COVID-19 - The African Mirror

Jul

29

2021

Zim approves J&J vaccine for use

COVID-19

ZIMBABWE has authorised the emergency use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, the first Western-made shot to be approved by the southern African nation, its medicines regulator said has announced. Like many African countries, Zimbabwe is in the grips of a third wave of infections, with nearly half of its 101,711 cumulative cases and 3,280 deaths recorded this month alone, according to official data. Until now, the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) had only registered vaccines from India, Russia and China. "MCAZ reviewed the technical documentation that was submitted by the manufacturer, and emergency use authorisation was granted and…

Feb

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Morocco receives 500 000 doses

COVID-19

MOROCCO received a second batch of 500,000 doses of China's Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine yesterday, part of its national vaccination campaign, health ministry sources said. The 1 million Sinopharm doses add to 6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by India's Serum Institute which Morocco has received so far. Morocco has ordered 66 million doses of the vaccines, which require two doses per person, under plans to inoculate 80% of its 36 million-strong population for free. By Monday, Morocco had Africa's largest vaccinated population of 1.7 million people. The number of infections had reached 478,595, including 8,491 deaths. Despite a…

Feb

17

2021

By The African Mirror

S.A. plans to share vaccine

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING and WENDELL ROELF SOUTH Africa plans to share 1 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses with other African countries, a senior official said, as a medical association said the first shots from rival Johnson & Johnson was expected to arrive. The country paused the rollout of AstraZeneca doses this month, after preliminary trial data showed they offered minimal protection against mild to moderate illness from the country's dominant coronavirus variant. It has been consulting with scientists about what to do with the AstraZeneca vaccine, switching to a plan to start inoculating healthcare workers with J&J's alternative in a research…

Feb

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Inside Britain’s quarantine hotels

COVID-19

HANNAH McKAY and SARAH YOUNG MOHAMED Noor faces 10 days in COVID-19 quarantine in a hotel room near London's Heathrow Airport after falling foul of new border controls because of a flight delay. "I don't have a book. I don't have a Koran. I don't have nothing here," Noor, a 55-year-old Muslim, said by phone after his arrival on Monday, a day later than planned, landed him with a 1,750-pound ($2,400) bill. In another hotel nearby, 61-year-old Sole, who declined to give her surname, said she realised too late that the new rules would kick in before she returned from…

Jul

28

2021

By The African Mirror

SA unveils R38-billion relief for COVID-19, unrest

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING and WENDELL ROELF SOUTH Africa plans about R38-billion of relief measures to support businesses and individuals affected by recent unrest and COVID-19 restrictions, the finance ministry has announced. The interventions would be funded by better government revenues and by shifting around some spending, senior officials told a news conference, expanding on measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday. Ramaphosa tightened lockdown restrictions at the end of June as coronavirus cases spiked, but he eased them on Sunday as the peak of a "third wave" appeared to have passed. His government's economic recovery drive was dealt a major…

Jul

28

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria expects 29 million doses of J&J vaccines

COVID-19

NIGERIA expects to take delivery of 29 million doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in August, allowing it to ramp up its vaccination programme just as a third wave of infections takes hold, the health minister said. Africa's most populous country has recorded close to 171,000 cases of the virus and 2,132 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to official data, although the real figures are likely to be much higher as testing is patchy. The government had announced in March it was hoping to secure 70 million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine this year through…

Feb

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Ultra-cold vaccine storage to be built

COVID-19

SOUTH African natural gas and helium producer Renergen will start production of its helium powered ultra-cold mobile freezer in the next few days and has started discussions to sell the units to logistics companies, it said yesterday. Companies and governments around the world are working on ways to establish cold-chain storage and delivery systems for vaccines such as the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech shot, which must be shipped and stored at ultra-cold temperatures and can only last at standard fridge temperatures for up to five days. As a solution, Renergen on Monday launched its prototype cold-chain storage called Cryo-Vacc, which…

Feb

16

2021

By The African Mirror

WHO lists vaccine for emergency use

COVID-19

THE World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday listed AstraZeneca and Oxford University's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, widening access to the relatively inexpensive shot in the developing world. A WHO statement said it had approved the vaccine as produced by AstraZeneca-SKBio (Republic of Korea) and the Serum Institute of India. "We now have all the pieces in place for the rapid distribution of vaccines. But we still need to scale up production," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. The listing by the UN health agency comes days after a WHO panel provided interim recommendations on the vaccine, saying two doses with…

Feb

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Botswana gives AstraZeneca the nod

COVID-19

BOTSWANA will move ahead with plans to use AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, the southern African country's health minister said yesterday, despite neighbour South Africa pausing the rollout of the shots. South Africa's decision to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine was based on preliminary data showing it offered minimal protection against mild to moderate illness caused by the dominant coronavirus variant there. That more contagious variant - called 501Y.V2 - has been detected in Botswana too. Asked whether Botswana would be using the AstraZeneca vaccine, Health Minister Edwin Dikoloti said in parliament: "Our intended outcome is well-covered by what AstraZeneca offers."…

Feb

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe receives 200 000 vaccines

COVID-19

ZIMBABWE's first coronavirus vaccines, 200 000 doses donated by China, have arrived in the capital Harare. A further 600 000 doses from China are set to arrive in early March, information minister Monica Mutsvangwa said last week. It is unclear how much the cash-strapped southern African nation will pay for the second batch of the vaccines from China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). Zimbabwe's Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, head of the delegation receiving the vaccines that included the finance minister, said frontline health workers would be the first to be vaccinated. "This is a timely donation...our people have suffered from this…