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Nov
13
2020
By The African Mirror
What it would take to get super-cold COVID-19 vaccine to W. Africa

What it would take to get super-cold COVID-19 vaccine to W. Africa

COVID-19
NELLIE PEYTON HOPE is rising that a new vaccine could halt the COVID-19 pandemic - for some - but lessons learnt from past vaccine programmes in West Africa suggest millions more might miss out. The super-cold storage temperature required for the new vaccine will make it near impossible to deliver in rural parts of Africa, said public health expert Evelyn Castle. "We would need all new infrastructure," said Castle, executive director of the Nigeria-based non-profit organisation eHealth Africa, which in 2016 helped distribute an Ebola vaccine in Sierra Leone at similar temperatures. "(In Sierra Leone), we had to do full…
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Oct
22
2020
By The African Mirror
Pope wears mask for first time at public service

Pope wears mask for first time at public service

COVID-19
PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis wore a mask for the first time at a public function on Tuesday when he and other religious leaders attended a prayer service for peace around the world. The pope wore a white mask during the service at the Rome Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Previously he wore masks only in a car taking him to his weekly audiences in the Vatican. He had come under some criticism, particularly on social media, for not wearing a mask at his general audiences and sometimes coming in relatively close contact with visitors. Francis, 83, attended the service…
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Oct
22
2020
By The African Mirror
EU cuts Tunisia from safe traveller list

EU cuts Tunisia from safe traveller list

COVID-19
THE European Union is set to cut Canada, Georgia and Tunisia from a "white list" of countries from which travellers can visit the bloc without COVID-related restrictions such as quarantines or mandatory tests while adding Singapore. A meeting of ambassadors from the 27 EU nations decided to remove the three countries because of sharp increases in COVID-19 infections there, whereas the situation in Singapore had improved. The proposal will be formalised by the end of the week as long as none of the 27 EU countries object, said two EU diplomats with knowledge of the meeting. After the changes, the…
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Oct
22
2020
By The African Mirror
Risk of COVID-19 resurgence in South Africa as cases rise in Cape Town

Risk of COVID-19 resurgence in South Africa as cases rise in Cape Town

COVID-19
SOUTH Africa's faces a high risk of resurging coronavirus infections that may lead to a review by the council deciding on lockdowns, after new cases rose by 42% in Western Cape province in the last two weeks, the health minister has announced. Zweli Mkhize said in a statement that the increase in infections and deaths "will inform the recommendations that the Health Department makes to the National Coronavirus Council", the body that determines the different levels of lockdown restrictions. "According to our resurgence plan, we define this significant spike in new cases in the Western Cape as a resurgence," said…
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Oct
22
2020
By The African Mirror
Surviving the pandemic: blind Cuban piano tuner struggles to make ends meet

Surviving the pandemic: blind Cuban piano tuner struggles to make ends meet

COVID-19
FLORA Villareal, 67, part of a cohort of Cubans who graduated from an experimental piano tuning program for the blind and visually impaired in 1970, is still plying her trade half a century later. But this year has been hard because of the pandemic. She usually works for Havana's recording studios and performance venues, which had to close down for many months during Cuba's coronavirus lockdown. "It's been very difficult because there's virtually been no work," said Villareal, a wiry woman with silver shoulder-length hair who uses a white walking stick. "And I've also had to look after myself because…
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Oct
22
2020
By The African Mirror
Intensive care units in Tunisian state hospitals reach 80% of capacity

Intensive care units in Tunisian state hospitals reach 80% of capacity

COVID-19
BEDS in intensive care units (ICU) in Tunisian public hospitals are about 80% full as COVID-19 cases surge, the health minister has said, calling the situation "critical". Tunisia has just 181 ICU beds, of which 145 are now being used by patients, Fouzi Mehdi told reporters. Coronavirus cases have been rising fast in Tunisia, which had managed to contain the virus earlier this year, and have now reached 45,000 cases and 740 deaths. The government imposed a curfew this month in the capital to slow a second wave of the pandemic. But Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said he will not…
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Oct
21
2020
By The African Mirror
Invasive mosquito species could bring more malaria to Africa’s urban areas

Invasive mosquito species could bring more malaria to Africa’s urban areas

HEALTH
JEREMY HERREN, Scientist, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology CLIFFORD MUTERO, Consultant Scientist, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology A species of mosquito that can carry malaria – known as Anopheles stephensi – has invaded eastern Africa and is quickly moving across the region. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Jeremy Herren and Clifford Mutero to provide insights into why this invasion is happening and what can be done to protect people from it. How did Anopheles stephensi come to Africa? This mosquito species, Anopheles stephensi, is widespread in South-East Asia and parts of the Arabian Peninsula.…
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Oct
21
2020
By The African Mirror
Young Egyptian remembers father killed by COVID-19 as she heads back to school

Young Egyptian remembers father killed by COVID-19 as she heads back to school

COVID-19
WHEN 12-year-old Sama Mohamed's father died of the coronavirus in May, the family tried cutting expenses. With the school year resuming this week in Egypt, buying a new uniform seemed unaffordable. Unable to purchase a complete uniform costing 150 pounds ($9.58) from shops, she headed to a manufacturer in northern Cairo to buy just the regulatory T-shirt. Flooded with unsold garments after schools shut in March because of the coronavirus lockdown, the factory sells uniforms for around 10 to 20 pounds less than shops, a significant figure for families already financially stricken by the pandemic. Standing in her new shirt…
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Nov
25
2020
By The African Mirror
Russia, eyeing foreign markets, says Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine to cost under $20

Russia, eyeing foreign markets, says Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine to cost under $20

COVID-19
ANDREW OSBORN and POLINA NIKOLSKAYA RUSSIA’S Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will cost under $20 per person on international markets and Moscow aims to produce more than a billion doses at home and abroad next year, its financial backers and developers said on Tuesday. The Sputnik vaccine, named after the Soviet-era satellite that triggered the space race in a nod to the project's geopolitical importance for Moscow, is administered in two shots, each of which will cost less than $10, according to the official Sputnik V Twitter account. For Russian citizens, inoculation will be free of charge. Mass vaccination in Russia,…
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