Pharmaceutical company Pfizer is set to supply Africa’s top health body with its coronavirus pill. The drug, Paxlovid, is intended for use soon after symptoms develop in people at high risk of severe disease. Africa CDC director John Nkengasong, said paperwork for the deal between the Africa Centres for Disease …
Read More »UK shows confidence in Astrazeneca, despite its suspensions in several countries
Germany, France, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal and Latvia … But not the United Kingdom. After Denmark, Norway and Iceland last week, several European countries decided on Monday to suspend the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine. A decision taken under the precautionary principle, due to feared side effects, such as coagulation …
Read More »South African scientists find antibodies from 501Y.V2 variant
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 …
Read More »First batch of doses of Covax vaccine arrives in Rwanda
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 …
Read More »Korea urges medical staff to extract doses of COVID vaccine from vials
A decision by South Korean health authorities to allow more doses to be extracted from coronavirus vaccine vials sparked controversy on Tuesday as the country ramped up its vaccinations of healthcare workers and the elderly. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) had allowed healthcare workers to use the …
Read More »South Africa will now use Johnson & Johnson Covid-vaccine
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 …
Read More »Covid-19: Moderna announces that its vaccine would protect against variants
On Monday, the American laboratory ModernaTherapeutics, claimed that its vaccine would protect against the British and South African variants. Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna added that this announcement would not have been made without excessive caution and without a battery of preliminary tests having been carried out in the laboratory. …
Read More »France begins its vaccination campaign with people over the age of 75
France began a nationwide campaign to inoculate people over 75 on Monday as officials sought to ease concerns about deliveries of coronavirus vaccines. France, which saw its death toll rise past 70,000 at the weekend, has so far given priority to healthcare workers and elderly people in their care. The new …
Read More »Pfizer vaccine deliveries ‘temporarily reduced in Europe’
Vaccine deliveries to Europe by Pfizer bioN tech will be reduced “as of next week” while the company increases its production capacity, Norwegian health officials have said. “The temporary reduction will affect all European countries,” Norway’s Public Health Agency (FHI) said in a statement. “It is not immediately clear how …
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