even as less than 8% of Africa’s population has received two doses.