HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jan

30

2021

Pioneering AIDS researcher and doctor Joseph Sonnabend, 1933-2021

HEALTH

HUGO GREENHALGH PIONEERING AIDS researcher Joseph Sonnabend, one of the first doctors to warn of the emergence of a new virus in the late 1970s, has died at the age of 88 in a London hospital. Sonnabend first noticed the rise in the number of similar illnesses among his gay male patients at a private sexual health clinic he had founded in Greenwich Village in downtown New York. But his warning in 1979 went unheeded. "I wrote to the city health department, asking, 'Are people reporting this? Am I the only one seeing this? Is there something going in the…

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.

Jan

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa secures 400 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses

COVID-19

GEORGE OBULUTSA THE African Union (AU) has secured another 400 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, a regional health leader said, in a push to immunize 60% of the continent's population over three years. As richer nations race ahead with mass immunisation campaigns, Africa is scrambling to obtain supplies for its 1.3 billion people. Only a handful of African nations have begun giving doses. John Nkengasong, director of the AU's disease control and prevention body, told an online briefing that in addition to 270 million doses previously secured, the bloc would get 400 million shots from the Serum Institute…

Jan

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal confirms presence of UK coronavirus variant

COVID-19

DIADIE BA A more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain has now been detected in Senegal, its health institute said on Thursday, just as measures to contain the spread of the virus appeared to have stalled a recent surge. British scientists say the UK variant, known as B.1.1.7, may be up to 70% more transmissible and also more lethal - with a mortality risk around 30% higher. "Due to the fact that these variants are transmitted more rapidly, which could explain the speed of spread of the disease in some countries, it is imperative that individual and…

Jan

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Algeria to start COVID-19 vaccinations on Saturday

COVID-19

ALGERIA will receive its first shipment of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine today and plans to start its vaccination campaign tomorrow, according to Communication Minister Ammar Belhimer. The vaccine will be given first to healthcare workers, the elderly and people with chronic diseases, state media cited him as saying, without giving details on the number of doses. "More shipments will arrive from China, India and other countries," he said on Thursday. The North African country has 106,610 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 2,881 deaths.