'Extreme' vaccine discrimination risks leaving Africa behind - report

FILE PHOTO: A health worker administers a vaccine during the launch of the South African leg of a global Phase III trial of Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccination of children and adolescents, in Pretoria, South Africa, September 10, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

LONDON (Reuters) - Africa has little chance of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic unless 70% of its population is vaccinated by end-2022, yet "extreme vaccine discrimination" is leaving the continent behind, a report published on Monday said.

The discovery of the Omicron variant in southern Africa has heightened claims that low inoculation rates can encourage viral mutations, which can then spread to countries where rates are much higher.