HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jan

24

2021

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…

Jan

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Eight unusual places being used as COVID-19 vaccination centres

COVID-19

SONIA ELKS AS countries around the world roll out mass COVID-19 vaccination programmes, large public spaces from ice rinks to cathedrals are being repurposed as makeshift inoculation hubs. Here are eight of the more usual venues being used to host vaccination facilities: 1. A cathedral: The 800-year-old Salisbury Cathedral is one of several British cathedrals to open as a vaccination centre. Those awaiting their shot can enjoy organ music to calm any last-minute nerves. 2. Disneyland: California officials have taken over a parking lot at the Anaheim resort as a super-site with the capacity to vaccinate some 3,000 people per day. People wait in…

Jan

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Mali to buy 8.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19

MALI plans to buy over 8.4 million doses of coronavirus vaccine and expects to start a vaccination campaign in April, the council of ministers said in a statement on Thursday. It said the vaccines would cost over 31 billion CFA francs ($57 million). This will be covered with financial assistance from global vaccine alliance GAVI, which co-runs the COVAX alliance to secure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries. It did not specify which vaccines it planned to buy. Mali, like other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, is battling a second wave of coronavirus infections, although its infection rate has…

Sep

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Get vaccine or quit, Zim tells workers

COVID-19

GOVERNMENT workers in Zimbabwe who do not want to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should resign, its justice minister has said. The southern African nation has so far vaccinated 2.7 million people, against a target of inoculating two-thirds of its 15 million population by the end of the year. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government says it has paid for 12 million COVID-19 doses from China. Ziyambi Ziyambi said while Zimbabweans would not be forced to get vaccinated, those in the public service had a responsibility to protect the public by getting COVID-19 shots. "We are not forcing you to be vaccinated but…

Sep

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Lockdown looms for Nigeria’s Delta

COVID-19

THE governor of Rivers State in Nigeria's oil-producing Delta region said he may be forced to reimpose COVID-19 lockdown measures if residents did not comply with prevention protocols amid a rise in cases. Governor Nyesom Wike implored residents to get vaccinated and comply with safety and social distancing rules amid a consistent rise in COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks. "We may be constrained to re-impose the suspended COVID-19 lockdown measures across the state if the transmission of the disease continues to increase beyond tolerable limits," Wike said in an address on Monday. Wike shared a copy of the…

Jan

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Africa’s COVID-19 case fatality rate surpasses global level

COVID-19

AFRICA’S coronavirus case fatality rate has risen alarmingly to 2.5%, higher than the global level of 2.2%, the head of the continent's disease control body has said. Earlier in the pandemic, Africa's rate had been below the global average, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) head John Nkengasong told reporters. "The case fatality rate is beginning to be very worrying and concerning for all of us," he said, without giving a reason for the increase. The number of African nations with a rate of deaths-per-cases higher than the global average is growing, he added. There are 21…

Jan

22

2021

By The African Mirror

1.8 billion vaccine doses for the poor

COVID-19

KATE KELLAND THE COVAX vaccine sharing platform designed to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 shots said it aimed to deliver 1.8 billion doses to poorer countries in 2021 and hoped to fulfil supply deals for wealthier ones in the second half of the year. But COVAX, which is co-led by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and others, said there were many uncertainties affecting the procurement and supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and terms of the deals were "subject to change". The 1.8 billion doses would be supplied via an advance market commitment (AMC) to 92 eligible countries…