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South Africa reports first death causally linked to COVID vaccine

South Africa reports first death causally linked to COVID vaccine

SOUTH Africa's health regulator reported a causal link between the death of an individual and Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine, the first time such a direct link has been made in the country. The person presented with rare neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome soon after being given J&J's Janssen vaccine, after which the person was put on a ventilator and later died, senior scientists told a news conference. "At the time of illness no other cause for the Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) could be identified," Professor Hannelie Meyer said. The person's age and other personal details were not disclosed for confidentiality reasons.…
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Approval of COVID vaccine made in South Africa could take 3 years, WHO says

Approval of COVID vaccine made in South Africa could take 3 years, WHO says

THE mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine produced at the World Health Organization-backed vaccine hub in South Africa could take up to three years to get approval if companies do not share their technology and data, a WHO official said. The WHO-backed tech transfer hub in South Africa was set up in June to give poorer nations the know-how to produce COVID-19 vaccines, after market leaders of the mRNA COVID vaccine, Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, declined a WHO request to share their technology and expertise. Martin Friede, coordinator of the WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research, said if companies with approved COVID vaccines or late…
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Nigeria expects 29 million doses of J&J vaccines

Nigeria expects 29 million doses of J&J vaccines

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…
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Libya PM hails “first drop of rain”

Libya PM hails “first drop of rain”

MORE than 100,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine arrived at Tripoli's Mitiga airport yesterday, Libya's ministry of health said, the first shipment to reach the country. Around 1,000 new infections are announced daily by the National Centre for Disease Control, posing a challenge to a health sector ravaged by years of conflict. "It is the first drop of rain. Thank God, we are able to supply the first batch of corona vaccine," interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh said in a tweet. "The rest of the shipment will arrive in succession," he added, without giving details of how many…
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U.S. stays in the World Health Organisation

U.S. stays in the World Health Organisation

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY THE United States under President Joe Biden intends to join the COVAX vaccine facility that aims to deliver coronavirus vaccines to poor countries, his chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, has told the World Health Organization (WHO). Fauci, speaking to the WHO executive board, confirmed that the United States would remain a member of the U.N. agency and said it would work multilaterally on issues from the COVID-19 pandemic to HIV/AIDS. "This is a good day for WHO and a good day for global health," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. "WHO is a family of nations and we…
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Liberia’s Johnson Sirleaf discouraged by COVID vaccine roll-out plan

Liberia’s Johnson Sirleaf discouraged by COVID vaccine roll-out plan

THE World Health Organization's pandemic review panel co-chair Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has expressed disappointment in COVID-19 vaccine roll-out plans which she said means shots will not be widely available in Africa until 2022 or 2023. "The panel is discouraged and frankly disappointed by the unequal plans for vaccine rollout," the former Liberian president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate told an Executive Board meeting of the WHO.
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Not without India: World’s pharmacy gears up for vaccine race

Not without India: World’s pharmacy gears up for vaccine race

ABHIRUP ROY, EUAN ROCHA and KRISHNA N. DAS INDIA, the world's biggest vaccine maker, is getting set for the massive global blitz to contain the coronavirus pandemic with its pharmaceutical industry and partners freeing up capacity and accelerating investments even without firm purchase orders. India manufactures more than 60% of all vaccines sold across the globe, and while its $40 billion pharmaceutical sector is not yet involved in the production of the expensive Pfizer Inc and Moderna shots, the nation will play a pivotal role in immunizing much of the world. Indian companies are set to produce eight, more affordable…
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EXCLUSIVE-Suspected North Korean hackers targeted COVID vaccine maker AstraZeneca -sources

EXCLUSIVE-Suspected North Korean hackers targeted COVID vaccine maker AstraZeneca -sources

JACK STUBBS SUSPECTED North Korean hackers have tried to break into the systems of British drugmaker AstraZeneca in recent weeks, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, as the company races to deploy its vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. The hackers posed as recruiters on networking site LinkedIn and WhatsApp to approach AstraZeneca staff with fake job offers, the sources said. They then sent documents purporting to be job descriptions that were laced with malicious code designed to gain access to a victim's computer. The hacking attempts targeted a "broad set of people" including staff working on COVID-19…
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