A January 27 Instagram post (direct link, file link) a screenshot of a COVID-19 article.
“Africa is 6% vaccinated and covid has practically disappeared
The post garnered over 900 likes in 3 days. Similar posts shared on Instagram.
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The data comes from an outdated article. According to the World Health Organization, the vaccination rate in Africa has exceeded 28%, and several countries exceed 70%. Cases have declined recently due to emerging vaccination rates and declining testing rates, but COVID-19 has not gone away.
The article appears in the article published in November 2021 through an organization called NewsTarget, which it described through PolitiFact as “an online page selling sensational stories. “
At press time, the vaccination rate in Africa was less than 6% and the number of COVID-19 cases was low. Scientists said the low rate of cases was likely due to the continent’s younger population, the tendency to spend more time outdoors and declining rates of urbanization, not the disappearance of the virus.
But the post showed the name as current, with no date included in the screenshot. And now it’s not going to be exact.
According to the World Health Organization, only about 29% of the continent’s population is now fully vaccinated and 35% have gained at least one dose of the vaccine.
In a recent press release, the organization said the adult vaccination rate in Africa rose from 13% to 47% last year, with several countries vaccinating more than 70% of their population.
Compared to the same era last year, the number of newly reported cases in Africa recently dropped by 97 percent due to emerging vaccination rates and declining rates, but the virus continues to spread across the densely populated continent.
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WHO reported that more than 20,000 new ones were registered in the first 3 weeks of January 2023.
The organization still recommends getting vaccinated against COVID-19 rather than getting serious illness and death.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the comment.
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