South Africa’s Biovac has announced a deal with the nonprofit International Vaccine Institute (IVI) to begin manufacturing cholera vaccines, a move that will advance the African continent’s goal of manufacturing its own vaccines. The licensing and technology transfer deal will mean that Biovac is equipped to make oral cholera vaccines…
Exactly two years after the first COVID-19 was confirmed on the African continent, the outlook for 2022 remains positive in terms of getting the pandemic under control, according to the World Health Organization. “The African continent has gotten smarter, faster and better at responding to each new surge in cases…
Health officials on the African continent are seeing a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, with an 83% surge seen during the past week. The surge is driven by both the Delta and the Omicron variants, according to World Health Organization (WHO) experts who provided an update Tuesday. They warn that…
President Xi Jinping of China has pledged to deliver another 1 billion COVID vaccine doses to the African continent, an announcement he made during his speech to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Dakar. Xi said 600 million doses of China’s vaccines will be donated while the other…
BioNTech is moving forward with plans to build vaccine manufacturing facilities on the African continent, with an announcement Tuesday that Rwanda has been chosen for the first site. Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the health minister for Rwanda, said the first facility will be built at the Kigali Special Economic Zone (KSEZ),…
The Indian Ocean nation of Mauritius recently touted the success of a COVID-19 vaccination program that, as of Monday, had reached 60% of all adults. The tourism board welcomed the news, calling it a milestone in the effort to reach herd immunity and “allowing the country to reopen to international…
Another variant of the coronavirus, reported in South Africa, is cause for concern among health experts who are monitoring its potential but say they need to continue gathering information. The C1.2 variant was first noted in May, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and its partners, which…
Health officials say a slight overall dip in COVID cases on the African continent is welcome, but it doesn’t reflect the reality in many nations that are seeing a surge. New case numbers were down by 1.8 percent during the week ending July 18, according to numbers cited Friday by…
South Africa will lead the way in the effort to begin manufacturing COVID vaccines on the African continent, beginning with an mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub supported by the World Health Organization. WHO said it will work with its COVAX partners, a South African consortium of biotech firms, a network…
The head of the World Health Organization has made another appeal for the developed world to reconsider how COVID vaccines are being distributed because just 0.3 percent of the global supply is going to low-income countries. “Trickle down vaccination is not an effective strategy for fighting a deadly respiratory virus,”…
Top African health officials are calling for more equitable vaccine distribution, noting that less than 2 percent of the vaccines delivered to date have been for people on the continent and most of that is in just 10 nations. “Although progress is being made, many African countries have barely moved…
Health officials in Kenya say they’re seeing a spike in COVID-19 infections that is placing a strain on resources, even as the country continues to roll out its vaccination plans. “The Ministry of Health Kenya is extremely concerned with the number of rising cases of those contracting the coronavirus disease…
Ghana on Wednesday became the first nation to receive coronavirus vaccines through the global COVAX initiative, a partnership supported by UNICEF in West Africa. “The shipments also represent the beginning of what should be the largest vaccine procurement and supply operation in history,” said UNICEF in a statement. “The COVAX…
African nations may have a better idea of what COVID-19 vaccination products to expect with an update from the global COVAX Facility issued Wednesday. COVAX, led by the Gavi vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the World Health Organization, provided a country-by-country breakdown in a detailed…
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI became the first in his country to receive a COVID vaccination, setting the tone for a national campaign that aims to protect 80 percent of the population. The king rolled up his sleeve and got his shot at the Royal Palace in Fez on Thursday, according…