Will the second wave of the corona virus kill all Africans?

As the year 2019 will go down in history as the year that gave birth to a pandemic in an era of widespread advancement in the fields of science and technology, the year 2020 will be the year that will be remembered as the year even the nations with the most resilient economies around the world were brought down to their knees. The Corona virus pandemic which started as a child’s play in China in 2019 and was initially ignored to some extent by authorities, has dealt the world some very painful blows that will not be forgotten in a haste. Even though the pandemic was at it’s scariest worst by mid 2020, it’s grip on the world seem a little relaxed as the curtains were about to be drawn on 2020. Governments around the world began putting in measures to resuscitate the various economies of the individual nations of the world. China, the country where the virus was birthed was coincidentally at the forefront of the charge of the fastest reviving economies of the world. Despite the challenging nature of the pandemic and it’s effect on economic activities around the world, The United State of America, Russia and the United kingdom among others have proven to be world superpowers by coming up with vaccines for the virus. This came in handy and would have been some great news if not for the fact that the jubilation was cut short by the news of a mutated strain of the virus that can still affect and even kill people who had already taken the vaccine.

With world leaders like the United States of America, Italy and the United Kingdom struggling to revive their economies and prepare for the new wave of the corona virus which according to experts is more deadly compared to the first strain, poorer countries which are mostly concentrated in Africa have every reason to be worried. Some months ago when the covid-19 was new to the world, some notable individuals like Melinda Gates, the wife of Billionaire Bill Gates was alleged to have stated that the streets of Africa would be filled with dead bodies if the virus is not handled with care. Rather miraculously, Africa has survived the first wave of the corona virus pandemic in outstanding fashion. The death rate in Africa was the lowest all over the world. This development in it’s entirety came as a shock to the people who predicted doom for the continent.

Even though scientists are yet to prove beyond reasonable doubt why Africans seem to be immune to the first strain of the corona virus, we can be sure of one thing today and it is the fact that the new strain of the corona virus is affecting and killing indiscriminately. The second wave is shaking the very foundations of Africa and people are scared of what the results may be. Will this bring about the end of Africans? Will the predictions of Africa’s doubters come true? It is an irrefutable fact that the only thing that saved Africa the first time was the miraculous immunity of the people of the continent towards the first strain of the virus. If today that immunity has been nullified and Africans have to depend on the continent’s rather poor health system for survival, then there is cause for alarm. Countries like Italy and the United States of America who are also among the most technologically advanced nations in the world had to bury thousands a day for a long time when the weaker first wave hit them. How then will African countries whose health systems are so poor that pregnant women had to deliver their babies on floors due to the unavailability of hospital beds, be able to stay alive through the second and deadlier wave of the same virus?

With Ghana leading the charge to keep Africa alive through these testing times by following the outlined protocols of the health experts, one can only ‘hope for the best but expect the worst’. With major towns lacking hospitals and access to health care very low in many African countries, it is very difficult for officials to keep track of the virus and promptly quarantine infected individuals. Another thing that will be a headache to officials are the negative theories that are being circulated by conspiracy theorists about the vaccines that are out there so far. Things are definitely not looking good for Africa as the second wave of the covid-19 takes effect and I can only ask one question; “will the second wave of the corona virus kill all Africans?”