Algeria aims to export to Africa the anti-Covid vaccine from the Chinese laboratory Sinovac, the production of which will be launched this Wednesday from the Saidal factory in Constantine, the Minister of Pharmaceutical Industry, Lotfi Benbahmed said on Monday.
Saidal is the only African group to have obtained the “CoronoV ac license” from Sinovac, which is the most used in Algeria in anti-Covid vaccination, the minister said in an interview with Algerian Radio. “It’s exactly the same as the Chinese vaccine,” he said.
By launching the production of Sinovac on its territory, Algeria has set itself two objectives: to satisfy the local demand for vaccines against Covid-19 and to export in particular to Africa, the continent which has the lowest rate of vaccination by relations to other continents: Europe, America, Asia, and Oceania.
As of September 25, according to data from the OurWorldinData site, 6.4% of the African population has received a first dose of the anti-Covid vaccine, compared to 47% in Oceania, 50% in Asia, 56.5% in Europe, 58% in North America, 61% in South America.
“It is a substitution for import and a projection for import”, summarized Mr. Benbahmed. “There are two initiatives. There is the one we called DjazairVac which is the one to respond to the national vaccination plan. We have estimated the need at nearly 65 million vaccines between the end of the year 2021 and the year 2022. There is the AfricaVac initiative where Algeria is going to project” to meet the needs of African countries, he detailed.
The minister indicated that Algeria can manufacture 320,000 doses of Sinovac per day, “working 8 hours a day”. “We can produce up to 200 million doses per year, just with this Sandal manufacturing unit in Constantine,” he added.
To sell the Sinovac produced in Constantine to African countries, the Minister announced the visit to Algeria of a delegation from the African Union’s specialized health agency from October 13 to 18. “This African agency has considerable resources to buy the Algerian vaccine,” he said.
Regarding the production project of the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V” in Algeria, the Minister of Pharmaceutical Industry assured that negotiations are “still underway” with the Russian side, ensuring that “the project is not abandoned”.
