HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jan

23

2021

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…

Jan

22

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa to pay $5.25 a dose

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING SOUTH Africa will pay $5.25 per dose for 1.5 million shots of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII), a senior official said yesterday, more than some wealthier countries are paying. Health department Deputy Director-General Anban Pillay told Reuters that SII's price was based on South Africa's status as an upper-middle-income country under a World Bank classification. The price is higher than the $3 a dose that South Africa and other countries on the continent are due to pay for the same vaccine under an African Union (AU) arrangement, and the 2.5 euros ($3.03) per…

Jan

22

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. stays in the World Health Organisation

COVID-19

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY THE United States under President Joe Biden intends to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver coronavirus vaccines to poor countries, his chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, has told the World Health Organization (WHO). Fauci, speaking to the WHO executive board, confirmed that the United States would remain a member of the U.N. agency and said it would work multilaterally on issues from the COVID-19 pandemic to HIV/AIDS. "This is a good day for WHO and a good day for global health," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "WHO is a family of nations and we…

Sep

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Many East Africans miss out on disease diagnosis. What must be done about it

HEALTH

EARLY diagnosis is crucial for the effective management of any disease. In Africa, this isn’t always possible which affects the ability of countries to bring diseases under control. WILBER SABIITI, Senior Research Fellow in Medicine, University of St Andrews My colleagues and I conducted research into the barriers to diagnosis for tuberculosis (TB) in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. We also wanted to identify what opportunities there were to maximise the use of diagnostics in healthcare settings. We found that, in all three countries, the uptake of diagnostics was highest – over 90% – at large referral hospitals in major municipalities…

Jan

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Vaccine production in South Africa: how an industry in its infancy can be developed

HEALTH

THE issue of vaccine production has become a topic of hot debate following the approval of treatments for COVID-19. In South Africa, angry exchanges have been spurred by the country’s lagging access to COVID-19 vaccines. JEFFREY DORFMAN, Associate Professor in Medical Virology, Stellenbosch University FRANK KIRSTEIN, Honorary Research Associate / Lecturer; Division of Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town Generally, vaccines are produced by private companies who sell the vaccine under contracts. In some cases, producers will make provisions for access in particular markets. This is sometimes as a condition for receiving early development funding or for…