Six African Countries to Receive mRNA Vaccine Technology

From left, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of Senegal Macky Sall, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, President of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta and President of Tunisia Kais Saied pose on the podium after addressing a media conference at an EU Africa summit in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022.(Olivier Hoslet, Pool Photo via AP)

The first African countries selected to receive the technology necessary to produce mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 are Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia, a summit meeting of European Union and African Union nations heard on Friday.

The six countries have been chosen to build vaccine production factories as part of a bid the World Health Organization launched last year to replicate what are believed to be the most effective licensed shots against COVID-19.