A document outlining the agreement between the drugmaker and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is with the African Union’s legal office, John Nkengasong, director of the Africa CDC said at a briefing on Thursday.

 “Once that is cleared then formally we will make an announcement,” he said. “We believe strongly that we should be using a combination of approaches in fighting this pandemic.”

Africa is seeking supplies of Pfizer’s Paxlovid amid concerns that poorer countries could be left behind as they have been with vaccines. The continent is the least vaccinated with just 13% of 1.2 billion Africans having received a full course of inoculations. 

Health groups are also pushing for increased testing in lower-income nations to detect cases in the first days of infection, when antivirals could be most effective. With access to various Covid-19 pills, people can test and treat themselves at home, helping to ease the pressure on strained health systems.

The agency also expects to hold talks with Merck & Co. this week about supply of its Covid-19 pill, Nkengasong said.

According to www.bloomberg.com. Source of photo: internet