Country | Total Doses Admin. | Fully Vaccinated | % of Population |
Morocco | 21.3M | 9.74M | 26.7% |
South Africa | 5.33M | 1.79M | 7.7% |
Tunisia | 2.42M | 825K | 7.1% |
Botswana | 311K | 116K | 5.0% |
Zimbabwe | 1.83M | 643K | 4.4% |
Angola | 1.59M | 634K | 2.0% |
Rwanda | 651K | 253K | 2.0% |
Senegal | 870K | 259K | 1.6% |
Egypt | 5.06M | 1.43M | 1.4% |
Ghana | 1.27M | 406K | 1.3% |
Notice that popular countries that have residents who frequently visit the United States like Nigeria (0.7%) and Kenya (1.1%), Somalia (0.6%), and Sierra Leone (0.2%) have rates so low that they didn’t even make the top ten. If the slow and low vaccination rates in Africa continue, it could prolong the pandemic, allow for the creation and incubation of more variants, and significantly impact the continent for generations to come.
What About the Caribbean?
Caribbean interests by people from wealthy, more vaccinated nations have seemingly had an impact on vaccination rates. Many island nation economies depend on tourism so those who work on or around the frequented resorts have increased vaccination rates. However, the islands with a large number of natives living in the United States surprisingly have low vaccination rates.
Here is a table of the top vaccination rates in the Caribbean and other islands:
Country | Total Doses Admin. | Fully Vaccinated | % of Population |
Bermuda | 82,050 | 40,545 | 63.4% |
Aruba | 135K | 63,106 | 59.4% |
Turks & Caicos | 46,348 | 21,988 | 57.6% |
Anguilla | 17,807 | 8,445 | 55.9% |
Sint Maarten | 43,170 | 19,642 | 48.2% |
Saint Kitts & Nevis | 42,837 | 19,389 | 36.7% |
British Virgin Island | 24,112 | 10,113 | 33.7% |
Antigua & Barbuda | 66,124 | 28,808 | 29.7% |
Barbados | 172K | 81,041 | 25.6% |
St. Lucia | 55,052 | 23,329 | 12.8% |
Noticeable countries missing from this list are Jamaica (4.0%), The Bahamas (10.1%), and Trinidad and Tobago (12.5%). Those countries have large numbers of natives living in large metropolitan cities in the United States (Miami, New York) who frequently visit their native countries. This could potentially have a negative impact on the fight against the COVID pandemic.
In conclusion, there are approximately 5.54 BILLION people of African descent in the world. That means almost 3.88B will have to be vaccinated in order to reach the 70% required for herd immunity. In order to do this, the world will have to overcome centuries of racism, distrust, and political agendas to ensure the health and safety of all. Trusting governments and politicians isn’t something that makes any of us feel safe. But, our health and safety aren’t up to politicians or governments. It’s up to us. One vaccination at a time.