African countries are contemplating the consequences of delaying the administration of the second dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after India, the main producer, placed restrictions on the vaccine's export following the outset of the country's second wave.
At a briefing on Thursday, 15 April, 2021, Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that: "These vaccines are prime-boost, which means that if you receive the first dose, your immune system or your body reacts to it and even begins to offer protection then the second one is really a booster".
"We don't know that if it delays by a couple of month or weeks, it will impede the ability to boost it when you get the second dose. I don't think so", he opined, adding: "It's just that it doesn't give you that full range of your immune system reacting and getting ready to fight the virus once you get exposed to it and infected but you can be assured that with the first dose, you are getting, already, some protection from the virus from developing a disease not necessary from infection but from developing the disease".
He said: "India has put a restriction on exports of the vaccines because of their rising second wave and we don't know when that restrictions will end".
The New York Times reported recently that with its own battle against the coronavirus taking a sharp turn for the worse, India has severely curtailed exports of COVID-19 vaccines, triggering setbacks for vaccination drives in many countries.