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South Africa hits record 26,845 new COVID-19 cases in third wave

South Africa hits record 26,845 new COVID-19 cases in third wave

SOUTH Africa has registered more than 26 485 cases of COVID-19 , its highest tally of new infections since the pandemic began, as a third wave of the virus spread through a population in which just 5% have been vaccinated. The surge in cases in Africa's most industrialised nation has overwhelmed hospitals, especially in the main city of Johannesburg, and left overworked healthcare personnel struggling to find enough beds for critically ill patients. Bureaucratic failures have worsened the health crisis. The South African Medical Association threatened on Thursday to take the government to court because more than 200 new junior…
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World has entered stage of “vaccine apartheid” – WHO head

World has entered stage of “vaccine apartheid” – WHO head

THE world has reached a situation of "vaccine apartheid", World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said yesterday and was no longer just at risk of that status. "The big problem is a lack of sharing. So the solution is more sharing," he told a virtual Paris Peace Forum event. Earlier, he called on COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to make shots available to the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility sooner than planned due to a supply shortfall left by Indian export disruptions.
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South Africa warns of ‘vaccine apartheid’ if rich countries hog shots

South Africa warns of ‘vaccine apartheid’ if rich countries hog shots

ALEXANDER WINNING  SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday that if wealthy nations hogged COVID-19 shots while millions in poor countries died waiting for them it would amount to "vaccine apartheid". South Africa and India have been pushing for a waiver on some intellectual property (IP) rights for vaccines and medicines at the World Trade Organization. U.S. President Joe Biden backed the proposal last week, though it may still take months to reach a deal. Ramaphosa called on South Africans to support the waiver in a weekly newsletter, saying vaccines should be "a global public good". "It is about affirming…
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The global approach to vaccine equity is failing: additional steps that would help

The global approach to vaccine equity is failing: additional steps that would help

ACCUSATIONS abound of vaccine nationalism against states that stockpile vaccines and of vaccine apartheid, as COVID-19 vaccines become concentrated in rich countries. Calls for vaccine equity or justice demand vaccine allocation on account of need, based on the idea that no one is safe until everyone is safe. ERIN HANNAH, Department Chair/Associate Professor of Political Science, King's University College, Western University JAMES SCOTT, Senior Lecturer in International Politics, King's College London SILKE TROMMER, Senior Lecturer Politics , University of Manchester SOPHIE HARMAN, Professor of International Politics, Queen Mary University of London At stake is our ability to ensure an end…
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It’s a ‘travesty’ that some nations are unable to start COVID-19 vaccinations – WHO

It’s a ‘travesty’ that some nations are unable to start COVID-19 vaccinations – WHO

IT is a travesty that some countries still have not had enough access to vaccines to begin inoculating health workers and the most vulnerable people against COVID-19, the head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. "Scaling up production and equitable distribution remains the major barrier to ending the acute stage of the COVID-19 pandemic," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. "It's a travesty that in some countries health workers and those at-risk groups remain completely unvaccinated." The president of Namibia, Hage Geingob, one of several world leaders invited to address the WHO news conference for…
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