Wilmot James: Africa should boost vaccine-making capacity to deal with future disease outbreaks

By
Wilmot James Center for Pandemic Research, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP). Convenor.
Lewis Rubin-Thompson
June 08, 2021
Local governments will be better able to support mass vaccination efforts in future without having to rely on foreign suppliers.

Writing for South Africa’s Business Day, Dr Wilmot James speaks to the necessity of local vaccine production as Africa’s best chance to roll back the pandemic. This would not only satisfy demand for vaccinations now but will better prepare the continent for disease outbreaks in future and accelerate global vaccination efforts for diseases such as malaria, measles, and polio. There are a number of sites in Africa where vaccines can be produced including  South Africa’s Biovac Institute in Cape Town - capable of producing 30m inoculants per annum - and Aspen Pharmacare’s ifacility in Nelson Mandela Bay  - capable of scaling up to 300m.

Read the full Op-Ed here.