CNN International Correspondent Larry Madowo says he is anxious over the well-being of his ailing grandmother.
In an article published by CNN, the journalist said his 96-year-old grandmother contracted COVID-19 and has been on a ventilator for weeks.
“Every time I see a call from home, my heart sinks. I always fear that they’re ringing to say that my grandmother has died. She has been on a ventilator for four weeks, and my anxiety is near breaking point.
“The dreaded call could come at any time: Covid-19. Again. Even at 96, my Kenyan grandmother was among hundreds of millions in the developing world who was not vaccinated until recently because rich nations have hoarded most of the available shots,” Madowo wrote in part.
According to Larry, by the time his grandmother got vaccinated, “it was already too late as she had been infected by Covid-19″.
The journo went on to paint a picture of the vaccine inequality in Africa, saying: “All I needed to get protection was walk to a nearby drugstore in Washington, DC. But many people like my grandmother have died or will die, because of the accident of where they live. Her heart is now failing, and mine is breaking.”
He continued: “Though I’m more than 60 years younger than her, I was fully inoculated by April because I was living in the United States, where anybody over 12 can get a vaccine if they want one.”
Larry Madowo noted that Africa has received the fewest vaccines globally so far.
“The acute shortage of doses for the world’s poorest people has been called “vaccine apartheid,” “greed” and a “catastrophic moral failure.” Yet the public shaming has made little real difference, and Africa has received the fewest vaccines in the globe so far. Around half of all Americans are now fully vaccinated. Here in Kenya, that figure stands at just 1.1% of the population,” he wrote.
Madowo also disclosed that his uncle named Justus died in June due to a lack of adequate Covid-19 vaccines. He was the third in their family to succumb during the pandemic.
“I was heartbroken and angry. He was not vaccinated because Kenya didn’t — and still does not — have enough shots even for a senior like him,” he said.
“Justus was buried within 48 hours as the Kenyan government requires. He was the third family member who had died in the pandemic that I didn’t get a chance to mourn properly or see laid to rest.”
