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Chaos as health workers queue in vain for Covid-19 vaccines

14 May 2021
Chaotic scenes played out at some hospitals around the country on Thursday (14 May) when hundreds of healthcare workers caused traffic jams when gathering to receive their Covid-19 vaccination, reported TimesLive 14 May 2021
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C-19 vaccination roll-out MPs lash out at Mkhize

14 May 2021

Although 3 357 sites in the public sector were supposed to be operational for Phase 2 of the Covid-19 roll-out, only 130 will be operating by May, 17, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

Private sector sites will open on May 24.

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71% of SA adults willing to be vaccinated

13 May 2021

According to the National Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) - 71% of SA adults say they would be willing to get a Covid-19 vaccine if one was offered

The Human Sciences Research Council Covid-19 Democracy survey conducted in December 2020 and January 2021 estimated vaccine intention at 67%, while the Ipsos-World Economic Forum survey 2021 reported vaccine intention at 64% at the end of February.

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Ascendis looks set to be solely a local player

13 May 2021
Health group Ascendis has struck a deal with lenders that involves it exchanging its European businesses to extinguish about €447-m (R7.6-bn) in debt, leaving the company with assets only in SA, reported Business Day (12 May 2021).
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Report shows SA Covid death toll is one of the worst

13 May 2021
According to the latest report from the Medical Research Council (MRC) SA recorded an age standardised excess death rate of 258 per 100 000 population, placing SA in the top five countries. (Excess deaths are those above the upper bound of the forecast range; natural deaths are caused by disease or age).
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Clicks buys Pick n Pay’s retail pharmacy business

11 May 2021
SA’s largest pharmacy retail network, Clicks, announced that it plans to buy the Pick n Pay’s retail pharmacy business, including 25 in-store pharmacies which will be rebranded to Clicks.
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Push for tighter lockdown in South Africa

11 May 2021
News24 reported on May 10, that Dr Asmal Dasoo, convenor of the Progressive Health Forum, is convinced that South Africa should move to a higher lockdown level to further limit gatherings. 
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Covid-19 spurs diabetes, according to US research

11 May 2021
According to the latest US research, published in April in the journal Nature, Covid-19 survivors were about 39% more likely to have a new diabetes diagnosis in the six months after infection than non-infected users of the veterans’ affairs health system.
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New variant in SA as third wave threatens

10 May 2021

In the first week of May the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) reported the first SA cases of a coronavirus variant initially identified in India. According to the NICD early signs of a third wave of infections have been detected in Gauteng.

 

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  DoH asks Treasury for more money due to Covid-19

10 May 2021

Basic health services such as testing for HIV/AIDS and TB, maintenance, filling vacancies and the purchasing of new equipment were severely hampered in the last financial year as the National Health Department (DoH) shifted its resources, reported News24 (8 May 2021).

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Aspen can produce generic Covid-19 vaccines in SA

07 May 2021

 

South African company Aspen, the largest medicine producer on the continent, confirmed that it would enable it to manufacture another vaccine - generic or otherwise - at its Ggeberha factory. Aspen currently has a deal with Johnson & Johnson to package its vaccines.

Adcock Ingram, another local pharmaceutical manufacturer, said that it doesn’t have capacity to manufacture vaccines at its plants.

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A third of SA’s Covid-19 survivors may be at risk of reinfection

07 May 2021
More than 55% of people in South Africa may have been infected with Covid-19 already, said Discovery Health CEO Ryan Noach, at the PSG Group’s annual conference. 
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Drug makers slam vaccine patent waiver

07 May 2021

 

According to drug makers US President Joe Biden’s support for waiving patents of Covid-19 vaccines could disrupt a fragile supply chain and that rich countries should instead share more generously with the developing world.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) said that if adopted by the World Trade Organisation, the proposal would invite new manufacturers that lack essential know-how and oversight from the inventors to crowd out established contractors. – Reuters (6 May 2021)

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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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