HEALTH - The African Mirror

Jan

16

2021

SA mining industry supports rollout

COVID-19

TANISHA HEIDBERG and HELEN REID SOUTH Africa's mining companies will support the government in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines as the nation battles a surge in infections, the industry body said has announced. Mining companies say they are well placed to support the COVID-19 response thanks to decades of experience combating tuberculosis and HIV-AIDS among workers, including the creation of on-site treatment facilities. The Minerals Council, which represents mining firms, said its members are developing plans to use the sector's healthcare infrastructure and delivery capability to accelerate the vaccination programme, but did not provide further detail. A leading producer of…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Vaccines due in weeks or months not yet Africa’s way out of pandemic, officials say

COVID-19

VACCINES are not yet Africa's way out of the pandemic as it may be weeks or even months before first doses start to arrive, health officials said, after the African Union (AU) secured 270 million doses for the continent where about 30,000 a day are becoming infected. Africa has not started vaccinations and there is concern that more prosperous regions are getting an unfair head start in the global fight against COVID-19. Africa's second coronavirus wave is infecting twice as many people per day as the height of the first wave last year, and has not peaked, John Nkengasong, director…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Gambia’s first two cases of British variant

COVID-19

THE Gambia has recorded its first two cases of the highly infectious coronavirus variant first found in Britain, its health minister has said, in what appears to be the first confirmation of the variant's presence in Africa. Speaking before parliament, Health Minister Ahmadou Lamin Samateh did not give any further details about the cases, which could hamper efforts to contain a recent surge in infections. In a weekly report on Tuesday, the World Health Organization listed 50 countries where the variant had been detected around the world - none of them in Africa. Gambia, a former British colony, has so…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Seychelles may fail to pay wages

COVID-19

SEYCHELLES is struggling to raise funds to pay public workers and the government plans to raise $212 million to plug its budget deficit, the finance minister has said. Seychelles' economy is heavily dependent on tourism and the sector was hit hard in 2020 by COVID-19 that led to travel restrictions worldwide to contain the virus's spread. Finance Minister Naadir Hassan was quoted as saying on the Seychelles News Agency that the government's financial situation was dire. "Since the start of the year the amount of money in the government's coffer, from which it makes all of its expenses, has been…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Emirates to suspends flights to South Africa

COVID-19

DUBAI-based airline Emirates says is to temporarily suspend all flights to and from South Africa from tomorrow due to operational reasons, without elaborating. "Emirates flights to/from South Africa will temporarily be suspended from Saturday 16 January to 28 January 2021 due to operational reasons," the largest carrier in the United Arab Emirates said in a statement. Inbound travel to South Africa for leisure and business has dropped since mid December when the country identified a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus, forcing countries such as England, Germany, Switzerland and several in Asia to cancel flights to and from the…

Jan

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Experts answer questions on vaccines

COVID-19

BEATRIX LOCKWOOD AN unprecedented COVID-19 vaccine campaign is underway with tens of millions now inoculated in the U.S. and around the world. Dozens of vaccine candidates are still in the pipeline, bringing hope for an end to a global pandemic. As part of our #AskReuters Twitter chat series, Reuters invited a group of healthcare experts to discuss what you should know before getting your shot. Below are edited highlights. How do the various vaccines reduce the risk of COVID-19 and its complications? How long will they provide immunity? "COVID-19 vaccines reduce complications by inducing the immune system to generate antibodies…

Jan

14

2021

By The African Mirror

AFRICA SECURES 270 MILLION COVID-19 VACCINE DOSES

COVID-19

THE African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team has secured a provisional 270 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for African countries, South African President and African Union (AU) chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed. Ramaphosa said the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), which he established after the outbreak of COVID-19, has reported that 50-million of the 270-million doses would be made available for the crucial period of April to June 2021. The vaccines would be supplied by Pfizer, AstraZeneca (through an independent licensee, Serum Institute of India) and Johnson & Johnson. Ramaphosa said that the AU efforts complemented the COVAX facility, a World…

Jan

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Liberia’s Johnson Sirleaf discouraged by COVID vaccine roll-out plan

COVID-19

THE World Health Organization's pandemic review panel co-chair Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has expressed disappointment in COVID-19 vaccine roll-out plans which she said means shots will not be widely available in Africa until 2022 or 2023. "The panel is discouraged and frankly disappointed by the unequal plans for vaccine rollout," the former Liberian president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate told an Executive Board meeting of the WHO.

Jan

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria seeks vaccines less dependent on cooling facilities

COVID-19

NIGERIA will seek to procure vaccines that are less dependent on cooling facilities, the head of the country's primary healthcare agency has said, adding that talks were in progress with Russia and India to procure such vaccines. Africa's most populous country, where officials recorded low coronavirus numbers through much of 2020, is in its second wave of infections and has seen cases surge in recent weeks. Nigerian health authorities have said the country is working with the COVAX programme backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to provide vaccines to poorer countries. Faisal Shuaib, who heads the National…

Jan

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Food and healthcare in war-torn Tigray: preliminary insights on what’s at stake

HEALTH

IT is now over two months since war broke out in Tigray between the regional government and the federal government of Ethiopia. The military hostilities have led to a sudden disruption in essential services and endangered the lives and wellbeing of around 6 million residents and over 100,000 Eritrean refugees sheltered in the region. It’s estimated that 2.2 million people – close to a third of the regional population – have been internally displaced. At least 56,000 citizens, mainly women and children, have already fled across the border to Sudan. AZEB GEBRESILASSIE TESEMA, Assistant Professor of Public Health, Mekelle University;…