Six Arican countries were tapped yesterday to receive technology to produce mRNA vaccines, part of a plan to boost supply and production in that part of the world.In US COVID-19 developments, more states eased their mask mandates, leaving Hawaii the only one with the measure still in place.Vaccine hub targets equity, country prioritiesAt a summit in Brussels between the European Union and the African Union, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the recipients of the mRNA technology are Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia.The designations are part of a global mRNA technology transfer hub set up in 2021 to support vaccine makers in low- and middle-income countries to produce their own vaccine at quantities needed and by international standards.In a statement, the WHO said the transfer hub was mainly established to address the COVID-19 threat, but it has the potential to expand manufacturing capacity for other priorities such as diabetes drugs, cancer treatments, and vaccines for other conditions, giving countries a lead role in producing the vaccines they need to address their own health priorities.The WHO and its partners said they will work with the countries to set up a roadmap, with training and support, to begin producing vaccine as soon as possible."In the mid- to long-term, the best way to address health emergencies and reach universal health coverage is to significantly increase the capacity of all regions to manufacture the health products they need, with equitable access as their primary endpoint," Tedros said.A South African consortium had been selected to run the global hub and is already producing vaccine and is in the