HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jul

29

2021

UK offers 817 000 vaccines to Kenya

COVID-19

BRITAIN will offer 817,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Kenya as part of a delivery of 9 million Oxford-AstraZeneca shots it is providing to help the world tackle the pandemic, the government said on Wednesday. The announcement came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was due to meet Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta in Britain. The 9 million shots is the first tranche of the UK's commitment to share 100 million vaccine doses internationally by next June.

Jul

29

2021

By The African Mirror

U.S. gives 10 million doses to Nigeria, SA

COVID-19

ANDREA SHALAL THE U.S. government will ship nearly 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to two of the most populous African countries - Nigeria and South Africa - as the continent battles a third wave of infections, White House officials said. Four million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine will go to Nigeria and 5.66 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to South Africa, the officials said. The South Africa shipment is the single largest sent by the United States since it began sending vaccine shots overseas, one of the officials said. The latest shipments bring the total number of…

Jul

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Zim approves J&J vaccine for use

COVID-19

ZIMBABWE has authorised the emergency use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, the first Western-made shot to be approved by the southern African nation, its medicines regulator said has announced. Like many African countries, Zimbabwe is in the grips of a third wave of infections, with nearly half of its 101,711 cumulative cases and 3,280 deaths recorded this month alone, according to official data. Until now, the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ) had only registered vaccines from India, Russia and China. "MCAZ reviewed the technical documentation that was submitted by the manufacturer, and emergency use authorisation was granted and…

Feb

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Morocco receives 500 000 doses

COVID-19

MOROCCO received a second batch of 500,000 doses of China's Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine yesterday, part of its national vaccination campaign, health ministry sources said. The 1 million Sinopharm doses add to 6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by India's Serum Institute which Morocco has received so far. Morocco has ordered 66 million doses of the vaccines, which require two doses per person, under plans to inoculate 80% of its 36 million-strong population for free. By Monday, Morocco had Africa's largest vaccinated population of 1.7 million people. The number of infections had reached 478,595, including 8,491 deaths. Despite a…

Feb

17

2021

By The African Mirror

S.A. plans to share vaccine

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING and WENDELL ROELF SOUTH Africa plans to share 1 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses with other African countries, a senior official said, as a medical association said the first shots from rival Johnson & Johnson was expected to arrive. The country paused the rollout of AstraZeneca doses this month, after preliminary trial data showed they offered minimal protection against mild to moderate illness from the country's dominant coronavirus variant. It has been consulting with scientists about what to do with the AstraZeneca vaccine, switching to a plan to start inoculating healthcare workers with J&J's alternative in a research…

Feb

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Inside Britain’s quarantine hotels

COVID-19

HANNAH McKAY and SARAH YOUNG MOHAMED Noor faces 10 days in COVID-19 quarantine in a hotel room near London's Heathrow Airport after falling foul of new border controls because of a flight delay. "I don't have a book. I don't have a Koran. I don't have nothing here," Noor, a 55-year-old Muslim, said by phone after his arrival on Monday, a day later than planned, landed him with a 1,750-pound ($2,400) bill. In another hotel nearby, 61-year-old Sole, who declined to give her surname, said she realised too late that the new rules would kick in before she returned from…

Jul

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Long COVID: symptoms experienced during infection may predict lasting illness

HEALTH

EARLIER in the pandemic, it appeared that the majority of people infected with the coronavirus experienced mild-to-moderate symptoms and generally recovered within two to three weeks, depending on the severity of their illness. However, as time has passed, it’s become clear that some people, regardless of the severity of their disease, continue to experience symptoms beyond the acute phase of infection. This has become known as “long COVID”. OLALEKAN LEE AIYEGBUSI, Research Fellow, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham SHAMIL HAROON, Academic Clinical Lecturer, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham Emerging evidence suggests that these patients…

Jul

28

2021

By The African Mirror

SA unveils R38-billion relief for COVID-19, unrest

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING and WENDELL ROELF SOUTH Africa plans about R38-billion of relief measures to support businesses and individuals affected by recent unrest and COVID-19 restrictions, the finance ministry has announced. The interventions would be funded by better government revenues and by shifting around some spending, senior officials told a news conference, expanding on measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday. Ramaphosa tightened lockdown restrictions at the end of June as coronavirus cases spiked, but he eased them on Sunday as the peak of a "third wave" appeared to have passed. His government's economic recovery drive was dealt a major…

Feb

17

2021

By The African Mirror

How the coronavirus mutates and what this means for the future of COVID-19

HEALTH

THE recent appearance of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus causing COVID-19 infections), that may be associated with increased transmission of the virus and disease severity, has raised questions about the nature and rates of mutations in viruses. The answers to these questions will potentially guide public health decisions. However, it is also important for individuals to understand them so as to prevent potential panic. ED RYBICKI, Director, Biopharming Research Unit; and Member, Institute of infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town ANNA-LISE WILLIAMSON, Professor in Vaccinology, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town…

Jul

28

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria expects 29 million doses of J&J vaccines

COVID-19

NIGERIA expects to take delivery of 29 million doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in August, allowing it to ramp up its vaccination programme just as a third wave of infections takes hold, the health minister said. Africa's most populous country has recorded close to 171,000 cases of the virus and 2,132 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to official data, although the real figures are likely to be much higher as testing is patchy. The government had announced in March it was hoping to secure 70 million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine this year through…