Dr Jonathan Obaje, a Nigerian research scientist based in Singapore, has stressed the need for African indigenous vaccine technology and production towards sustainable fights against the spread of COVID-19.
Obaje, a former Vice President of Nigerians in Diaspora, Singapore chapter, said this on Monday in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to him, African indigenous vaccine technology and production is no longer an option.
“Vaccines will increasingly become the most effective political, economical and biological weapon in the new world; Africa cannot afford to continue to rely on vaccine handouts or suppliers from outside.
“Secondly, as the world advances into precision medicine, genetic differentiation will become important in safety and efficiency of vaccines across races.
“A good example is that we are currently seeing big differences in the effects of Omicron variant of COVID-19 on the African continent compared with what is happening elsewhere.
“The vastly unvaccinated African continent did not record any overwhelming hospitalisation from Omicron variant, but the fully vaccinated populations of other continents are recording high rate hospitalisations and mortality from Omicron infections.”
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He further explained that more needs to be done to encourage African indigenous vaccine production, to boost the innate immunity of Africans and protect them from the virus.
He also said that doing so would help to strengthen innate immunities of Africans against the disease.
“If current experimental vaccines are responsible for weakening innate immunities of fully vaccinated populations, it could make Omicron more lethal in such populations.
“Indigenous African vaccine scientists should be able to quickly confirm the trend, to protect the African population from the negative impact of the vaccines before it gets too far.
“The advanced economies may be able to handle devastating effects of such experimental vaccines, but Africa does not have the medical facilities to handle a ‘run amok’ vaccine experiment.
“Moreover, given plethora of diseases, Africa will be worse affected by any experimental vaccine that weakens the natural immunity; currently the world vaccine scientists are blind to these data and on-going trend.
“This is because it does not bother them. Indigenous African vaccine scientists and production is therefore very desirable to protect Africa from vaccine politics and weaponisation,” Obaje said.
