African countries acquire 818 mn Covid-19 vaccine doses: Africa CDC

African countries have acquired 818 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines so far, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said in the latest weekly briefing.

The Africa CDC, the specialised healthcare agency of the African Union, added on Thursday that nearly 17.3 per cent of Africa's population have been fully vaccinated, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nearly 579 million of the total 818 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered, which corresponds to 70.7 per cent of the total supply available in Africa, the Africa CDC said.

Countries such as Seychelles, Mauritius, Rwanda, Morocco, and Botswana have vaccinated the largest share of their population against Covid-19, respectively, according to the agency.

Ten African countries have vaccinated more than 35 per cent of their total population, it added.

Ahmed Ogwell, the Acting Director of the Africa CDC, told reporters during his weekly briefing on Thursday that around 37 African countries are offering booster doses for different age groups while Tunisia and South Africa have begun offering the second booster doses for those citizens who are aged 50 years or older.

"We are encouraging our member states to offer booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines to citizens who have already received the full vaccination coverage to ensure that their immunity remains high and avoid serious illness," Ogwell said.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Africa has reached 11,675,825 cases as of Wednesday evening, as the toll from the pandemic reached 253,518 while nearly 11,042,211 people have recovered from the disease, according to Africa CDC.