HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jul

10

2021

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…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

European countries may have to mix COVID-19 shots amid AstraZeneca crisis

COVID-19

MATTHIAS BLAMONT, GWLADYS FOUCHE and ESSI LOHTO SEVERAL European countries are considering mixing up COVID-19 vaccines for citizens who received a first dose of AstraZeneca's shot, an unprecedented move that highlights challenges for governments struggling to tame fresh rises in infections. Vaccination programmes have been upset after a small number of reports that recipients of the AstraZeneca inoculation have suffered extremely rare blood clots, leading some countries worldwide to suspend its use out of caution. A senior official for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in an interview published on Tuesday there was a link between the vaccine and rare…

Apr

08

2021

By The African Mirror

Ramadan night curfew for Morocco

COVID-19

MOROCCO will keep its nightly curfew in place during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when people gather after breaking their fast at sunset, the government said yesterday, underlining resolve to counter new variants of the coronavirus. The decision to keep the 8 p.m. - 6 a.m. curfew will hurt restaurants, shops and markets that make most of their money in the evenings, especially during Ramadan, which this year will begin on April 13 and run through May 12. Moroccan law prohibits public eating by day during the fasting period. Morocco will also maintain until June financial aid for workers…

Jul

09

2021

By The African Mirror

COVAX to deliver 520 million doses to Africa

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING and GEORGE OBULUTSA THE global vaccine distribution scheme COVAX aims to deliver 520 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa this year, its managing director said, with supplies ramping up from September after delays caused by Indian export restrictions. Aurelia Nguyen told a news conference organised by the World Health Organization's Africa region that the scheme had delivered around 25 million doses to 44 African countries so far, but she was not happy with progress. In early March, the CEO of vaccine alliance Gavi, one of the organisations co-leading COVAX, had said the aim was to supply Africa -…

Jul

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisia’s health care system collapsing

COVID-19

TUNISIA’S health care system is collapsing due to the coronavirus, with intensive care departments full and doctors overburdened by a rapid outbreak of cases and deaths, the health ministry said has revealed. Tunisia recorded near 10,000 new coronavirus cases and 134 deaths on Wednesday, a daily record since the start of the pandemic, as concerns grow that the country will not be able to control the pandemic. "We are in a catastrophic situation ... the health system collapsed, we can only find a bed in hospitals with great difficulty," ministry spokesperson Nisaf Ben Alaya said. "We are struggling to provide…