HEALTH - The African Mirror

Apr

09

2021

India refunds SA for undelivered doses

COVID-19

THE Serum Institute of India has fully refunded South Africa for 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which the country did not want and which had not yet been delivered, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said yesterday. He added that South Africa expected to get more than 1 million vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson in April as the country looks to ramp up its vaccination drive.

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisia approve J&J vaccine

COVID-19

TUNISIA approved Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, the health minister Faouzi Mehdi said, and will soon receive 1.5 million doses of the vaccine under an African Union plan. The North Africa country also intends to buy further doses directly from the company to speed up its vaccination campaign, as it seeks to vaccinate 5 million people by the end of the year. Tunisia will extend its nighttime curfew hours and will prevent all gatherings and weekly markets to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, as intensive care units near-maximum capacity in most hospitals.

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt to produce up to 80 million doses

COVID-19

EGYPT has agreed with China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd to manufacture its COVID-19 vaccine domestically and could produce up to 80 million doses a year, the health ministry said on Thursday. The agreement could provide a major boost to vaccination efforts in Egypt, which has a population of 100 million and has thus far received just 1.5 million doses. Egypt's cabinet and presidency approved a joint manufacturing agreement to make the vaccines that will be distributed in Egypt and to other African countries, Zayed said. One production facility can produce 20 million doses annually, while another could produce 60 million, the…

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Call for new COVID-19 origins

COVID-19

A joint China-World Health Organization (WHO) study into COVID-19 has provided no credible answers about how the pandemic began, and more rigorous investigations are required - with or without Beijing's involvement, according to a group of international scientists and researchers. The joint study, released last week, said the likeliest transmission route for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, involved bats and other wildlife. It all but ruled out the possibility it had leaked from a laboratory. In an open letter, 24 scientists and researchers from Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan said the study was tainted by politics. "Their…

Jul

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal to build COVID-19 vaccine plant in bid to expand African access

COVID-19

CONSTRUCTION of a new plant in Senegal to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines is expected to begin later this year, and the facility should produce 25 million doses per month by the end of 2022, the financiers of the project have announced. The Institut Pasteur in Senegal's capital Dakar, which will run the plant, and various European development partners said the facility would help Africa reduce its dependence on vaccine imports, which currently account for 99% of its needs. That reliance on outside manufacturing has proved costly during the pandemic. Only a little more than 1% of the continent's population has been…

Jul

10

2021

By The African Mirror

SA top cop succumbs to COVID-19

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER LIEUTENANT-General Sindile Mfazi, a deputy national commissioner in the South African Police Service (SAPS), has passed on after he lost a battle with COVID-19. SA’s national police commissioner General Khehla Sitole paid a tribute to Mfazi, a highly decorated cop with a 39-year career. He said Mfazi was an exemplary leader who was dedicated to the cause of serving and protecting the people of SA. Sitole said: “"The SAPS has lost one of its reliable, dedicated and greatly respected leaders in the organisation. Lieutenant General Mfazi led by example and served this country with distinction until his…

Apr

09

2021

By The African Mirror

The common cold might protect you from coronavirus – here’s how

HEALTH

WE often assume that viral infections are caused by individual virus types. But in reality, we’re exposed to many viruses on a day to day basis, and co-infection – where someone is simultaneously infected by two or more virus types – is quite common. MATTHEW JAMES, Research Assistant, Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, Queen's University Belfast The cells lining our throat and lower airways are exposed to the environment around us, making them a prime target for co-infection by respiratory viruses. These range from common-cold-causing rhinoviruses to the more serious influenza viruses, which are often the cause of global pandemics.…

Jul

10

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa targets 300 000 vaccinations daily

COVID-19

SOUTH Africa aims to do at least 300,000 COVID-19 vaccinations a day by the end of August, senior health official Nicholas Crisp said. He added that the country had around 3.6 million vaccine doses in stock, enough for around 18 days of vaccinations. SA also announced plans to start vaccinating people aged between 35 and 49 years old against COVID-19 from August 1. Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane added at a news conference that indications were that the number of COVID-19 cases in the most populous province, Gauteng, was peaking. Gauteng has been responsible for the lion's share of infections during a severe…

Jul

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Why Nigeria’s weak health system affects women and girls the most

HEALTH

NIGERIA’S healthcare service delivery is very poor. It ranks among the worst globally in terms of access and quality. In 2018 it was ranked 142 out of 195 countries by the general medical journal, the Lancet. The World Bank ranks it 42 on a scale of 100 in its universal coverage index, which indicates the availability of essential healthcare services in the participating countries. AKANNI IBUKUN AKINYEMI, Professor, Obafemi Awolowo University Some of the reasons for the sub-optimal healthcare delivery are linked to the country’s rapid population growth from 122.2 million in 2000 to 211.4 million. Other factors include poor…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria to limit first doses of AstraZeneca due to supply concerns

COVID-19

LIBBY GEORGE NIGERIA has directed its 36 states and federal capital territory to stop giving first doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines once they use half their current stock in order to safeguard supply for the second dose, its health minister said. Osagie Ehanire said the directive came amid concerns over when Nigeria would get another shipment of the shots after India put a temporary hold on all major exports of the doses made by the Serum Institute of India (SII). India, the world's second most populous country, is aiming to preserve supply to meet domestic demand. It reported a record…