US drugmaker Pfizer has agreed to supply the covid-19 drug Paxlovid to the African continent, the director of the African Union Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) announced Thursday..

During the usual weekly press conference from Addis Ababa, John Nkengasong explained that the agreement between the pharmaceutical company and Africa CDC is already at the African Union legal office, after which "a formal announcement" will be made.

Thus, the Africa CDC still expects to begin negotiations with the pharmaceutical company this week to secure the supply of its covid-19 drug, the official said.

"We firmly believe that we must use a combination of approaches to fight this pandemic," he added, quoted by Lusa.

Africa is trying to secure the supply of Pfizer's covid-19 drug, fearing that poorer countries will be left behind, as happened with vaccines.

According to Nkengasong, the number of fully vaccinated people is now 12.9% of the eligible African population.

John Nkengasong has insisted that by 2022 a combination of approaches will be needed to keep the pandemic under control, including increasing vaccination, expanding testing, and ensuring that treatment is available and easily accessible.

Paxlovid is an oral antiviral drug that reduces the ability of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes covid-19, to multiply in the body.