Coronavirus

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has warned of the global economic consequences of delayed vaccination in Africa. In an op-ed published on 7 February on the British news website The Guardian, the Rwandan leader pointed to a “nationalism” of Covid-19 vaccines on the part of the United States and Europe. …

China called on the United States on Wednesday to invite the World Health Organization to investigate origins of the COVID-19 outbreak there, as sparring over the pandemic continued after the WHO wrapped up its field work in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Hours after the WHO team revealed preliminary findings …

Due to increasing coronavirus cases among lawmakers and staff, Ghana’s parliament will suspend sittings for three weeks , Speaker Alban Bagbin announced on Tuesday. The number of MPs who have contracted the virus has risen to 17 while that of staff has gone up to 151. Speaker Bagbin said sittings …

The South African government has outlined its amended coronavirus immunisation plans. They were put on hold when a trial suggested that the AstraZeneca vaccines which were due to be distributed were less effective against a local variant of the virus. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said a Johnson and Johnson vaccine …

Hundreds of migrants rescued off the Libyan coast in the past few days have arrived in Italy, where they disembarked on Monday. The NGO SOS Mediterranee said the 422 migrants were rescued by their ship, Ocean Viking, during several search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea between February the …

In a British military training camp in Kenya, the number of positive Covid-19 cases has risen from 4 to 11, amid concerns from locals about its spread. The British army says all soldiers who arrived at Nanyuki base last month were still in isolation. An army spokesman says 320 military …

Mozambique’s newly appointed head of the military, Eugénio Ussene Mussa, died on Monday after contracting Covid-19. He died while undergoing treatment at Mozambique’s biggest health facility, the Maputo Central Hospital. It is less than a month after he took office, as he was sworn in as chief of the general …

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against jumping to conclusions about the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines. This decision comes after a South African study suggested that the AstraZeneca vaccine was less effective against a local variant of the virus. But experts are hopeful that the vaccine will still be …

Fifteen members of Ghanaian parliament and 56 staff members have contracted coronavirus, local media reported. They returned positive tests following a recent round of testing, Speaker Alban Bagbin is quoted as saying in parliament on Thursday. The infected lawmakers and staff have been asked to self-isolate while undergoing treatment, according …

Conspiracy theories, mistrust and patchy communication have contributed to a flourishing of skepticism about Covid-19 vaccines in African countries, experts say, posing potential dangers to future immunisation campaigns. Anti-vaccine sentiment, often fed by rumours spread on social media, is already thriving in the West. But a similar dynamic is at …