South African laboratory Afrigen Biologics said on Thursday it had used the publicly available sequence of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to create its own version of the vaccine. According to the Director of the society, Petro Terblanche, the vaccine could be tested in humans before the end of this …
Read More »BioNtech to open a manufacturing facility in Rwanda
The German firm, BioNTech, has signed deals with Rwanda and Senegal to build Africa’s first vaccine manufacturing facility based on mRNA technology. BioNTech, which with Pfizer created one of the world’s most widely used Covid-19 vaccines, says the plant will have an initial capacity to produce 50 million doses annually. …
Read More »Fearing HIV infections, South Africa expressed doubts over Sputnik vaccine
South Africa’s health products regulator, Sahpra, has withheld approval for Russia’s Sputnik V Covid vaccine over concerns that it could increase the risk of HIV infection among men. The decision was based on two earlier studies that tested the safety of a modified form of adenovirus contained in the Russian …
Read More »Kenyans warned to take second doses of covid vaccine
About 100,000 Kenyans have not yet received a second dose of the Covid vaccine and many are thought to be holding out for the arrival of other vaccines which they judge to be more effective. The head of Kenya’s vaccine task force warns that many Kenyans risk becoming severely ill …
Read More »COVID-19: Rwanda to receive 500,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine from US
Kevin Munoz, the White House spokesman on Twitter announced that the US has sent over 488,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Rwanda. The doses included part of “500 million shots pledged and purchased this summer” by President Joe Biden’s administration for the Covax initiative, which delivers vaccines to poorer …
Read More »EU reaches deal with Pfizer-BioNTech to speed up delivery of 10 million doses
Brussels is trying to fill in the gaps. After being annoyed by delays in delivery of doses of vaccines against Covid-19, the European Commission on Tuesday concluded an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech to accelerate the delivery of 10 million doses in the second quarter, announced the executive European cited …
Read More »UK’s mutating variant a concern as it might undermine vaccines
The coronavirus variant first found in the British region of Kent is a concern because it is mutating and so could undermine the protection given by vaccines against developing COVID-19, the head of the UK’s genetic surveillance programme said. The coronavirus has killed 2.35 million people and turned normal life …
Read More »Singapore approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
Singapore become the first Asian country to approve Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine as it begins rolling out its immunisation programme to the wider population. The city-state expects to receive the first shipment of the Moderna shots around March, adding to its stock of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine approved in December. According to authorities, …
Read More »Nigeria expects 57million vaccines over next few months
Nigeria is set to receive 57 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines over the next few months, the authorities say. They have asked for a four-fold increase on their previous request for 10 million doses from the African Union. “We have applied for 41 million doses of a combination of Pfizer, …
Read More »Japan: state of emergency extended for another month
Japan is set to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions for another month on Tuesday, seeking to keep the upper hand over a Covid-19 outbreak even as daily case numbers begin to edge down. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is expected to formally announce the extension to …
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