Africa CDC: COVID-19 and Vaccines Webinar

This week’s webinar was presented as an expert panel on ‘COVID-19 and vaccines’. The webinar was meant to host experts from different fields who provided their perspective and knowledge on COVID-19 vaccine efforts on the African continent. The webinar panel was led by Dr. Nicaise Ndembi, Chief Science Advisor to the Africa CDC Director, who opened up the webinar by introducing Africa CDC’s strategy toward vaccine research, allocation, and distribution. Dr. Ndembi further identified three major strategies: accelerate African involvement in clinical development, ensure Africa’s access to sufficient vaccine supply, and prepare for at-scale delivery of the vaccine in Africa. Dr. Ndembi’s presentation further elaborated on the different priorities that each strategy identifies. Furthermore, Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu who spoke about his work in policy, Coordination & partnership from different dimensions from supporting countries on COVID-19. Dr. Senait Kebede provided insight into COVID-19 and disparities. Dr. Bernadette Ateghang provided her perspective on vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, and how it may impact the COVID-19 vaccine distribution.