COVID-19 vaccines - The African Mirror

Jun

2021

Boost for Africa: Senegal to make COVID vaccines

EDWARD McALLISTER SENEGAL could begin producing COVID-19 vaccines next year under an agreement with Belgian biotech group Univercells aimed at boosting Africa's drug-manufacturing ambitions, a source involved in funding the project told Reuters. As wealthy countries begin to reopen after securing vaccine supplies early, African nations are still struggling to acquire shots. On a continent of 1.3 billion, only about 7 million have been fully vaccinated. The collaboration highlights the opportunities created by a global push to channel money and technology towards production on a continent that makes only 1% of the vaccines it requires. Univercells announced the signing of…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Embassies in Tanzania can import vaccines

COVID-19

TANZANIA has announced that embassies and international agencies can import COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate their citizens and staff against the coronavirus. The move is part of a more proactive approach to tackling the disease following the death in March of President John Magufuli, who underplayed the pandemic and expressed scepticism of vaccines. The announcement came after experts presented President Samia Suluhu Hassan with a plan, including the issuing of vaccines in the country. "President Samia (Suluhu Hassan) said embassies and international organisations have been permitted to import COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate their own nationals and staff to meet their countries…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Don’t panic, says Zim govt

COVID-19

ZIMBABWE’S government has urged citizens not to panic because it had enough COVID-19 vaccines for those needing a second shot after some centres ran out of doses this week and turned people away. The southern African nation, which aims to vaccinate 10 million people by the end of the year, has to date received just over 1.735 million doses from Sinopharm, Sinovac and Covaxin. Some 684,164 people have received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while another 364,240 got their second shot. Agnes Mahomva, the national coordinator on government's response to COVID-19, told state broadcaster ZBC that just over…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Biden says U.S. to send 25 million COVID-19 vaccines around the world

COVID-19

JEFF MASON and CARL O’DONNELL US President Joe Biden has laid out how his country would share some 25 million of a planned 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses with the rest of the world. The United States will donate nearly 19 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine supply through the COVAX international vaccine sharing program, he said in a statement. Through COVAX, some 6 million doses would go to Latin America and the Caribbean, about 7 million doses to South and Southeast Asia and roughly 5 million for Africa. The remaining doses, amounting to just over 6 million, would go…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso receives first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19

BURKINA Faso, one of several countries in Africa that has yet to launch a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, received its first shipment under the global vaccine-sharing scheme COVAX, according to the health ministry. The 115,200 AstraZeneca doses were flown into the airport of the capital Ouagadougou and were welcomed by a local delegation led by health minister Charlemagne Ouedraogo. "In a few weeks other vaccines will probably arrive to supplement what we have," Ouedraogo said. The vaccination campaign, which will first target health workers, aims to eventually inoculate over 15 million of the West African nation's 21.5 million citizens, the ministry…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

How South Africa is tracking adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines

HEALTH

SOUTH Africa has begun the second phase of its public vaccination campaign, targeting people aged 60 or older. The first vaccinations were given in February to health workers. So far almost 600,000 healthcare workers and members of the public have been vaccinated. KERRIGAN MCCARTHY, Pathologist, Centre for Vaccines and Immunology, NICD, National Institute for Communicable Diseases Healthcare workers have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, while the Pfizer vaccine is being rolled out as part of Phase 2 for members of the public. A crucial aspect of the vaccination campaign is tracking adverse reactions. It’s imperative that all health events…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

India tests drones to take COVID-19 vaccines to rural areas

WORLD

RINA CHANDRAN VILLAGERS in remote corners of rural India could start seeing curious flying objects in the skies as health experts test out drones to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to isolated communities amid a deadly surge in coronavirus cases. The southern state of Telangana, which is part of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Medicine from the Sky project along with government think-tank NITI Aayog and Apollo Hospitals, will run a trial and then launch COVID-19 vaccine deliveries with drones. Karnataka, another southern state, is also looking at drone deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines, while the Indian Council of Medical Research has been…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Low trust in authorities affects vaccine uptake: evidence from 22 African countries

HEALTH

IN a time when the world is focusing on COVID-19 vaccines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted the importance of routine immunisations for diseases such as measles, tetanus and polio. JEAN-FRANCOIS MAYSTADT, Professor, Lancaster University KALLE HIRVONEN, Senior Research Fellow, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) NIK STOOP, Post-doctoral researcher, University of Antwerp Although immunisation saves millions of lives each year, progress in vaccine coverage remains highly uneven, both between and within countries. Despite considerable progress over the past two decades, the situation is particularly worrying in Africa. Nearly half of the world’s unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children live…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Vaccine patent waiver will not be enough – WTO chief

COVID-19

PHILIP BLENKINSOP WAIVING intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines will not be enough to narrow the huge supply gap between rich and poor countries, the head of the World Trade Organization said yesterday. South Africa and India have urged fellow WTO members to waive IP rights on vaccines to boost production. Poorer countries that make up half the world's population have received just 17% of doses, a situation the World Health Organization head has labelled "vaccine apartheid". U.S. President Joe Biden said last week he supported the waiver idea, but the European Union and other developed country opponents said it…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

India’s halt to vaccine exports ‘very problematic’ for Africa

COVID-19

GUILIA PARAVICINI AN extended halt to exports of COVID-19 vaccines from India, where authorities are battling a wave of domestic infections, risks derailing vaccination efforts already underway in Africa, one of the continent's top health officials said yesterday. India stopped vaccine exports a month ago and, according to a Reuters report earlier on Tuesday, is now unlikely to resume major exports before October, dealing a major setback to the global COVAX initiative on which many poor countries rely. Africa has lagged far behind other regions due to supply issues and meagre financial resources but had planned to vaccinate 30-35% of…