COVID-19 Cases Double in Seychelles Military Despite Vaccination Rate Exceeding 60%

62.2% of Population Fully Vaccinated with Two Doses... Rapid Surge in Confirmed Cases
Sinopharm and AstraZeneca Vaccines Mainly Administered... Growing Doubts About Efficacy

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Republic of Seychelles, which has recorded the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the world with over 60% of its population fully vaccinated with two or more doses, is drawing global attention as COVID-19 cases have recently more than doubled. Most of the vaccines administered in the country are known to be the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, raising growing doubts about the vaccine's efficacy.

According to Bloomberg News on the 10th, Seychelles' health authorities announced at a briefing that COVID-19 infections have more than doubled since last week, reaching 2,486 cases. Among these, 37% were people who had completed two doses of vaccination administered by the Seychelles authorities. Bloomberg reported that Seychelles has a full vaccination rate of 62.2% of the total population, the highest in the world.

Within Seychelles, voices doubting the efficacy of the administered vaccines are increasing. Of the vaccines given in Seychelles, 57% were the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, and the remainder were Covishield, produced in India under license from AstraZeneca. In particular, the Sinopharm vaccine is facing growing skepticism about its efficacy even within China, leading to increased distrust of the Sinopharm vaccine.

The exact reason for the surge in COVID-19 cases in Seychelles remains unclear. According to Bloomberg, Professor Daniel Lucy of Dartmouth College in the United States wrote in a blog post last week, "Genetic sequencing data for the COVID-19 cases that occurred in Seychelles in April is not yet available."

Some suggest that the variant virus 'B.1.351', first identified in South Africa at the end of last year, was found in Seychelles in February, raising the possibility that the vaccines administered by Seychelles' health authorities may not be fully effective against the variant. Previously, the AstraZeneca vaccine was shown to have low efficacy against this variant, leading the South African government to halt its use.

Meanwhile, as COVID-19 resurges, Seychelles has closed schools and reimposed bans on sports events since last week. Seychelles had recently lifted lockdowns and resumed tourism as vaccination rates increased.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.