A WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa will be modeled after Moderna. COVID-19 was shot.

According to a WHO official, stalled talks between a tech transfer hub and a US company may slow a project to produce vaccines for Africa.

Efforts to establish an African base for COVID-19 vaccine production will center on replicating Moderna's shot, but a lack of progress in negotiations with the US company means the project will take time, according to a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official.

The drive to produce vaccines in Africa is intended to help more developing countries gain access to COVID-19 shots after wealthy nations purchased the majority of this year's supply.

Last October, Moderna announced that it would not enforce patents on its shot during the pandemic, raising hopes that other companies would be able to replicate it and help boost COVID-19 vaccine production.

In practice, however, it is difficult to replicate a vaccine without knowing how it is made, and the WHO-backed tech transfer hub in South Africa – established in June to provide poorer countries with the know-how to produce COVID-19 vaccines – has yet to reach an agreement with the company.