HEALTH - The African Mirror

Mar

03

2021

Ghana kicks off vaccinations

COVID-19

CHRISTIAN AKORLIE GHANA began its coronavirus vaccination drive yesterday with 600 000 AstraZeneca doses it received from the global COVAX vaccine-sharing facility aimed at providing shots to developing nations to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. People lined up for shots outside the regional hospital in the capital, Accra, for a first phase of vaccinations which will prioritise frontline health workers and others at high risk. "I feel so good about taking the vaccine. It will protect me from contracting the virus from patients," said Bernice Anaglatey, 42, who works in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at Accra's Ridge Hospital as…

Mar

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria takes delivery of its first vaccines

COVID-19

NIGERIA yesterday received its first COVID-19 vaccines to kick off an inoculation programme in Africa's most populous nation, delivered under the international COVAX scheme. The West African nation of 200 million people took delivery of 3.92 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. Nigeria is the third West African country to receive COVAX shots, after Ghana and Ivory Coast, which have both started vaccination campaigns. Dozens of Nigerian officials, wearing yellow high-visibility jackets and facemasks, met the flight delivering the vaccines on the airport tarmac in Abuja. The government aims to start by vaccinating frontline healthcare workers, the highest-priority recipients, in…

Mar

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe eases COVID-19 lockdown

COVID-19

ZIMBABWE yesterday eased a coronavirus lockdown and overnight curfew imposed in January by allowing businesses to fully re-open after the rate of new infections slowed in the last two weeks. The news comes a day after neighbouring country South Africa eased restrictions to allow liquor sales under normal trading time and shortened curfew hours from midnight to 4 a.m., as cases in the country fell after a new coronavirus variant led to widespread infections in December and January. Infections in Zimbabwe peaked in January, forcing the government to close or limit most businesses as well as curb the movement of…

Mar

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria begins registration for vaccinations

COVID-19

NIGERIA launched an online registration portal for COVID-19 vaccinations, its primary healthcare agency said yesterday, the day before the first doses are expected to arrive for its 200 million people. Osindeinde Ademilayo Abodede, a healthcare worker, was the first to register for the vaccine, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said in a Tweet on Monday. Her appointment was scheduled for March 12 in Abuja. "Our goal is to introduce COVID-19 vaccine in a phased and equitable manner...ultimately vaccinating all eligible Nigerians within the next two years, to ensure herd immunity," Health Minister Osagie Ehanire said in a…

Mar

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast starts vaccination drive

COVID-19

LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY IVORY Coast yesterday launched the world's first COVID-19 inoculation drive with doses imported from the COVAX sharing facility, a milestone in the race to extend vaccine access to poorer countries. Patrick Achi, the secretary-general at the presidency, was the first to be vaccinated at a sports complex in the commercial capital Abidjan. Onlookers cheered as a health worker in a white coat and pink scrubs delivered the injection. Medical personnel, teachers and security forces members were also being vaccinated in the first phase of the campaign targeting 3% of the population. "The vaccines offer us the hope of…

Mar

02

2021

By The African Mirror

How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine compare to other coronavirus vaccines? 4 questions answered

COVID-19

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in adults. Maureen Ferran, a virologist at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explains how this third authorized vaccine works and explores the differences between it and the Moderna and Pfizer–BioNTech vaccines that are already in use. MAUREEN FERRAN, Associate Professor of Biology, Rochester Institute of Technology 1. How does the Johnson & Johnson vaccine work? The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is what’s called a viral vector vaccine. To create this vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson team took a harmless adenovirus – the viral…

Mar

02

2021

By The African Mirror

Traditional healers in South Africa are exposed to infection, but few can get protective gear

HEALTH

THERE are around two million traditional healers in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 200,000 live and work in South Africa. CAROLYN AUDET, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy at the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health , Vanderbilt University MOSA MOSHABELA, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research and Innovation (Acting), University of KwaZulu-Natal RYAN G WAGNER, Research Fellow, Wits School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand Traditional healers are frequently exposed to bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B and HIV. In particular, they are exposed through the widespread practice of traditional “injections” by incision. This is when the healer makes small…

Mar

02

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa eases COVID-19 restrictions

COVID-19

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER SOUTH African will now be able to buy alcohol, be out until midnight and political parties will now be able to campaign for the forthcoming local government elections under the new relaxed COVID-19 restrictions unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa tonight. In a special address to the nation, his second in 30 days, Ramaphosa said a dramatic reduction in infection and deaths from COVID-19, led to a decision by the SA cabinet to move the country from Alert Level 3 to 1. Under the Level One the following restrictions apply: Alcohol sales will be sold as per licence…

Mar

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria to receive 3.92 million doses

COVID-19

NIGERIA expects to take delivery of 3.92 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine tomorrow, the third West African country to benefit from the COVAX facility after Ghana and Ivory Coast, the government's coronavirus task force said yesterday. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with some 200 million people, has reported fewer than 1,900 COVID-19 deaths so far, much better than had been widely predicted early in the pandemic. Last week, Nigerian drug regulator approved the Astrazeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine use in Nigeria. The dispatch is part of an overall 16 million doses planned to be delivered to Nigeria in batches over the…

Mar

01

2021

By The African Mirror

Can my employer make me get a vaccine?

COVID-19

JACK GRAHAM AFTER widespread disruption caused by COVID-19 in 2020, businesses around the world hope the roll-out of vaccines this year can accelerate a return to normal. To speed things up, some are even incentivising their staff to get vaccinated. Dollar General Corp, Instacart and Trader Joe’s in the United States are paying frontline employees to get inoculated. A British plumbing company has gone further, announcing plans to make a COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for new hires and exploring adding the requirement to existing staff contracts. Britain's justice secretary said it may be legal for firms to insist on new staff…