COVID-19 - The African Mirror

Mar

04

2021

Senegal receives its first COVAX vaccines

COVID-19

SENEGAL received 324,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine early yesterday as the COVAX global distribution scheme accelerates delivery of the shots to the world's poorest countries. The doses will add to the west African country's stock of 200,000 vaccines it bought from China's Sinopharm to launch the first phase of its inoculation campaign. Around 40,000 people, including President Macky Sall have received the Sinopharm vaccine since the start of the campaign last week. Senegal is eligible for around 1.3 million doses for free in the first wave of disbursement from the COVAX progamme, which is backed by the World…

Mar

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Angola, Congo and Djibouti approve Russia’s vaccine

COVID-19

ANGOLA, Congo Republic and Djibouti have approved Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the new coronavirus for emergency use, according to Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund. The Russian vaccine has now been approved for use by a total of 42 countries, including Russia, RDIF said.

Mar

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Latest on the worldwide spread of the COVID-19

COVID-19

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday the United States would have enough COVID-19 vaccine for every American adult by the end of May. The first doses of the Pfizer shots to be dispatched to Africa under the global COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme arrived in Rwanda yesterday. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS * Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals for a case tracker and summary of news. EUROPE * The European Union aims to increase the region's COVID-19 vaccine production capacity to 2-3 billion doses per year by the end of 2021, Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton was quoted as saying. * German Chancellor Angela…

Mar

04

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenya calls first vaccines ‘bazookas’, Rwanda secures Pfizer shots

COVID-19

OMAR MOHAMMED and CLEMENT UWIRIGIYIMANA KENYA received over a million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, while Rwanda said it was the first in Africa to secure shots from Pfizer, as efforts to inoculate the world's poorest nations accelerated. With fewer resources and tougher logistics than other regions, African nations are racing to secure the doses needed to protect their roughly 1.3 billion people and allow the safe reopening of economies. Africa has been relatively lightly hit by the coronavirus relative to other regions, recording 104,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally, That is lower than national tallies…

Mar

24

2021

By The African Mirror

WTO DG “disappointed” in EU vaccine export restrictions

COVID-19

THE director-general of the World Trade Organization has expressed her disappointment in the European Union's export authorisation scheme for COVID-19 vaccines, saying that she was talking to them about this measure. "While we understand the politics of what they are doing - I have said openly I am disappointed, particularly in the fact that they extended it from March," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at a WTO online event, saying export restrictions must be temporary. Under the scheme, which is to be extended through June, companies must get an authorisation before exporting COVID-19 shots, and may have export requests denied if they…

Mar

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Russia tests one-dose ‘light’ in UAE, Ghana

COVID-19

POLINA NIKOLSKAYA and EMILIO PARODI RUSSIAN developers of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 have applied for domestic approval of a single-dose "light" version, and that trials of it in Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Ghana have already begun. The slimmed-down shot is not expected to be as effective as the original vaccine, said Arsen Kubataev, of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund marketing the vaccine abroad. But the outlook for it is "optimistic", he said. RDIF has previously suggested the one-shot version of Sputnik V could be a "temporary" solution for countries with high infections…

Mar

30

2021

By The African Mirror

No off sales Easter booze in SA

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER IN an effort to prevent an upsurge in infections due to expected heightened activity during the Easter weekend, South Africa has reintroduced slightly stricter measures designed to keep the pandemic levels low. In a special address to the nation, Ramaphosa announced that SA will stay at lockdown Level One with the following restrictions: Sales of alcohol for off site consumption will not be permitted from Good Friday to Easter Monday. On site sales at bars, taverns and restaurants will be allowed, subject to licensing conditionsReligious gathering will be restricted to 250 indoor and 500 people outdoors. This is…

Mar

31

2021

By The African Mirror

Pandemic treaty idea for future emergencies

COVID-19

LEADERS of 23 countries and the World Health Organization yesterday backed an idea to create an international treaty that would help deal with future health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic by tightening rules on sharing information. The idea of such a treaty, also aimed at ensuring universal and equitable access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for pandemics, was floated by the chairman of European Union leaders, Charles Michel, at a summit of the Group of 20 major economic powers last November. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has endorsed the proposal, but formal negotiations have not begun, diplomats say. Tedros told…

Mar

31

2021

By The African Mirror

South Sudan face logistics challenge

COVID-19

THOUGH South Sudan has secured more than 2 million COVID-19 vaccines it will struggle to get shots into arms as the rainy season approaches, rendering many roads in one of the world's poorest nations impassable, the outgoing head of the U.N. mission in the country said. Getting vaccines out to the population "is not as easy as it sounds, in a place like South Sudan where logistics are so difficult", said David Shearer, who leaves the country next month after heading the more than $1 billion per year United Nations peacekeeping mission since 2016. David Shearer. Picture: United Nations South…

Mar

31

2021

By The African Mirror

WHO says COVID-19 origins study not extensive enough, cites data access ‘difficulties’

COVID-19

A World Health Organization team probing the new coronavirus's origins cited problems accessing raw data, the health agency's chief said on Tuesday, calling for further studies because the assessment, so far, has not been extensive enough. "In my discussions with the team, they expressed the difficulties they encountered in accessing raw data," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said after the report of a team that traveled to Wuhan, China, this year was released. "I expect future collaborative studies to include more timely and comprehensive data sharing." Although the team concluded a laboratory leak was the least likely hypothesis for the…