vaccine distribution - The African Mirror

Apr

2021

WHO chief laments ‘shocking imbalance’ in shot distribution

THERE is a "shocking imbalance" in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide and most countries do not have anywhere near enough shots to cover health workers and others at high-risk, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said yesterday. More than 700 million jabs have been administered worldwide against the disease, but 87% have gone to high income or upper middle-income countries, with low income countries receiving just 0.2%, he said. "On average in high-income countries, almost one in four people has received a COVID-19 vaccine. In low-income countries, it's one in more than 500," Tedros told a briefing. The COVAX facility…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Can vaccines reach the world’s poorest?

COVID-19

THIN LEI WIN PFIZER Inc has said its experimental COVID-19 vaccine was more than 90% effective, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed more than a million people and infected 50 million. Drugmakers around the globe have been racing to develop vaccines against COVID-19, but organisations such as the vaccine alliance GAVI have expressed fears that poor nations would lose out in the global race. Wealthier countries have forged multibillion-dollar supply deals with drugmakers and purchased 3.8 billion doses of potential coronavirus vaccines, leaving few doses available for poor nations, according to a recent analysis…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s Biovac in talks to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines

COVID-19

WENDELL ROELF and ALEXANDER WINNING A South African company part-owned by the government is in talks with the global COVID-19 vaccine distribution scheme and pharmaceutical companies to produce some of the vaccines the country needs to protect itself against the disease. The Biovac Institute, a Cape Town-based joint venture between the government and private sector, could produce up to 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines per year, depending on the technology involved, Chief Executive Morena Makhoana told Reuters. Depending on whether the vaccines require a one- or two-dose regimen, that could be enough for a quarter or half of South…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

VIDEO: Who should get a COVID-19 vaccine first?

MULTIMEDIA

A committee of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is readying a report with recommendations for equitable distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine. In this Q&A, bioethicist Dr Nicole Hassoun of Binghamton University breaks down the elements in the recently published draft report from the committee and explains the key questions around vaccine distribution. https://www.youtube.com/embed/xj-GnwMUDJw NICOLE HASSOUN, Professor of Philosophy, Binghamton University, State University of New York Why is there a need for guidelines on how to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine? It’s clear that there won’t be enough vaccines for everybody initially. It just takes a long time to…