COVID-19 - The African Mirror

Aug

03

2021

Delta variant spreads ‘like wildfire’

COVID-19

DEENA BEASLEY WITH a new wave of COVID-19 infections fueled by the Delta variant striking countries worldwide, disease experts are scrambling to learn whether the latest version of coronavirus is making people - mainly the unvaccinated - sicker than before. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that Delta, first identified in India and now dominant worldwide, is "likely more severe" than earlier versions of the virus, according to an internal report made public on Friday. The agency cited research in Canada, Singapore and Scotland showing that people infected with the Delta variant were more likely to be…

Aug

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Vaccine mandates: Senegal warns employers

COVID-19

SENEGAL’S government has warned employers not to refuse entry to workers who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, calling such measures discriminatory. Fewer than 1 million of Senegal's roughly 16 million people have been vaccinated, but some employers have begun to ask unvaccinated workers to stay at home as infections and deaths hit record numbers during the ongoing third wave. Last week, Senegal's public electricity company said unvaccinated workers would be placed on annual leave beginning on August 16. Some private employers have announced similar measures. Labour Minister Samba Sy said in a circular to employers that because Senegalese law does…

Aug

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Morocco announces curfew

COVID-19

MOROCCO has announced a national curfew from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. starting on Tuesday to curb the coronavirus outbreak, the prime minister's office tweeted. The statement added that movement between several cities including Marrakesh will be limited to vaccination certificate holders and medical emergency cases.

Jan

13

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 kills two Malawi cabinet ministers

COVID-19

FRANK PHIRI TWO senior Malawian cabinet ministers and two other senior political figures died on the same day from COVID-19, the government said. The deaths followed a cabinet meeting and other gatherings attended by politicians over the Christmas period, but officials did not say where the victims were infected. Transport Minister Sidik Mia Local Government Minister Lingson Berekanyama and Transport Minister Sidik Mia both succumbed to the disease in the early hours of Tuesday, the government spokesman said. They were senior members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the main partner in an alliance that unseated ex-leader Peter Mutharika in…

Apr

02

2021

By The African Mirror

SA health regulator registers J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19

SOUTH Africa's health regulator has registered Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, paving the way for deliveries to start in the second quarter. The registration of J&J's vaccine is a boost for the country worst affected by the pandemic on the continent in terms of recorded infections and deaths. South Africa is counting on J&J to supply 31 million doses of its vaccine. J&J said in a statement that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) had "granted registration with conditions" for its single-dose vaccine. SAHPRA's spokesman confirmed that J&J's vaccine had been registered when called by Reuters. He said…

Apr

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Pfizer COVID-19 shot 91% effective

COVID-19

CARL O’DONNELL Pfizer Inc and BioNTech have revealed that their COVID-19 vaccine is around 91% effective at preventing the disease, citing updated trial data that included participants inoculated for up to six months. The shot was also 100% effective in preventing illness among trial participants in South Africa, where a new variant called B1351 is dominant, although that rate was derived from a relatively small number of nine infections observed there, which were all in the placebo group, Pfizer said. While the new overall efficacy rate of 91.3% is lower than the 95% originally reported in November for its 44,000-person…

Apr

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt gets 854,400 doses of vaccine

COVID-19

EGYPT has received 854,400 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine as part of the global COVAX agreement, the health ministry said. COVAX was established by the Geneva-based GAVI vaccine alliance and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the equitable distribution of vaccines. The shipment is part of 40 million doses that Egypt is set to receive via GAVI. The AstraZeneca vaccine has received approval for emergency use from WHO and the Egyptian Drug Authority, the ministry spokesman said in a statement. The shipment will be tested in the authority's labs before the vaccination of medical workers, the elderly, and eligible groups…

Apr

02

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Vaccine delay could be catastrophic for Africa ‘

COVID-19

INDIA’S temporary hold on major exports of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot will undermine Africa's vaccination plans, and could have a "catastrophic" impact if extended, the head of the continent's disease control body said yesterday. India decided to delay big exports of the shots made in its territory by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to make sure it could meet local demand, two sources told Reuters last week. The hold "will definitely impact our ability to continuously vaccinate people," the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, told a news conference in Addis Ababa. The African…

Apr

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria aims to get 70 million vaccines

COVID-19

ALEIXIS AKWAGYIRAM NIGERIA hopes to receive up to 70 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine this year through the African Union (AU), its primary healthcare chief told Reuters, amid concerns about delayed deliveries of AstraZeneca shots. Rolling out vaccines in developing nations such as Nigeria, whose 200 million-strong population is Africa's biggest, is seen as key to stemming the global spread of the new coronavirus. Nigeria, which has recorded 2,049 deaths from COVID-19 and began vaccinations this month, plans to inoculate 40% of its people this year and another 30% in 2022. Last week, India - the…

Apr

01

2021

By The African Mirror

T cells induced by COVID-19 infection respond to new virus variants

COVID-19

JULIE STEENHUYSEN A critical component of the immune system known as T cells that respond to fight infection from the original version of the novel coronavirus appears to also protect against three of the most concerning new virus variants, according to a U.S. laboratory study released. Several recent studies have shown that certain variants of the novel coronavirus can undermine immune protection from antibodies and vaccines. But antibodies - which block the coronavirus from attaching to human cells - may not tell the whole story, according to the study by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases…