The head of the World Health Organisation said it is in discussions with numerous companies and institutions to create a technology transfer hub for coronavirus vaccines in South Africa. At a press briefing on Monday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the consortium involves a company called Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, which will act as a hub both for making vaccines that use a genetic code of the spike protein, known as mRNA vaccines, and by providing training to other manufacturers to make these shots, including the company, Biovac Institute.
WHO is facilitating this effort by establishing the criteria for technology transfer, Tedros said. We are now in discussions with several companies that have indicated interest in providing their mRNA technology. The German company BioNTech, which has partnered with Pfizer to makes its COVID-19 vaccine, recently announced it would scale up efforts to establish mRNA vaccine facilities across Africa.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa…
