HEALTH - The African Mirror

Nov

18

2020

Global reaction to Moderna says its vaccine is 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19

COVID-19

MODERNA has revealed that its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage clinical trial, becoming the second U.S. company in a week to report results that far exceed expectations. Following are reactions to the news. WALID GELLAD, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA "Now we know that the vaccine appears to be highly effective. It also seems like we really need the vaccine right now, because we have no coherent national strategy. And the next two months are looking dismal. So there, there has to be some willingness for uncertainty and…

Nov

17

2020

By The African Mirror

Life and livelihoods go together in fighting COVID-19, says WHO

COVID-19

THE World Health Organization (WHO) says the challenge of the coronavirus was not a choice between life and livelihoods, but that they were both part of the same fight. It also said there was no time for complacency in confronting the coronavirus despite positive news about possible vaccines. "The quickest way to open up economies is to defeat the virus," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing in Geneva. He said G20 leaders would meet this weekend, giving them an opportunity to commit financially and politically to the COVAX global facility, set up to provide COVID-19 vaccines to…

Nov

16

2020

By The African Mirror

J&J starts two-dose trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate

COVID-19

KATE KELLAND JOHNSON & JOHNSON has launched a new large-scale late-stage trial to test a two-dose regimen of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine and evaluate potential incremental benefits for the duration of protection with a second dose. The U.S. drugmaker plans to enrol up to 30,000 participants for the study and run it in parallel with a one-dose trial with as many as 60,000 volunteers that began in September. The UK arm of the study is aiming to recruit 6,000 participants and the rest will join from other countries with a high incidence of COVID-19 cases such as the United States,…

Oct

31

2020

By The African Mirror

WHO scheme may compensate people in poor countries against COVID vaccine side-effects

COVID-19

A vaccine scheme co-led by the World Health Organization is setting up a compensation fund for people in poor nations who might suffer any side-effects from COVID-19 vaccines, aiming to allay fears that could hamper a global rollout of shots. The scheme is being set up by the promoters of the COVAX vaccine facility, which is co-led by the WHO and GAVI, a vaccine alliance, a COVAX document published on Thursday said. The scheme could foot the bill for 92 low-income countries, meaning their governments would temporarily not be liable for claims from patients should anything go unexpectedly wrong. However,…

Oct

31

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenya joins global trial of Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19

KENYA has joined the global clinical trial of Oxford University's vaccine candidate against the new coronavirus, the state medical research institute has announced. The vaccine candidate, known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, has been developed jointly with AstraZeneca and is being evaluated in four countries: Britain, South Africa, Brazil and now Kenya. "To ensure that Kenyans can benefit... if it proves to be successful, it is important to assess its performance among Kenyan volunteers," the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) said in a statement. KEMRI has already vaccinated the first volunteers after receiving the receiving the required regulatory and ethical approvals, it…

Oct

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Tunisia bans internal travel to contain pandemic

COVID-19

TUNISIA has banned travel between the country's regions, suspended schools and public gatherings and extended a curfew, as it tried to contain a rapid surge of COVID-19 cases with hospitals nearly full. Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has said Tunisia cannot afford a second lockdown with the government already fighting the central bank over a projected deficit double what it had originally foreseen. However, after successfully containing the coronavirus in the spring and summer, Tunisia is now experiencing a very rapid spread of the disease with more than 55,000 cases and intensive care units full in some…

Oct

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Activists urge ‘Big Pharma’ to be transparent on COVID-19 vaccine costs

COVID-19

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY ACTIVISTS called on pharmaceutical companies to be transparent about the costs and terms of providing COVID-19 vaccines, saying they must be available and affordable for all. French drugmaker Sanofi and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline said they would supply 200 million doses of their COVID-19 candidate vaccine to the global COVAX vaccine facility backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the GAVI vaccine alliance. Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) demanded the two companies provide details around price, supply and distribution of any vaccine proven safe and effective. "Pharmaceutical corporations Sanofi and GSK must sell their vaccines at-cost and open…

Oct

30

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Africa must prepare for second COVID wave’

COVID-19

GUILIA PARAVICINI and DUNCAN MIRIRI COVID-19 cases are accelerating in some parts of Africa and governments should step up preparations for a second wave, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. Over the past four weeks, cases have increased by 45% per week on average in Kenya, by 19% in the Democratic Republic of Congo and by 8% in Egypt, the African Union-run organisation's head John Nkengasong said. "The time to prepare for a second wave is truly now," he said, urging governments "not to get into prevention fatigue mode." The continent of 1.3 billion people…

Oct

30

2020

By The African Mirror

Algerian president’s health condition ‘stable’, presidency says

COVID-19

ALGERIA’S President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's health condition is "stable and does not cause concern", the presidency said on Thursday, a day after being flown to Germany for medical checks. "His medical staff is optimistic as to the results of checks," it said in a statement. Tebboune, 75, had entered a military hospital in Algiers after senior aides tested positive for COVID-19. - Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Oct

29

2020

By The African Mirror

How to get Malawian men more involved in antenatal care – and why it matters

HEALTH

ALINANE LINDA NYONDO-MIPANDO, Lecturer in Health Systems and Policy, University of Malawi ADAMSON S. MUULA, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Malawi WHEN men are excluded from antenatal (prenatal) care, or only participate in a limited way, it’s a lost opportunity for the whole family. This exclusion is seen more in patriarchal societies. Prenatal care services are traditionally designed to serve women. But male involvement provides an opportunity for their increased contributions both within the health system and at home. For example, getting fathers involved in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is critical for the uptake…