BioNTech Covid vaccine plan to ship container labs to Africa

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BioNTech Covid vaccine plan to ship container labs to Africa
17 Feb 2022
7 min read

News Synopsis

BioNTech, the company that made the first MRNA  jab, has developed a "laboratory in a container" that can be shipped to multiple countries. Scientists and workers would then produce tens of millions of doses a year, with the aim of correcting the vast disparities in vaccine access. According to the World Health Organization WHO, Africa is still struggling to expand, and by continent, that is the lowest rate in the world. Supplies have improved but only 11% of the country’s population are fully jabbed. BioNTech intends to provide the containers, raw materials, and know-how at no cost at all. The country provides land and ensures that local infrastructure such as water and electricity is sufficient and reliable in return. The filling and finishing of the product will take place in Africa only. Once the production is completed, it will be used for the vaccination in the country and will be exported to other members of the African Union. The vaccines have been supplied to Africa but due to issues with the rollout, some states have used only one-third of the doses they have received. The European Union has also said that it will help fund the programme to train medical staff so it can shift its message from vaccines to vaccination. 

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