COVID-19 - The African Mirror

Feb

10

2021

eSwatini will not use AstraZeneca vaccine

COVID-19

LUNGA MASUKU eSWATINI will no longer use AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, its health minister said yesterday, after a trial showed it gave minimal protection against mild-to-moderate COVID-19 caused by the dominant variant in South Africa. eSwatini, a tiny kingdom formerly known as Swaziland that borders South Africa, was due to receive AstraZeneca doses from COVAX, the global vaccine distribution scheme co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO). South Africa on Sunday put on hold the rollout of AstraZeneca's vaccine after researchers published preliminary data showing it had significantly reduced efficacy against the more contagious 501Y.V2 variant identified late last year. The…

Feb

10

2021

By The African Mirror

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

COVID-19

HEALTH officials around the world gave their backing to the AstraZeneca vaccine, after a study showing it had little effect against mild disease caused by the variant now spreading quickly in South Africa rang global alarm. The prospect that new variants could evolve the ability to elude vaccines is one of the main risks hanging over the global strategy to emerge from the pandemic. South Africa, where a new variant now accounts for the vast majority of cases, initially announced a pause in its rollout of a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. But it said on Monday it could…

Feb

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia secures 9 million doses of vaccines

COVID-19

ETHIOPIA has secured nine million doses of COVID-19 vaccines up until April and hopes to inoculate at least a fifth of its 110 million people by the end of the year, the health minister said yesterday. "For now up to April we have been allocated close to nine million doses," Lia Tadesse said. "Within this year we want to make sure we get at least 20% of the population," she told Reuters. Ethiopia was open to possible donations of vaccines, Lia added, and said the country was not doing any procurement of doses independently but only through the COVAX facility.…

Feb

21

2021

By The African Mirror

How I survived COVID-19 – Swazi King

COVID-19

eSWATINI’S King Mswati III said he had recovered from COVID-19 after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen sent antiviral medication to help him. The small southern African country, an absolute monarchy formerly known as Swaziland, is Taiwan's only remaining diplomatic ally on the continent, and Taipei has provided large amounts of economic and other aid. In a speech, the king said while the country awaited the arrival of vaccines, there was an antiviral drug that could be used to treat the illness, which he did not name. He said he had tested positive "for a couple of days" in the first week…

Feb

21

2021

By The African Mirror

Ghana approves Russia’s vaccine

COVID-19

Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund has announced that Ghana had granted emergency authorisation for the use of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19, becoming the 31st country to do so, and the fifth African state. The Russian vaccine was approved by the West African country's health ministry, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said in a statement.

Feb

21

2021

By The African Mirror

Why do antibodies fade after a COVID-19 infection, and will the same thing happen with vaccines?

COVID-19

THE goal of the COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide is to stimulate our immune systems into creating a protective response against the coronavirus, particularly by generating antibodies. These antibodies then circulate in our blood until needed in the future, attacking and removing the coronavirus quickly from our bodies if we become infected. STEVEN SMITH, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences, Brunel University London The speed with which the scientific and medical communities have developed and tested these new vaccines has been extraordinary. However, this short timescale leaves us with some outstanding questions. Key among these is how long the protection…

Feb

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Insecurity, suspicion, vaccine rollout in Africa war zones

COVID-19

NITA BHALLA and MOHAMMED OMER SOMALI cattle herder Omar Hussein isn't joining the global scramble for a COVID-19 vaccine - he's not sure the jab will even reach his besieged town in southwestern Somalia. The 28-year-old, who has spent much of his life living in a volatile region infiltrated by al Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgents, has bigger problems on his mind. "I know COVID-19 is a killer, everyone knows that. It killed many in Western countries, but not here thanks to God," the father of three told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from his home in Bulo Fulay town in…

Feb

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa COVID-19 deaths surpass 100 000

COVID-19

AFRICA's reported COVID-19 death toll surpassed 100,000, a fraction of those reported on other continents but rising fast as a second wave of infections overwhelms hospitals. The continent's reported deaths, at 100,354, compare favourably with North America, which has registered more than half a million, and Europe, which is approaching 900,000, a Reuters tally shows. But deaths are rising sharply across Africa, driven by its southern region, especially economic powerhouse South Africa, which accounts for nearly half. South Africa was ravaged by a second wave caused by a more contagious variant that has jammed up casualty wards. "The increased number…

Feb

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Russia offers 300 million doses

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING and JOE BAVIER THE African Union's (AU) vaccine task team has disclosed that Russia had offered it 300 million doses of its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine along with a financing package for countries wanting to secure the shots. The Russian vaccine will be available for a period of 12 months starting May 2021, it said in a statement. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, said some deliveries could start in May but most would be from June. The 55-member AU hopes to see 60% of the continent's 1.3 billion people…

Feb

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Ghana expects 350,000 vaccine shots

COVID-19

GHANA is expecting a first delivery of just over 350,000 AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine shots by the end of next week, a plan presented by health officials on Friday showed. The country will spend around $3 for every two shots of vaccine and inoculate around 20 million people against the virus, according to the plan. Developing countries, such as Ghana, are competing with richer nations for supplies as they scramble to source vaccines and launch inoculation campaigns. "On the estimated cost, we are looking at...for every person getting two shots, that would cost nearly $3 per person fully vaccinated for the…