Despite negligible vaccination rates and the lowest rate among continents, the rate of Covid-19 infections has dropped by 20% in Africa over the past seven days, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports.
Many have postulated reasons why the rates are so low in Africa, including attributing it to the widespread use of Ivermectin wonder drug, the use of anti-malarials, vitamin D and zinc generous use, BCG vaccination history and other reasons.
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Currently the African continent stands at 7.76% total vaccinated. But the continent has the lowest death rate.
“Africa represents 12.5 percent of the global population, but it accounted for just 4 percent of the 3.4 million deaths that had been reported around the world as of May 18.”
“Africa represents 12.5 percent of the global population, but it accounted for just 4 percent of the 3.4 million deaths that had been reported around the world as of May 18.”
The largest country, Nigeria has had only over 2000 deaths and only 2% total vaccination.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that weekly COVID-19 cases in Africa fell by more than 20 per cent, the sharpest seven-day decline in two months as the third wave pandemic tapers off.
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, made this known during a virtual press conference on Thursday.
Quoting reports, she said that the African continent registered more than 165,000 cases in the week ending September 5, a 23 per cent decline from the previous week.
Mrs Moeti said that, however, due to the impact of more transmissible variations, the rate of slowing is slower than in prior rounds.
She said that the more contagious Delta variant that partly fueled the third wave has been dominant in several countries that experienced COVID-19 surge.
According to her, in Southern Africa, for instance, more than 4000 COVID-19 genome sequencing data was produced in August.
Mrs Moeti said that the Delta variant was detected in over 70 per cent of samples from Botswana, Malawi and South Africa and in over 90 per cent from Zimbabwe.
