Police in South Africa have pounced on hundreds of fake COVID-19 vaccines this week, following a global alert issued by INTERPOL warning vaccines would be a prime target for criminal networks. South African authorities seized 400 ampoules during an operation – equivalent to around 2 400 doses – containing the fake vaccine at a warehouse […]

We are devastated to report the passing away of well known South African journalist Karima Brown, who died from Covid-19 related complications in the early hours of this morning. She was 54. Her family said that in accordance with Islamic rites, she will be laid to rest in a private burial in Johannesburg later today […]

Two South African laboratories have used different tests to show that antibodies against the variant of the Covid-19 virus known as 501Y.V2, which dominated the second wave of infections in the country, are effective against the original version of the Covid-19 virus. This means that if a vaccine is designed to target 501Y.V2, it will […]

The South African government has admitted under oath that there is no legal restriction on the private sector purchasing Covid-19 vaccines, according to AfriForum and Solidarity. “The state has a history of failure. The SAA has fallen, Eskom turned off our lights, municipalities are bankrupt, and Denel cannot pay their employees’ salaries. The government does […]

AfriForum and Solidarity are due to hold a media conference this morning, Tuesday 2 March, to announce a major legal breakthrough in their fight against the South African government’s exclusive purchasing of vaccines. This follows after the two organisations have already continued with legal action against the government’s planned monopolisation of the purchasing and distribution […]

South Africa on Sunday reported 1 168 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, down from 1447 the previous day, data from the Health Department showed. According to the latest figures, 52 patients died from Coronavirus in the space of 24 hours. Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said 25 fatalities occurred in Gauteng, four each in the Eastern […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it welcomes the announcement that South Africa will move to lockdown Alert Level One, along with the easing of restrictions on alcohol sales and gatherings as well as the shortening of the curfew. But DA Leader John Steenhuisen adds: “Our sole focus, as a country, should be on rolling out […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa is moving from Alert Level 3 into Level 1, effective from later this evening – Sunday 28 February 2021 – as soon as the regulations are gazetted. This Friday it will be exactly a year since the coronavirus pandemic hit SA shores, with the first Covid-19 patient […]

The South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, will address the nation on developments in the country’s Covid-19 response tonight, Sunday 28 February. The ‘family meeting’ (as these addresses to the nation are being called by locals) will take place at 20h00. The Presidency said: “The address follows meetings in recent days of the National Coronavirus Command […]

Claims that the South African Airways (SAA) flight dispatched by the SA government to transfer a consignment of COVID-19 vaccines was an expensive exercise, are devoid of the truth, asserts the Department of Public Enterprises. In a statement on Friday, the department said these claims seek to sabotage the role of SAA Cargo in the […]

Interim results from clinical trials of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be presented to the FDA on Friday 26 February in an effort to obtain an emergency licence for its distribution. The briefing document for the FDA reports 66% efficacy for all cases and 85% efficacy for severe cases, as well as a favourable […]

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the race to make vaccines and other useful technologies more accessible to people around the world, has once again highlighted the tension between intellectual property rights and the promotion of public health. There is no doubt that the monopolies offered by exclusive rights such as patents are necessary to incentivise pharmaceutical […]

The South African government says it is working tirelessly to deal with the danger of fake news in the fight against COVID-19 and the vaccination plan. Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, believes that while social media is beneficial for communicating, it can be easily hijacked to spread false claims about inoculation. […]

South Africa kick-started its first phase of the vaccination rollout programme using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a week ago Wednesday. Here the Health Department answers some of the burning questions about who will get it first; why it is a good choice for the country; why pregnant woman cannot get the shot and how […]

South Africa’s vaccination programme is gaining momentum, with over 15 000 healthcare workers having already received their Johnson & Johnson shot in five days. “South Africa is rapidly moving to protect its highly valued healthcare workers through the Sisonke Early Access Programme,” said the Health Department. According to the latest data, there are 15 388 […]

Fatalities in South Africa continue to rise with 230 more people dying from COVID-19 on Thursday, according to the SA Health Department. Of the recent fatalities, 122 occurred in Limpopo, 27 in KwaZulu-Natal, 24 from the Eastern Cape, 21 from Gauteng, 19 from the Western Cape and 10 from Mpumalanga. Only Free State recorded single-digit […]

Free State Health MEC Montseng Tsiu on Wednesday received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The buoyant Tsiu, who is a professional nurse, took the vaccine alongside Dr David Motau, who is the Head of the Department of Health in the Free State. “MEC Tsiu and HOD, Dr Motau, felt the need to take the […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa says the COVID-19 vaccine is quick and painless. “At first I was a bit terrified of this long needle that was going to be embedded into my arm. But it happened so quickly, so easily. It was just a prick on my flesh and I really did not feel much pain.” […]

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, says the SA government has offered the African Union (AU) the AstraZeneca vaccine doses that South Africa procured from the Serum Institute in India. This comes amid reports that South Africa had asked the Serum Institute to take back the one million doses that arrived earlier this month after a […]

The first delivery of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in South Africa. The vaccine, which has been approved by the South African Health Products Authority, arrived at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Gauteng on Tuesday night. According to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), the consignment is being moved to […]

Tanzania’s health minister said earlier this month that the country has no plans to procure COVID-19 vaccines. Moina Spooner, an editor with The Conversation Africa, asked Catherine Kyobutungi, African Population and Health Research Center, to explain Tanzania’s COVID-19 response and why it’s problematic. Why has the decision been taken not to vaccinate? Tanzania has had […]

It was the last day of school of 2020. For months my colleagues and I had been taking measures to prevent getting ill with Covid. But on this day in December, all our efforts to keep the school safe went out the window. And, while I cannot prove it, I believe a deadly price was […]

South Africa continues to see fewer COVID-19 cases, with deaths showing signs of slowing down, with only 78 reported in the last 24 hours. This brings the death toll to 47 899, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said on Sunday. Of the latest fatalities, 37 are from Gauteng, 15 from Western Cape, 10 from Free […]

The South African government halted the roll-out of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine this week following a study led by Wits vaccinologist Shabir Madhi, which found that it did not protect against mild to moderate Covid-19 in a local trial on account of the variant of the virus, 501Y.V2, that is dominant here. A pre-print of […]

A study published on Friday, led by authors from the South African National Blood Service, shows that a large percentage of the population has likely already been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that there are striking differences in prevalence between blacks and whites. Over seven days between 7 and 25 January, 4,858 blood donors were tested […]