* Africa CDC says decision not linked to clot fears
* Seeking more J&J shots while COVAX sources AstraZeneca
* Aiming not to compete with COVAX during supply crunch
(Clarifies role of COVAX in headline, edits)
NAIROBI, April 8 (Reuters) - The African Union's disease
control body said on Thursday it had dropped plans to secure
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for its members from the
Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine supplier,
amid global shortfalls of the shot.
AstraZeneca's $3 shot is by far the cheapest coronavirus
vaccine launched so far, and the easiest to store and transport,
making it well suited to developing countries.
On Wednesday, European and British medicine regulators said
they had found possible links between the vaccine and extremely
rare cases of brain blood clots, while emphatically reaffirming
its importance in mass vaccination against COVID-19.
John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), said the AU's decision had
nothing to do with those findings, and reiterated his advice
that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks.
He said the main reason was to avoid duplicating COVAX's
efforts by the World Health Organization-backed COVAX facility,
which will continue to supply AstraZeneca to Africa.
He said the AU was focusing on the Johnson & Johnson
vaccine, citing a deal announced last week to supply Africa with
up to 400 million doses.
COVAX aims to deliver 600 million shots - most of them from
AstraZeneca - to some 40 African countries this year, enough to
vaccinate 20% of their populations.
Africa trails most other regions in COVID-19 vaccinations;
fewer than 13 million doses have been administered on a
continent of 1.3 billion people, according to the Africa CDC.
'NOT COMPETING'
The AU had wanted to secure up to 500 million additional
AstraZeneca shots for its 55 member states, at $3 per shot.
However, last month India suspended its exports to meet
rising domestic demand.
Nkengasong said the subsequent delays were complicating
vaccination across Africa, noting that health systems had to
know that second doses would be available in time for those who
had received a first dose.
Matshidiso Moeti, who heads the WHO's Africa office,
confirmed the two organisations wanted to ensure they were "not
competing and stepping over each other looking for the same
vaccines".
"I am very much assured that it is not to do with doubts
about the safety and other considerations on the AstraZeneca
vaccines. It's simply to recognise that there are challenges
with the volumes that are available," she told a separate news
briefing.
The single-shot J&J doses secured last week will not arrive
until the third quarter, and Nkengasong said Africa would find
it hard to bridge the gap in the meantime.
South Africa has cancelled orders of the AstraZeneca vaccine
after finding it gave only minimal protection against
mild-to-moderate infection caused by the country's dominant,
highly infectious variant.
Russia and China are also offering vaccines, but there are
questions about their cost and availability in large volumes.
The virus is confirmed to have killed 114,000 people across
Africa, and infected 4.33 million.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Writing by Katharine Houreld;
Editing by Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie and Alison Williams)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
