The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,439,823 as of Tuesday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. 
 
The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic stands at 118,194, while 3,980,551 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease. 
 
South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Egypt are the countries with the most cases in the continent, according to the Africa CDC. South Africa has recorded 1,567,513 COVID-19 cases, the highest among African countries, followed by Morocco with 505,949 and Tunisia with 287,061 cases, it said. 
 
African countries have so far received over 33.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from different sources, mainly from the COVAX facility and through bilateral agreements outside COVAX, according to the Africa CDC.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,439,823 as of Tuesday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,439,823 as of Tuesday evening, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the 55-member African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic stands at 118,194, while 3,980,551 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease. South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Egypt are the countries with the most cases in the continent, according to the Africa CDC. South Africa has recorded 1,567,513 COVID-19 cases, the highest among African countries, followed by Morocco with 505,949 and Tunisia with 287,061 cases, it said. African countries have so far received over 33.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from different sources, mainly from the COVAX facility and through bilateral agreements outside COVAX, according to the Africa CDC.

Africa's COVID-19 cases surpass 4.43 million: Africa CDC

A modified version of&nbsp;AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine tailored to combat the South African coronavirus variant&nbsp;could be ready by the end of 2021, an&nbsp;AstraZeneca&nbsp;official in Austria said in an interview published on Sunday.

Sarah Walters,&nbsp;AstraZeneca's Austria country manager, told the Kurier newspaper that studies, so far, indicating the existing&nbsp;AstraZeneca&nbsp;vaccine was less effective against the more infectious variant first documented in South Africa were "too small to draw final conclusions".

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/covid-vaccines-face-blood-clot-concerns-377510/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"In the meantime,&nbsp;AstraZeneca&nbsp;and Oxford University have started on modifications to the vaccine for the South African variant and we expect it will be ready by the end of the year, should it be needed," Walters told the Kurier.

Walters blamed challenges,&nbsp;including delivery delays for the&nbsp;AstraZeneca&nbsp;shot in the European Union,&nbsp;on the "complex process" of producing a vaccine, coupled with the extremely high demand arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

"We had to work without keeping a supply in reserve. As a result, we couldn't make up for unexpected events," she said. "We are confident that we will fulfill our commitment to deliver 300 million doses to the European Union this year."

The Kurier interview did not directly address ongoing investigations into health concerns over the&nbsp;AstraZeneca&nbsp;shot. The EU has put a warning label on the vaccine over its possible linkage to extremely rare blood clots, Denmark has completely halted use of the vaccine and Britain has advised people under 30 to get another brand of vaccine.

Asked about "thousands" of people in Austria who are cancelling their appointments for&nbsp;AstraZeneca&nbsp;shots, Walters said the company's plan was "to continue to transparently provide information about efficacy and safety to doctors, so that they can adequately inform people" of benefits and risks.

British and European Union medicine regulators have said that the overall benefits of using the vaccine outweigh any risks of rare clotting.

(With input from agencies)

A modified version of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine tailored to combat the South African coronavirus variant could be ready by the end of 2021, an AstraZeneca official in Austria said in an interview published on Sunday.

A modified version of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine tailored to combat the South African coronavirus variant could be ready by the end of 2021, an AstraZeneca official in Austria said in an interview published on Sunday. Sarah Walters, AstraZeneca's Austria country manager, told the Kurier newspaper that studies, so far, indicating the existing AstraZeneca vaccine was less effective against the more infectious variant first documented in South Africa were "too small to draw final conclusions". "In the meantime, AstraZeneca and Oxford University have started on modifications to the vaccine for the South African variant and we expect it will be ready by the end of the year, should it be needed," Walters told the Kurier. Walters blamed challenges, including delivery delays for the AstraZeneca shot in the European Union, on the "complex process" of producing a vaccine, coupled with the extremely high demand arising from the coronavirus pandemic. "We had to work without keeping a supply in reserve. As a result, we couldn't make up for unexpected events," she said. "We are confident that we will fulfill our commitment to deliver 300 million doses to the European Union this year." The Kurier interview did not directly address ongoing investigations into health concerns over the AstraZeneca shot. The EU has put a warning label on the vaccine over its possible linkage to extremely rare blood clots, Denmark has completely halted use of the vaccine and Britain has advised people under 30 to get another brand of vaccine. Asked about "thousands" of people in Austria who are cancelling their appointments for AstraZeneca shots, Walters said the company's plan was "to continue to transparently provide information about efficacy and safety to doctors, so that they can adequately inform people" of benefits and risks. British and European Union medicine regulators have said that the overall benefits of using the vaccine outweigh any risks of rare clotting. (With input from agencies)

AstraZeneca vaccine against South African COVID variant likely to be ready by end-2021

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that the new&nbsp;variant of coronavirus in South Africa is ''more of a problem'' than the mutation found in the UK.

Both Britain and&nbsp;South&nbsp;Africa&nbsp;have discovered new, more infectious variants in the coronavirus in recent weeks that have driven a surge in cases.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/new-covid-19-mutant-found-in-south-africa-spreads-more-swiftly-351972">New Covid-19 mutant found in South Africa spreads more swiftly</a>

“I’m incredibly worried about the South African variant, and that’s why we took the action that we did to restrict all flights from South Africa,”&nbsp;Hancock said in an interview with the local media.

“This is a very, very significant problem ... and it’s even more of a problem than the UK&nbsp;new variant.”

The new strain, called the 501.V2 Variant, was first discovered in South African province Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape

Scientists are not fully confident that COVID-19 vaccines will work on a new variant of the coronavirus found in&nbsp;South&nbsp;Africa. They fear that it is more contagious than other versions of the virus.

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Scientists including BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin and John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, have said they are testing the vaccines on the new variants and say they could make any required tweaks in around six weeks.

Public Health England said there was currently no evidence to suggest that vaccines will not be effective against the new strain. The health ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

The world's richest countries have started vaccinating their populations to safeguard against a virus that has killed 1.8 million people and crushed the global economy.

There are currently 60 vaccine candidates in trials, including those that are already being rolled out from AstraZeneca and Oxford, Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm.

That has helped to lift global financial markets, but the discovery of the new variants has raised a fresh alarm.

Scientists say the new&nbsp;South&nbsp;African variant has multiple mutations in the important "spike" protein that the virus uses to infect human cells.

It has also been associated with a higher viral load, meaning a higher concentration of virus particles in patients' bodies, possibly contributing to higher levels of transmission.

Oxford's Bell, who advises the government's vaccine task force, said on Sunday he thought vaccines would work on the British variant but said there was a "big question mark" as to whether they would work on the&nbsp;South&nbsp;African variant.

He told Times Radio that the shots could be adapted and "it might take a month or six weeks to get a new vaccine".

BioNTech's Sahin told Spiegel in an interview published on Friday that their vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to instruct the human immune system to fight the coronavirus, should be able to cope with the variant first detected in Britain.

"We are testing whether our vaccine can also neutralise this variant and will soon know more," he said.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that the new variant of coronavirus in South Africa is ''more of a problem'' than the mutation found in the UK.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday that the new variant of coronavirus in South Africa is ''more of a problem'' than the mutation found in the UK. Both Britain and South Africa have discovered new, more infectious variants in the coronavirus in recent weeks that have driven a surge in cases. Also read: New Covid-19 mutant found in South Africa spreads more swiftly “I’m incredibly worried about the South African variant, and that’s why we took the action that we did to restrict all flights from South Africa,” Hancock said in an interview with the local media. “This is a very, very significant problem ... and it’s even more of a problem than the UK new variant.” The new strain, called the 501.V2 Variant, was first discovered in South African province Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape Scientists are not fully confident that COVID-19 vaccines will work on a new variant of the coronavirus found in South Africa. They fear that it is more contagious than other versions of the virus. Scientists including BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin and John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford, have said they are testing the vaccines on the new variants and say they could make any required tweaks in around six weeks. Public Health England said there was currently no evidence to suggest that vaccines will not be effective against the new strain. The health ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report. The world's richest countries have started vaccinating their populations to safeguard against a virus that has killed 1.8 million people and crushed the global economy. There are currently 60 vaccine candidates in trials, including those that are already being rolled out from AstraZeneca and Oxford, Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm. That has helped to lift global financial markets, but the discovery of the new variants has raised a fresh alarm. Scientists say the new South African variant has multiple mutations in the important "spike" protein that the virus uses to infect human cells. It has also been associated with a higher viral load, meaning a higher concentration of virus particles in patients' bodies, possibly contributing to higher levels of transmission. Oxford's Bell, who advises the government's vaccine task force, said on Sunday he thought vaccines would work on the British variant but said there was a "big question mark" as to whether they would work on the South African variant. He told Times Radio that the shots could be adapted and "it might take a month or six weeks to get a new vaccine". BioNTech's Sahin told Spiegel in an interview published on Friday that their vaccine, which uses messenger RNA to instruct the human immune system to fight the coronavirus, should be able to cope with the variant first detected in Britain. "We are testing whether our vaccine can also neutralise this variant and will soon know more," he said.

South Africa coronavirus variant 'more of a problem' than the one in UK, says official