HEALTH - The African Mirror

May

22

2021

G20 health summit looks to boost vaccine access, drugmakers offer cut-price shots

COVID-19

CRISPIAN BALMER and FRANCESCO GUARASCIO LEADERS of the world's largest economies kicked off a global health summit on Friday, where drugmakers were expected to promise cut-price supplies of vaccines for poorer nations to help end the COVID-19 pandemic. The Group of 20 nations looked set to call for voluntary licensing and technology transfers to enable a rapid increase in vaccine production, but will sidestep a push from the United States and other nations to waive valuable patents for shots. The European Union will also promise to set up vaccination manufacturing hubs in Africa, which faces a dearth of doses. The…

May

22

2021

By The African Mirror

COVID fight could return ‘to square one’

COVID-19

KATE KELLAND INDIA’S export ban on COVID-19 shots risks dragging the battle against the pandemic "back to square one" unless wealthy nations step in to plug a gaping hole in the COVAX global vaccine-sharing scheme, health specialists have said. COVAX, which is critical for poorer countries, relies on AstraZeneca shots made by the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest maker of vaccines. It was already around 100 million doses short of where it had planned to be when India halted exports a month ago amid a surge in infections there. Rich countries with plentiful COVID-19 vaccine stocks must now…

May

22

2021

By The African Mirror

Low trust in authorities affects vaccine uptake: evidence from 22 African countries

HEALTH

IN a time when the world is focusing on COVID-19 vaccines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted the importance of routine immunisations for diseases such as measles, tetanus and polio. JEAN-FRANCOIS MAYSTADT, Professor, Lancaster University KALLE HIRVONEN, Senior Research Fellow, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) NIK STOOP, Post-doctoral researcher, University of Antwerp Although immunisation saves millions of lives each year, progress in vaccine coverage remains highly uneven, both between and within countries. Despite considerable progress over the past two decades, the situation is particularly worrying in Africa. Nearly half of the world’s unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children live…

May

21

2021

By The African Mirror

Vaccine patent waiver will not be enough – WTO chief

COVID-19

PHILIP BLENKINSOP WAIVING intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines will not be enough to narrow the huge supply gap between rich and poor countries, the head of the World Trade Organization said yesterday. South Africa and India have urged fellow WTO members to waive IP rights on vaccines to boost production. Poorer countries that make up half the world's population have received just 17% of doses, a situation the World Health Organization head has labelled "vaccine apartheid". U.S. President Joe Biden said last week he supported the waiver idea, but the European Union and other developed country opponents said it…

May

20

2021

By The African Mirror

‘We are waiting to die’: Desperation after India halts vaccine exports

COVID-19

NITA BHALLA and BEH LIH YI WHEN John Omondi received his COVID-19 vaccination last month, the Kenyan taxi driver counted himself one of the lucky ones. Now, he's not so sure - victim of a vaccine export freeze by mega-producer India that has dashed hopes of protection for millions of poor people caught in the pandemic. "It was a good day when I got the vaccine. I needed it because of my age and my work," explained Omondi, 59, as he navigated the busy roads of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. "I am supposed to get my second dose in June,…

May

20

2021

By The African Mirror

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…

May

20

2021

By The African Mirror

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…

May

20

2021

By The African Mirror

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…

May

20

2021

By The African Mirror

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…

May

20

2021

By The African Mirror

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…