Serum Institute of India - The African Mirror

Feb

2021

Uganda orders 18 million doses of vaccine

UGANDA has ordered 18 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and up to 40% of the shipments are expected to arrive in the country by the end of March, the government has announced. Uganda has so far reported 39,651 COVID-19 cases and 325 deaths - a much lower toll than in most countries due to what experts attribute to years of experience battling other viral outbreaks such as HIV AIDS and Ebola. Its economy, however, is reeling from the impact of the measures put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The vaccine shots will…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa expects first vaccine doses February 1

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING SOUTH Africa expects the flight carrying its first 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to arrive on February 1, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said yesterday, boosting efforts to curb a second wave of COVID-19 driven by a more contagious variant. The AstraZeneca shots, produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), are destined for the country's sorely stretched frontline healthcare workers. South Africa has recorded the most coronavirus infections and deaths on the African continent, at more than 1.4 million cases and over 41,000 deaths to date, and has been battling a second wave of infections dominated by a…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Fire at India’s Serum Institute kills 5, AstraZeneca vaccine output unaffected

WORLD

A big fire at the Serum Institute of India has killed five people, a government official told reporters, but the world's biggest vaccine maker said it would not affect the production of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shot. Videos and pictures from Reuters partner ANI showed black smoke billowing from a multi-storey building in SII's massive headquarters complex in the city of Pune in Maharashtra state. "We have learnt that there has unfortunately been some loss of life at the incident," SII Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla said on Twitter. "We are deeply saddened and offer our deepest condolences to the family members…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa to pay $5.25 a dose

COVID-19

ALEXANDER WINNING SOUTH Africa will pay $5.25 per dose for 1.5 million shots of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII), a senior official said yesterday, more than some wealthier countries are paying. Health department Deputy Director-General Anban Pillay told Reuters that SII's price was based on South Africa's status as an upper-middle-income country under a World Bank classification. The price is higher than the $3 a dose that South Africa and other countries on the continent are due to pay for the same vaccine under an African Union (AU) arrangement, and the 2.5 euros ($3.03) per…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa aims to vaccinate for herd immunity

COVID-19

TIM COCKS SOUTH Africa will vaccinate 40 million people, or two-thirds of its population, against COVID-19 in order to achieve herd immunity, its health minister has said, as a mutant variant drove daily new cases above 21,000 for the first time. He spoke as the government said it would receive 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca's shot from the Serum Institute of India (SII), spread over January and February. Health workers have voiced concern that authorities have not acted fast enough to secure enough vaccines. A more contagious coronavirus variant, first found on South Africa's east coast late last year, is…