Dr. Mpho Shabangu is a Tshwane district vaccine coordinator. - ABC(NEW YORK) The omicron variant has exponentially spread in South Africa in a short time, and now experts are warning that widespread vaccine hesitancy and the lack of basic medical supplies in the region may lead to an explosive outbreak of new cases. In just two weeks, the number of new COVID-19 cases in South Africa has surged more than 1,600%, according to an ABC News analysis of data from the National Institute for Communicable Disease. The increase coincides with the discovery of the omicron variant in southern Africa and comes as countries around the world institute protective measures against the new strain. "We were going through a period of actually much lower level transmission of the virus and we were getting optimistic that we might have a bit of respite again from this virus," said Dr. Richard Lessells at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa. "Unfortunately, that did not turn out
About 40% of vaccines that have arrived so far on the continent have not been used, according to data from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a policy think-tank.
When a group arrived at the Sekenani health clinic in rural Kenya for their Covid-19 vaccines recently, staff told them there were no doses left and that they should come back soon.