Sinopharm vaccine - The African Mirror

May

2021

COVID is surging in the world’s most vaccinated country. Why?

THE small archipelago nation of Seychelles, northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, has emerged as the world’s most vaccinated country for COVID-19. C RAINA MACINTYRE, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Around 71% of people have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, and 62% have been fully vaccinated. Of these, 57% have received the Sinopharm vaccine, and 43% AstraZeneca. Despite this, there has been a recent surge in cases, with 37% of new active cases and 20% of hospital cases being fully vaccinated. The country has had to…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt to purchase 20 million doses of vaccine

COVID-19

EGYPT has agreed to purchase 20 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinopharm and expects to receive a batch of 500,000 shots this month, its health ministry said on Tuesday. The agreement boosts vaccination efforts in Egypt, which has a population of 100 million and has so far received a total of just over 1.5 million doses of Sinopharm and of the AstraZeneca shot. Earlier this month, Egypt announced it was preparing to produce up to 80 million doses of the vaccine produced by China's Sinovac.

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe president gets COVID-19 dose

COVID-19

ZIMBABWE's President Emmerson Mnangagwa and some opposition politicians received China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine in the tourist resort of Victoria Falls yesterday as part of efforts to encourage citizens to get inoculated. Zimbabwe has registered vaccines from China, India and Russia for emergency use but none so far from Western manufacturers. In a country where suspicion and scepticism often trump facts, Mnangagwa's vaccination at a public event, together with opposition leaders, was meant to assure citizens that the vaccines were safe. The southern African nation had planned to administer the Sinopharm vaccine to 53,000 health workers and selected security forces when…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Senegal purchases 200 000 vaccines

COVID-19

DIADIE BA SENEGAL has paid a little over 2 billion CFA francs ($3.72 million) - or nearly $19 per shot - for 200,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm, a finance ministry spokesman told Reuters yesterday. African nations are struggling to source vaccines in the face of a global scramble for doses. Coverage secured through African Union (AU) and World Health Organization-backed (WHO) schemes so far falls short of the continent's needs. Senegal said in January it was in talks to buy the Chinese vaccine. Finance ministry spokesman Balle Preira confirmed the cost of the shots, which…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

1st African country to roll out vaccine

COVID-19

SEYCHELLES has started vaccinating its population against COVID-19 with doses from China's Sinopharm vaccine, President Wavel Ramkalawan said. Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan Ramkalawan's office said in a statement seen by Reuters on Monday that the initial target was for the vaccine to reach 25,000 people and first priority was for healthcare workers. The statement said the Indian Ocean archipelago had received 50,000 doses of the vaccine as a donation from the United Arab Emirates. Ramkalawan's office said he and former president Danny Faure and other senior government officials were vaccinated as part of efforts to bolster confidence among the population…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Morocco orders COVID-19 vaccine as cases approach 100,000

COVID-19

MOROCCO has signed a deal with Russia's R-Pharm to buy a COVID-19 vaccine produced under a licence from Britain's AstraZeneca, the health ministry said, as its total number of cases approached 100,000. The Ministry did not provide details on the cost and quantity of the order. AstraZeneca licensed R-Pharm in July to produce the vaccine it developed together with Oxford University. This month, Morocco started taking part in clinical trials of China's Sinopharm vaccine. The North African country added a daily record 2,760 cases to its confirmed total on Friday, meaning it has recorded 97,264 in all, including 1,755 deaths.…