Pfizer, BioNTech Agree to Produce COVID-19 Vaccine for Africa
Voice of America
Pfizer and BioNTech have reached an agreement with a South African company to produce their COVID-19 vaccine for distribution in Africa, the biotechnology companies said Wednesday.
The Biovac Institute in Cape Town will manufacture 100 million doses of the vaccine annually starting in 2022. The company will mix vaccine ingredients it receives from Europe, place them in vials and package them for distribution to the 54 countries in Africa. The agreement may eventually help alleviate vaccine shortages on a continent where the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says less than 2% of its population of 1.3 billion has received at least one dose. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the company’s goal is to provide people throughout Africa with the vaccine, a departure from previous bilateral agreements that saw most doses being sold to wealthy countries.Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei performs prayer at a funeral for victims of a helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Abdollahian and others, in Tehran, Iran, May 22, 2024. (West Asia News Agency via Reuters) Mourners attend a funeral for victims of the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and others, in Tehran, Iran, May 22, 2024. (West Asia News Agency via Reuters) Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, right, offers his condolences to Iran's caretaker president, Mohammad Mokhber, and other officials in Tehran on May 22, 2024. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office via AFP)
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People queue up to vote outside a polling booth during the fifth round of multi-phase national election in Howrah, India, May 20, 2024. A woman carrying her daughter leaves after casting vote in a polling station during the fifth round of multi-phase national elections in Mumbai, India, May 20, 2024.
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