By Reuters Staff

       1 Min Read

       FILE PHOTO: John Nkengasong, director of the African Union's Centers for Disease Control, speaks at a news conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri

       GENEVA (Reuters) - Less than 3.5% of Africans are vaccinated against COVID-19, far short of its official target of 60%, John Nkengasong, director of Africa’s Centers for Disease Control, said on Tuesday.

       World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the same briefing that the continent was being “left behind by the rest of the world” and that this would allow the coronavirus to keep circulating.

       Reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Emma Farge; Editing by Kevin Liffey

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