South Africa opens vaccine manufacturing plant

By Murat Ozgur Guvendik

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - South Africa’s president and a US billionaire inaugurated a new vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town on Wednesday that hopes to produce around one billion COVID-19 doses annually by 2025.

Cyril Ramaphosa and South African-born Patrick Soon-Shiong cut the ribbon at the new NantSA plant, which will also produce cancer vaccines and other pharmaceuticals.

The plant is South Africa’s third vaccine manufacturing facility but will be the first in Africa to fully produce COVID-19 vaccines instead of manufacturing them from semi-finished batches.

South Africa has the highest number of coronavirus infections on the continent.

The country has so far reported over 3.56 million cases and more than 93,571 fatalities.