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May
20
2021
By The African Mirror
Gauteng Health MEC infected with COVID-19

Gauteng Health MEC infected with COVID-19

COVID-19
AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE politician leading Gauteng’s war against COVID-19 has been infected by the virus, three months after she had been vaccinated. Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi, who has mild COVID-19, has gone into self-isolation at her home. Mokgethi was among the first people in the province to receive the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.  In a statement, the Gauteng provincial government advised all the people that have been in contact with Mokgethi to self-isolate and test, if necessary. “The Health MEC was one of the first people to receive the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, under the Sisonke Programme in…
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May
20
2021
By The African Mirror
Malawi burns 20,000 expired vaccines

Malawi burns 20,000 expired vaccines

COVID-19
FRANK PHIRI  MALAWI has destroyed 19,610 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines that expired 18 days after arriving, despite assurances from the African Union (AU) and World Health Organisation (WHO) that the vaccines were safe until mid-July. A batch of 102,000 vaccines arrived on March 26, under an initiative by the AU and WHO, and they expired on April 13, leaving less than three weeks for them to be used. Malawi managed to deploy about 80 percent of them by that time. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), part of the AU, told…
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May
20
2021
By The African Mirror
Zim’s 1st case of ‘Indian variant’

Zim’s 1st case of ‘Indian variant’

COVID-19
ZIMBABWE has detected the first cases of the new coronavirus variant that emerged in India, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said yesterday, adding that all travellers from the Asian nation would be required to undergo mandatory quarantine. Chiwenga, who also doubles as Zimbabwe's health minister, said in a statement the cases had been detected among a group of people in the central town of Kwekwe after a student returned from India on April 29. "People travelling from or transiting from India will be subject to mandatory quarantine at a designated quarantine centre and at their own cost," Chiwenga said. Travellers from…
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May
20
2021
By The African Mirror
Egypt extends COVID-19 measures

Egypt extends COVID-19 measures

COVID-19
EGYPT will extend measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, including early closing hours for shops, until the end of May, the cabinet said yesterday. Since May 6, stores, malls and restaurants have had to close by 9 p.m., straddling the last days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid celebrations. Public parks and beaches, which were closed during Eid, will be allowed to reopen with appropriate precautions, the cabinet said in a statement. The number of new cases has been steadily rising in Egypt in recent weeks and officials have warned of infections spreading further as…
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May
20
2021
By The African Mirror
African countries must muscle up their support and fill massive R&D gap

African countries must muscle up their support and fill massive R&D gap

HEALTH
IN a recent open letter to international funders for research and development, we highlighted multiple power imbalances and appealed to the funders to help build a more equitable ecosystem. JANET MIDEGA, PhD, Senior Research Advisor, Wellcome Trust, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme CATHERINE KYOBUTUNGI, Executive Director, African Population and Health Research Center Emelda Okiro, Head of Population Health Unit, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme FREDROS OKUMU, Director of Science, Ifakara Health Institute IFEYINWA ANIEBO, Research fellow (Harvard Takemi fellow), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health NGOZI ERONDU, Senior Scholar with the Global Health Policy & Politics Initiative at the…
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May
19
2021
By The African Mirror
EXCLUSIVE – G20 snubs COVID patent waiver, waters down pledge on WHO’s funding -draft

EXCLUSIVE – G20 snubs COVID patent waiver, waters down pledge on WHO’s funding -draft

COVID-19
FRANCESCO GUARASCIO LEADERS of the world's largest economies back "voluntary licensing" of COVID-19 vaccine patents, the draft conclusions of a summit show, watering down a U.S. push for waivers and earlier commitments to supply more funds to the World Health Organization. The draft document, seen by Reuters, lists commitments of G20 nations and other countries and is to be adopted on Friday at a Global Health Summit in Rome, one of this year's major events to coordinate global actions against the pandemic. The draft, which is still subject to changes, is the result of a compromise among experts from G20…
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May
19
2021
By The African Mirror
India’s halt to vaccine exports ‘very problematic’ for Africa

India’s halt to vaccine exports ‘very problematic’ for Africa

COVID-19
GUILIA PARAVICINI AN extended halt to exports of COVID-19 vaccines from India, where authorities are battling a wave of domestic infections, risks derailing vaccination efforts already underway in Africa, one of the continent's top health officials said yesterday. India stopped vaccine exports a month ago and, according to a Reuters report earlier on Tuesday, is now unlikely to resume major exports before October, dealing a major setback to the global COVAX initiative on which many poor countries rely. Africa has lagged far behind other regions due to supply issues and meagre financial resources but had planned to vaccinate 30-35% of…
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May
19
2021
By The African Mirror
COVID is a global humanitarian emergency – act like it

COVID is a global humanitarian emergency – act like it

COVID-19
DR AYOADE ALAKIJA THE world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic as a global health crisis, but it’s time we shift gears and recognise it for the global humanitarian emergency that it is.  The events in India have shown there is no room for complacency. When you have a fire, you call the firefighters, and in this interconnected global community, the humanitarian agencies are our firefighters. The worldwide COVID pandemic is not nearly over – even as some countries reopen. I think sadly for us on the African continent, the pandemic is only just beginning.   The extremely limited diagnostics…
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May
19
2021
By The African Mirror
Long working hours are a killer, WHO study shows

Long working hours are a killer, WHO study shows

HEALTH
EMMA FARGE WORKING long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year in a worsening trend that may accelerate further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. In the first global study of the loss of life associated with longer working hours, the paper in the journal Environment International showed that 745,000 people died from a stroke and heart disease associated with long working hours in 2016. That was an increase of nearly 30% from 2000. "Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard," said Maria Neira, director of the…
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May
18
2021
By The African Mirror
‘It’s going to change our country’: South Africa starts vaccinating over-60s

‘It’s going to change our country’: South Africa starts vaccinating over-60s

COVID-19
AKHONA MATSHOBA and SHAFIEK TASSIEM HOPE and excitement gripped the Munsieville care home in the South African mining city of Krugersdorp yesterday when people over the age of 60 were called to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for the first time. "It's going to change our country for the better," Caroline Nicholls, 64, a judge, told Reuters while waiting to get her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. "I am very excited to finally be here today," said Ellen Segope, 65, a pensioner who lives nearby. In Cape Town, celebrated anti-apartheid activist and cleric Desmond Tutu was among those vaccinated. South…
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