COVID-19 - The African Mirror

Jan

30

2021

Division on vaccine funding model

COVID-19

EMMA RUMNEY AND ALEXANDER WINNING DAYS before coronavirus vaccinations start in South Africa, medical schemes have still not agreed how and to what extent they will contribute to the cost of inoculations for people without insurance cover, industry executives have told Reuters. South Africa is expecting its first 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to land on Monday and will start immunising health workers from mid-February. The country has been the hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent, with more than 1.4 million cases and over 43,000 deaths to date. A top medical scheme administrator, Discovery Health ,…

Jan

30

2021

By The African Mirror

J&J vaccine adds to COVID-19 armoury

COVID-19

JULIE STEENHUYSEN JOHNSON & JOHNSON says its single-dose vaccine was 66% effective in preventing COVID-19 in a large global trial against multiple variants, giving health officials another weapon to tackle the pandemic. In the trial of nearly 44,000 volunteers, the level of protection against moderate and severe COVID-19 varied from 72% in the United States, to 66% in Latin America and just 57% in South Africa, from where a worrying variant has spread. The data showed that the vaccine's effect on the South Africa variant was diminished compared to the unaltered virus, but infectious disease and public health experts said…

Jan

30

2021

By The African Mirror

Guinea approves Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

COVID-19

Guinea has approved the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for domestic use, becoming the second African country to do so, health authorities and Russia's sovereign wealth fund said on Friday. The West African country's approval of the vaccine for use for one year occurred two weeks after President Alpha Conde was seen receiving it on television under a trial run of what is expected to be a much large delivery of vials from Russia. Guinea is negotiating a bilateral deal to take an additional 2 million doses, a senior government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Russia's vaccine diplomacy…

Jan

30

2021

By The African Mirror

WHO says vaccine hoarding ‘keeps pandemic burning’

COVID-19

RICH countries squabbling over COVID-19 vaccine supplies must consider the situation in poorer parts of the world, the World Health Organization has said, warning that hoarding of shots "keeps the pandemic burning". WHO officials were speaking after the European Commission said it had agreed a plan to control exports of vaccines from the European Union, including to Britain, arguing it needed to do so to ensure its own supplies. The EU, whose member states are far behind Israel, Britain and the United States in rolling out vaccines, is scrambling to get supplies just as the West's biggest drugmakers slow deliveries…

Jan

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Jumping the COVID-19 vaccine line: Where it’s happening and what’s being done to stop it

COVID-19

LIN TAYLOR THE millionaire couple travelled to a remote Canadian community to receive a coronavirus vaccine meant for vulnerable Indigenous people. The Austrian major got a jab at a care home that had been prioritised for medical staff. The army general received the COVID-19 vaccine ahead of priority groups in Spain. As cases of politicians and well-connected opportunists jumping the queue in national coronavirus vaccination campaign come to light, public outrage is growing. Fines and high-profile dismissals have not deterred some of the world's most privileged from gaming the system: securing, often through nefarious means, coveted vaccines seen as golden…

Jan

29

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s mining industry prepares for $20 mln COVID-19 vaccine rollout effort

COVID-19

TANISHA HEIBERG and HELEN REID SOUTH Africa's mining industry estimates it will cost around 300 million rand ($20 million) to help the government roll out COVID-19 vaccines to mineworkers and community members as the country battles a surge in infections, the industry body has told Reuters.: The Minerals Council, which represents mining firms, offered its financial and logistical assistance after the government called on the private sector to help with the rollout of vaccines, the first of which are set to arrive on Monday. Mining is a key driver of the country's economy, contributing 9% of GDP, and mineworkers are…

Jan

29

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. finds first cases of new variant, in South Carolina

COVID-19

JULIE STEENHUYSEN THE United States has found its first cases of a potent coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa, health officials in the state of South Carolina said on Thursday. Viruses mutate frequently, and several mutated viruses have been identified. The presence of the South African variant in the United States is especially concerning because several laboratory studies have shown that it reduces vaccine effectiveness. Another concern, according to the nominee for U.S. surgeon general, is that the South African variant could require larger doses of an antibody for treatment. "The thing that's troublesome now that we really need…

Sep

15

2021

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE: WHO-backed vaccine hub for Africa to copy Moderna COVID-19 shot

COVID-19

WENDELL ROELF EFFORTS to develop an African base for COVID-19 vaccine production will focus on trying to replicate Moderna's shot, but a lack of progress in talks with the U.S. company means the project will take time, a senior WHO official told Reuters. The drive to produce vaccines in Africa is designed to help more developing countries access COVID-19 shots after rich nations bought up most of this year's supply. Moderna said last October it would not enforce patents related to its shot during the pandemic, raising hopes that other companies might be able to copy it and help boost…

Jan

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Pfizer vaccine only slightly less effective against key S.African mutations

COVID-19

PFIZER Inc and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine appeared to lose only a small bit of effectiveness against an engineered virus with three key mutations from the new coronavirus variant found in South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the U.S. drugmaker. The study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), which has not yet been peer-reviewed, showed a less than two-fold reduction in antibody titer levels, indicating the vaccine would likely be effective in neutralizing a virus with the so-called E484K and N501Y mutations found in the South African variant. The study was conducted…

Sep

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Less than 3.5 % of Africans vaccinated against COVID

COVID-19

LESS than 3.5% of Africans are vaccinated against COVID-19, far short of its official target of 60%, John Nkengasong, director of Africa's Centers for Disease Control, said on Tuesday. World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the same briefing that the continent was being "left behind by the rest of the world" and that this would allow the coronavirus to keep circulating.