HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jan

25

2021

Egypt begins COVID-19 vaccination drive

COVID-19

EGYPT began vaccinating frontline medical staff against COVID-19, using the jab developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm). The vaccine will be provided free of charge first to all doctors and frontline workers treating coronavirus patients, then to other medical workers, senior citizens and people with chronic illnesses, Health Minister Hala Zayed said. "As soon as each citizen registers, they will take their turn. But you cannot set a timeframe for when this will be, and even the countries that have set a timeframe have not been able to fulfil it, not because they have a problem, but because of…

Sep

09

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID-19 disruption causing many deaths from TB, AIDS in poorest countries, fund says

COVID-19

EMMA FARGE HUNDREDS of thousands of people will die of tuberculosis left untreated because of disruption to healthcare systems in poor countries caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global aid fund said. In a few of the world's poorest countries, excess deaths from AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) could even exceed those from the coronavirus itself, said the head of the Geneva-based aid body, known as the Global Fund. The Fund's annual report for 2020, released on Wednesday, showed that the number of people treated for drug-resistant tuberculosis in countries where it operates fell by 19%. A decline of 11% was…

Jan

25

2021

By The African Mirror

New cases of SA and Brazilian variants

COVID-19

BRITAIN has detected 77 cases of the South African variant of COVID-19, the health minister said on Sunday, also urging people to strictly follow lockdown rules as the best precaution against Britain's own potentially more deadly variant. Matt Hancock said all 77 cases were connected to travel from South Africa and were under close observation, as were nine identified cases of a Brazilian variant. "They are under very close observation, and we have enhanced contact tracing to do everything we possibly can to stop them from spreading," he said during an interview on BBC television. Oxford professor Anthony Harnden, deputy…

Jan

25

2021

By The African Mirror

Poor countries to start vaccinating in February

COVID-19

The World Health Organization has reached an agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech for 40 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and should be able to start delivering vaccines to poor and lower-middle-income countries next month under its COVAX programme. The COVAX scheme, led by the WHO and the GAVI vaccine alliance, signed deals for hundreds of millions of doses to vaccinate people in poor and lower-middle-income countries, but vaccinations have yet to start. Pfizer's vaccine is so far the only one that has WHO emergency approval. "In this world we are as protected as our neighbour," said Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla, officially…

Sep

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Meningitis outbreak kills 129 in north-east Congo

HEALTH

A meningitis outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo's north-eastern Tshopo province has killed 129 of the 267 people who have been infected since the first cases were discovered in June, the health minister has announced. Tests carried out by the Institut Pasteur in Paris detected one of the most common types of the bacteria, Neisseria meningitides, which has the potential to cause large epidemics, the World Health Organization said. An investigation in early June near Panga, around 270 kilometres north of the city of Kisangani, found patients suffering from fever, headaches, stiff neck, and difficulty speaking, said health minister,…

Jan

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt to begin vaccinations today

COVID-19

EGYPT will begin coronavirus vaccinations on Sunday, beginning with medical staff, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in recorded comments on Saturday. On Friday, Egypt recorded 748 new cases and 52 deaths. However, health officials say the real number is likely far higher because of the relatively low rate of coronavirus testing and the exclusion of private test results. Egypt received its first shipment of vaccines developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in December. Egypt will get 40 million vials via the GAVI vaccine alliance for 20 million people, or 20% of the 100 million population, its health minister said last…

Jan

24

2021

By The African Mirror

First cases of ‘SA variant’ detected

COVID-19

PANAMA has registered its first case of a COVID-19 variant matching a strain of the virus detected in South Africa, the Central American country's health ministry has announced. The variant was detected in a 40-year-old native of Zimbabwe who entered Panama on January 5 from South Africa. The person did not show symptoms and has been isolated, the ministry said in a statement. Portugal has also reported its first case of the South African coronavirus variant. Health institute official Ricardo Jorge told Lusa news agency: "We are undergoing due process to rapidly test and interrupt this potential chain of transmission." …

Jan

24

2021

By The African Mirror

Mali picks AstraZeneca vaccine for 4.2 million people

COVID-19

MALI has chosen to use the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in its plan to initially immunise 4.2 million people, targeting medical staff, the elderly and those with comorbidities, the health minister has announced. Minister Fanta Siby said the vaccines, which unlike some others do not need to be stored at ultra-cold temperatures, would arrive at the end of March. "The vaccine that Mali has chosen, like most African countries, is the vaccine that keeps at +2 and +8 degrees," Siby told reporters. On Thursday the government said it wanted to buy more than 8.4 million doses of coronavirus vaccine, costing over…

Sep

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Messenger RNA: how it works in nature and in making vaccines

HEALTH

VACCINES have long been an integral part of public health programmes around the world, reducing the spread and severity of infectious diseases. The success of immunisation strategies to protect children from diseases like polio, hepatitis B, and measles, and adults from influenza and pneumococcal disease, can be seen globally. KRISTIE BLOOM, Group Leader: Next-generation Vaccines, Antiviral Gene Therapy Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need for an effective vaccine. This is where messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, which are classified as a next-generation technology, gained prominence. Decades of research and clinical development into synthetic mRNA…

Jan

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Morocco gets 1st big shipment to Africa

COVID-19

MOROCCO has received 2 million doses of Astrazeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first African country to get a large enough shipment to roll out a nationwide immunisation programme. The consignment arrived on a Royal Air Maroc flight from India, which began exporting the vaccine, developed in conjunction with Oxford University, to mid-and lower-income countries this week. The vast majority of the production of the three most widely approved COVID vaccines, including the Astrazeneca drug, has so far been hoovered up by developed nations. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus this week described the unequal access poor countries had to…