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Feb
11
2021
By The African Mirror
Explainer: how South Africa regulates medicines and vaccines

Explainer: how South Africa regulates medicines and vaccines

HEALTH
COVID-19 has raised public awareness about the role of national medicines regulatory authorities in enabling access to safe, effective and quality-assured medicines. This includes vaccines. ANDY GRAY, Senior Lecturer, Division of Pharmacology, University of KwaZulu-Natal In South Africa, the pandemic has also exposed a number of important misperceptions, among the public and health professionals. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority is responsible for monitoring, evaluating, investigating, inspecting and registering all health products. These include medicines for human and animal use, medical devices and diagnostic tests. The authority is an independent structure, located outside the Department of Health and the…
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Feb
11
2021
By The African Mirror
WHO gives AstraZeneca the greenlight

WHO gives AstraZeneca the greenlight

COVID-19
STEPHANIE NEBEHAY, KATE KELLAND and JOHN MILLER ASTRAZENECA’S COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective and should be deployed widely, including in countries where the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce its efficacy, a World Health Organization panel said yesterday. In interim recommendations on the shot, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) panel said the vaccine should be given in two doses with an interval of 8 to 12 weeks, and should also be used in people aged 65 and older. Even in countries such as South Africa, where questions have been raised about the AstraZeneca…
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Feb
11
2021
By The African Mirror
South Africa aims to immunise 500,000 health workers in J&J study, scientist says

South Africa aims to immunise 500,000 health workers in J&J study, scientist says

COVID-19
WENDELL ROELF  SOUTH Africa aims to immunise between 350,000 and 500,000 health workers with Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in an "implementation study" to further evaluate the shot, the president of the country's Medical Research Council said. Glenda Gray, co-lead investigator on the local leg of a J&J global trial, told Reuters South Africa expected to get batches of around 80,000 doses every seven to 14 days for the study, once it is approved. The implementation study would be aimed at further evaluating J&J's vaccine in the field and would be akin to a phase IIIb study, Gray said. J&J's…
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Feb
11
2021
By The African Mirror
Food systems need to change to promote healthy choices and combat obesity

Food systems need to change to promote healthy choices and combat obesity

HEALTH
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on people with obesity and noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes. The pandemic has underlined the importance of the food environment and healthy food intake. It has shown the urgent need for effective policies to make sure that everyone can get enough nutritious food – and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. RINA SWART, Professor, University of the Western Cape MAKOMA BOPAPE, Lecturer in Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetic, University of Limpopo TAMRYN FRANK, Researcher, University of the Western Cape In Africa, nearly 70% of diabetes cases are undiagnosed. Of these, 90% are type 2 diabetes…
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Aug
03
2021
By The African Mirror
Should I get the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant or breastfeeding? Experts explain the safety, evidence and clinical trials

Should I get the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant or breastfeeding? Experts explain the safety, evidence and clinical trials

HEALTH
TERRA MANCA, Postdoctoral Fellow, Canadian Center for Vaccinology (IWK Health Centre); Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University KARINA A TOP, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University SINCE the COVID-19 pandemic began, public health communications put a special focus on helping high-risk populations, such as seniors, stay safe. Yet, information for pregnant or breastfeeding individuals has been inconsistent and hard to find. Though most pregnant people who become ill with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, pregnancy does increase the risk of being admitted to hospital and intensive care, as well as the risk of preterm birth and dangerously high blood pressure. Click…
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Feb
10
2021
By The African Mirror
COVID-19 shuts Ghana’s parliament

COVID-19 shuts Ghana’s parliament

COVID-19
GHANA's parliament has suspended most of its activities for three weeks after at least 17 MPs and 151 staff members were infected with the coronavirus, the speaker said yesterday. President Nana Akufo-Addo warned last month that infection rates were skyrocketing and threatened to overwhelm Ghana's health system, part of a second wave of the virus across Africa that has been far more serious than the first. "Having regard to the upsurge in coronavirus cases in the House ... I have, in consultation with leadership, decided that the sitting of the House be suspended for three weeks," Speaker Alban Bagbin told…
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Feb
10
2021
By The African Mirror
South Africa faces widespread scepticism over safety

South Africa faces widespread scepticism over safety

COVID-19
TIM COCKS  AS a nurse in a country battling deadly diseases, Rich Sicina sometimes vaccinates other South Africans, but he says there is no way he will take a COVID-19 shot - he doesn't believe it will be safe or effective. South Africa's decision on Sunday to suspend plans to roll out AstraZeneca's vaccine, after data showed it may not offer sufficient protection against the country's dominant coronavirus variant, has only added to Sicina's concerns. "We do not trust these politicians," he said. Many South Africans agree. The Indaba nurses union, to which Sicina belongs, has advised its 17,000 members…
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Feb
10
2021
By The African Mirror
eSwatini will not use AstraZeneca vaccine

eSwatini will not use AstraZeneca vaccine

COVID-19
LUNGA MASUKU eSWATINI will no longer use AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, its health minister said yesterday, after a trial showed it gave minimal protection against mild-to-moderate COVID-19 caused by the dominant variant in South Africa. eSwatini, a tiny kingdom formerly known as Swaziland that borders South Africa, was due to receive AstraZeneca doses from COVAX, the global vaccine distribution scheme co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO). South Africa on Sunday put on hold the rollout of AstraZeneca's vaccine after researchers published preliminary data showing it had significantly reduced efficacy against the more contagious 501Y.V2 variant identified late last year. The…
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Feb
10
2021
By The African Mirror
What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

COVID-19
HEALTH officials around the world gave their backing to the AstraZeneca vaccine, after a study showing it had little effect against mild disease caused by the variant now spreading quickly in South Africa rang global alarm. The prospect that new variants could evolve the ability to elude vaccines is one of the main risks hanging over the global strategy to emerge from the pandemic. South Africa, where a new variant now accounts for the vast majority of cases, initially announced a pause in its rollout of a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. But it said on Monday it could…
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