AstraZeneca vaccine - The African Mirror

Sep

30

2021

Poland sends over 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Egypt

POLAND sent over 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Egypt, the Polish foreign ministry said on Wednesday. "More than 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines are on their way from Warsaw to Cairo. The donation of vaccines to Egypt is an expression of solidarity with an important partner of Poland in North Africa," the ministry said on Twitter. Poland has earlier sent surplus vaccine doses to countries such as Australia, Spain, Norway, Ukraine or Taiwan. Around 60% of Poles are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Vaccine Tracker. Demand for the…

Jul

28

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigeria expects 29 million doses of J&J vaccines

COVID-19

NIGERIA expects to take delivery of 29 million doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in August, allowing it to ramp up its vaccination programme just as a third wave of infections takes hold, the health minister said. Africa's most populous country has recorded close to 171,000 cases of the virus and 2,132 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to official data, although the real figures are likely to be much higher as testing is patchy. The government had announced in March it was hoping to secure 70 million doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine this year through…

Apr

20

2021

By The African Mirror

FACTBOX: How countries use vaccines

COVID-19

SOME countries are restricting the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to certain age groups, or suspending use, after European and British regulators confirmed possible links to rare blood clots. Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine has also been hit by concerns over blood clots. European regulators are reviewing such cases and are expected to issue findings on April 20. U.S. federal health agencies recommended pausing its use temporarily on April 13 and a U.S. health advisory panel will meet on April 23 to discuss whether the pause should continue. J&J has stated that no clear causal relationship has been established…

Apr

15

2021

By The African Mirror

FACTBOX- Some countries limit AstraZeneca vaccine use, US pauses J&J shot

COVID-19

SOME countries are restricting the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to certain age groups or suspending use after European and British regulators confirmed possible links to rare blood clots. Denmark became the first country to stop using the vaccine altogether, as it said results of investigations showed "real and serious side-effects". Johnson & Johnson's single-shot vaccine has also been hit by concerns over blood clots, with European regulators reviewing such cases and U.S. federal health agencies recommending pausing its use for a few days. J&J noted no clear causal relationship had been established between the clots and its vaccine.…

Mar

27

2021

By The African Mirror

Morocco expects 4.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses soon, officials say

COVID-19

MOROCCO expects new batches of coronavirus vaccine to arrive soon from Russia, South Korea and China, allowing it to continue its rapid immunisation roll-out despite a pause in exports from India, health ministry sources said. Morocco has already received 8.5-million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, made in India, and Sinopharm vaccine, made in China, allowing it to administer more jabs than any other African country. It expects 4.2-million more doses soon, said Health Ministry scientific committee member Said Afif, keeping it on track to reach its target of herd immunity before the summer. These include two million more Sinopharm doses, a…

Mar

23

2021

By The African Mirror

AstraZeneca vaccine safe and effective in new trial data

COVID-19

ASTRAZENECA's COVID-19 vaccine developed with Oxford University was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in a large trial in Chile, Peru and the United States, the company said yesterday, paving the way for it to apply for U.S. approval. The vaccine was also 100% effective against severe or critical disease and hospitalisation, and was safe, the partners said on Monday, releasing results of the late-stage human trial study of more than 32,000 volunteers across all age groups. The data will give credence to the British shot after results from earlier, separate late-stage studies raised questions about the robustness of the…

Mar

21

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt gets more doses of Chinese coronavirus vaccine

COVID-19

EGYPT received another 300,000 doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) in the early hours of Saturday, the health ministry said in a statement. The third shipment from China of the Sinopharm vaccine brings the total doses delivered to Egypt to 650,000 since December. Some 600,000 of those were a gift from Beijing and the rest were sent by the UAE. The North African country also got 50,000 doses of a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in February. Egypt expects to receive five million more doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX facility by the…

Mar

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Cameroon suspends use of AstraZeneca vaccine

COVID-19

CAMEROON’S health ministry has suspended the administration of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine it was scheduled to receive on March 20 as part of the global vaccines sharing scheme COVAX. The ministry said that the suspension was for precaution and prudence. It gave no further reasons for the decision or if it will go ahead and take delivery of its share of the vaccine. Several countries have resumed use of shots on Friday after the European Union and British regulators said the benefits outweighed any risks after reports of rare instances of blood clotting that temporarily halted inoculations. Cameroon has approved Russia's…

Mar

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Countries resume use of AstraZeneca vaccine

COVID-19

MANY countries are resuming the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine after the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization said the benefits outweighed the risks following investigations into reports of blood clots. At least 17 countries in Europe had suspended or delayed use of the vaccine after reports of people being admitted to hospitals with clotting issues and bleeding after being inoculated. AstraZeneca and the EMA have said concerns about coagulation disorders did not emerge in human trials, with the WHO recommending inoculations continue as the global coronavirus death toll passes 2.8 million. Below is a list of countries…

Feb

18

2021

By The African Mirror

Namibia to roll out AstraZeneca vaccine

COVID-19

NAMIBIA will push ahead with the roll-out of the AstraZeneca vaccine despite neighbouring South Africa halting distribution after concerns over its effectiveness against a new variant, the government said yesterday. The nation of 2.5 million people recorded more than 36,000 COVID-19 cases with 394 deaths, with its mining and tourism-depended economy severely hit by the pandemic. Health and Social Services Minister Kalumba Shanghula said investigations were still underway to establish whether the new COVID-19 variant is present in Namibia and the extent of its prevalence. "In the meantime, our preparations for COVID-19 vaccine roll-out are ongoing," he said. South Africa…