Why the African Union isn’t waiting for COVAX

The U.N.-backed COVAX vaccine facility was supposed to be a game-changer. But with less than ten percent of Africans vaccinated — well short of the African Union’s goal of 60% by the end of this year — Strive Masiyiwa, the head of the Union’s vaccination effort, says the continent can no longer rely on donations and vaccines produced abroad to fight disease. Masiyiwa tells POLITICO’s Ryan Heath about his negotiations with the Indian government after he realized they would no longer be exporting vaccines to Africa — and why that moment convinced him the only thing left to do was to build out a vaccine infrastructure back home.