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Research by South African scientists suggests that antibodies triggered by exposure to the country’s dominant coronavirus variant can prevent infection by other variants, the scientists said on Wednesday. The findings in laboratory studies offer hope that COVID-19 vaccines based on the 501Y.V2 variant first identified late last year could protect …

Prominent Senegalese opposition politician Ousmane Sonko has been arrested. The announcement was made by his lawyers. He is accused of disturbing public order in the capital, Dakar, as he travelled to court for a hearing in a rape case. His motorcade was followed by hundreds of chanting supporters, who were …

UNICEF on Tuesday unveiled a “pandemic classroom” at the United Nations headquarters in New York. It is a way for the organization to draw attention to the need for governments to prioritize the reopening of schools. Around 214 million children worldwide, or 1 in 7, have missed more than three-quarters …

At least five people, including a pregnant woman, were killed in Burkina Faso when the ambulance they were traveling in was destroyed by a mine, BBC News reports. The ambulance was carrying the woman, her husband, a girl and two other women. Officials say the incident happened in Gaskindé, close …

Rwandan health minister received this day first batch of Covid-19 vaccine doses from the UN-backed Covax distribution initiative. The country received 240,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and with a further 102,960 doses of Pfizer vaccine expected to arrive later in the day, according to the health ministry. Rwanda expects …

The information has been confirmed by the country’s authorities. A small plane crashed on Tuesday evening in the eastern Jonglei State, killing all the 10 people on board. It happened at Pieri airstrip shortly after take-off while heading to the capital, Juba. The plane belonged to a local aviation company, …

More African countries have received their first batches of the coronavirus vaccines under the global Covax scheme. Kenya received more than a million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday, becoming the third East African country to benefit from the UN-backed distribution initiative. The doses are enough to vaccinate 500,000 …

South Korean authorities said on Wednesday they are investigating the deaths of two people, both with pre-existing conditions, who died within days of receiving AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. A 63-year-old nursing home patient with cerebrovascular disease, developed symptoms including high fever, after being given the vaccine four days ago, Korea Disease …

By way of the COVAX initiative, more than 1.7 million doses of COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccines touched down at Kinshasa’s N’djili International Airport on Tuesday The vaccines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are part of the first wave of supplies that will continue over the next few weeks. Medical …

Texas will lift its mask requirement and allow businesses to reopen at full capacity next week, Governor Greg Abbott has announced. Texas is the largest US state to end its mask mandate. Mr Abbott has faced criticism from his party over the measure, which was imposed last July. But the …