With the start this week of the first human vaccine trials in South Africa, Africa has now officially joined the race to find a Covid-19 vaccine.
The large-scale trial of the vaccine developed by Oxford University is being conducted in South Africa, the UK and Brazil.
Experts say a vaccine is the one thing that will help bring life back to normal, but trials have to take place in many different settings before there is one which is safe to use.
Scientists say that it is vital that Africans take part in these trials, arguing that not doing so could jeopardise efforts to find a vaccine that works worldwide – and not just for richer nations.
But critics cite a history of Western exploitation of Africa and unethical drug trials in the past as a reason not to participate.
BBC Africa’s Joice Etutu reports on why vaccine trials in Africa are such a sensitive topic and whether things have changed.