News

Momentum CEO questions centralised procurement plan

07 Mar 2021

 

Momentum Metropolitan CEO Hillie Meyer expressed concern about government’s “very centralised” approach to COVID-19 procurement. 

 

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‘Eat less, move more’ approach given too much weight

07 Mar 2021
According to Stats SA’s latest figures an estimated 31% of men, 68% of women and 13% of children are classified as overweight or obese.
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Plea to government: Don't waste the AstraZeneca vaccine

04 Mar 2021

 

Professor Shabir Madhi, eminent Medical Research Council vaccinologist and principle investigator in the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine trial locally, has urged the Health Department not to abandon the vaccine but to make immediate strategic use of it among high-risk groups before it expires, writes MedicalBrief (3 March 2021). His plea comes upon Public Health England data showing that a single-shot of the vaccine cut risk of serious illness by 80% in the over-80s. SAHPRA ‘error’ means Ivermectin ‘has been legal for 30 years’

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Limpopo health workers milked state of R2-bn

04 Mar 2021

The Sowetan recently reported that Limpopo Health has accused thousands of its health workers of milking the state of nearly R2-bn in the past two years by allegedly manipulating rosters to create the need for overtime pay. According to the report the department said it would not back down on its plan to introduce new rosters in public health facilities, cut overtime and allow employees to work 40 hours a week.

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Ivermectin has been legal all along due to slip-up bySAHPRA

04 Mar 2021
AfriForum and its legal team recently concluded that Ivermectin – which can be used to treat people who contracted COVID-19 – had been legal all along because the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority SAPHRA had failed, to publish a notice in the Government Gazette to declare it illegal (as the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965 requires). Moreover, SAPHRA has so far kept this fact from the public, reported Medical Brief (3 March 2021).
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SAPPF mourns the death of former CEO Cr Chris Archer

04 Mar 2021

The following letter was written by Dr Simon Strachan, CEO of SAPPF, after the sad news that Dr Chris Archer has passed on on Wednesday, March 3 2021

 

Dear members
 
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing away of Dr Chris Archer this morning 03 March 2021 after a sudden illness.

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SA corona variant may lead to better vaccines

04 Mar 2021
Researchers at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) have discovered that plasma collected from people infected with the SA coronavirus variant, 501Y.V2, contains antibodies that not only knock out 501Y.V2, but also provide some protection against the older lineage circulating in the first wave, reported Business Day (4 May 2021).
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SA’s rampant gonorrhoea epidemic

02 Mar 2021

 

South Africa has one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the world, including for gonorrhoea, reported Spotlight (1 March 2021). It is estimated that every year around two million people in the country get infected with the gonorrhoea bacterium, which is likely to be an underestimate because most women don’t show any symptoms.

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SA faces vaccine shortage for winter

02 Mar 2021

Business for SA (B4SA) warned that the country faces a shortage of coronavirus vaccines between April and June.

“While the government has consistently said it has secured enough Covid-19 shots to vaccinate two-thirds of the population, or 40-m people in the next 12 months, it has yet to provide a clear line of sight on the date of arrival of these vaccines in SA,” reported Business Day (2 March 2021).

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‘Significant’ risk to dispensing SA’s unregistered Ivermectin

01 Mar 2021
Medical Brief (24 February 2021) reported that four out of five Ivermectin tablets tested in South Africa had at least one unregistered active pharmaceutical ingredient. According to a small study, published in the SA Medical Journal there are “significant potential safety concerns for patients (and) consequent legal ramifications for the dispenser and/or prescribing doctor”.
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Conduit Capital targets medical malpractice insurance

01 Mar 2021
Conduit Capital, the investment holding company with stakes in insurance and real-estate brokerage, plans to focus on growing its niche health and medical malpractice insurance businesses over the next 12 months, reported Business Day (1 March 2021). 
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Moderna produces Covid-19 shot targeting variant found in SA

01 Mar 2021
Business Day reported on March 1, that US Biotech is preparing for a clinical trial to gauge effectiveness on 501. V2 strain.
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Advanced Health improves SA revenue

01 Mar 2021

Day-hospital operator Advanced Health has grown revenue at its unprofitable SA operations in spite of COVID-19, reported Busines LIVE (26 February 2021). The company, which operates in SA and Australia, reported that its loss from continuing operations fell 72% to R5.6-m in its six months to end-December 2020. Patient numbers in SA decreased by 12% as a result of COVID-19.
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COVID-19: The big wave is coming

09 Jun 2020

“It is only a matter of time before the rest of South Africa reaches the surge in COVID-19 coronavirus cases currently being experienced in the Western Cape, experts warn,” reported City Press (7 June 2020).

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