COVID Vaccine Research Update
The Launch and Scale Speedometer blog series. December 17, 2021 By Blen Biru Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa with a population of 118 million. The first COVID-19 case in Ethiopia was identified on March 13, 2020 but, like many African countries, Ethiopia had relatively low reported cases and deaths during the first wave of infections compared with other parts of the world. However, in December 2020, a larger second wave brought increased level of infections and deaths, due to a combination of factors including lower adherence to stringent public health measures. Since August 2021, Ethiopia has been experiencing a third wave of infections, recording close to 300 deaths weekly and a test positive rate of 10-20% although cases have declined in November and December. The high positivity rate suggests that the likelihood of many more infections happening beyond…