Africa

India’s crisis shows how oxygen is a vital medicine not available to everyone and scarce in some other countries

Fri, 2021-05-07 20:53 — mike kraft

India’s crisis shows how oxygen is a vital medicine not everyone can access

Oxygen is an essential medical treatment to save human lives. But, in recent weeks, it’s become clear just how vital it is as India reels from a deadly surge in COVID-19 cases. Express trains are racing across the country to deliver oxygen from the eastern town of Angul to the capital of Delhi and other regions. Meanwhile, desperate pleas fill social media from people forced to helplessly watch their family members slowly suffocate.

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Covid-19: Africa scrambles to increase genomic testing capacity as variants spread

Fri, 2021-05-07 17:56 — mike kraft

Covid-19: Africa scrambles to increase genomic testing capacity as variants spread African countries are struggling to bolster genomic sequencing as SARS-CoV-2 variants spread on the continent, reports Abdullahi Tsanni As the world entered 2021, the covid-19 pandemic began a new phase, one dominated by worries over emerging variants. But the way of detecting these threats has not been standardised—even in the UK, where genomic sequencing is relatively frequent, only 5-10% of covid-19 positive cases were being sequenced at the start of the year.1 The spotlight on sequencing has highlighted inequalities in global capacity. Many countries in Africa do not perform sequencing themselves, and those that do only do so on a small scale.

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Conakry

Democratic Republic of the Congo

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India's disaster finds echo in other countries facing COVID-19 surges

Fri, 2021-05-07 11:17 — mike kraft

India's disaster hangs over countries facing COVID-19 surges SOHAG, Egypt (AP) — Countries worldwide wrestling with new coronavirus surges are trying to ensure they aren’t hit by an India-style disaster. They face many of the same risks, including large populations that have shirked restrictions and fragile health systems shaken under the strain... AP NEWS

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Europe, Canada and Australia, as a precaution, Hold Back Millions of doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine produced by Emergent BioSolutions in Baltimore

Thu, 2021-05-06 17:44 — mike kraft

Millions of Johnson & Johnson doses sit unused across three continents. New York officials announced a new program on Thursday that would employ artists and performers to create public works throughout the city, in an effort to support artists whose incomes plummeted during the pandemic. The New York Times

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Vaccines linked to rare clotting disorders--an analysis

Tue, 2021-05-04 20:01 — mike kraft

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India's COVID-19 emergency termed a wake-up call to Africa

Thu, 2021-04-29 11:33 — mike kraft

India's COVID-19 emergency is wake-up call to Africa -AU health chief The raging state of the COVID-19 pandemic is India is a wake-up call for Africa that its governments and citizens must not let their guards down, the African Union's disease control agency warned on Thursday. Reuters Reuters

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Africa

Conakry

Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Africa: coronavirus vaccine hesitancy adds to slow rollout of doses

Wed, 2021-04-28 16:49 — mike kraft

In Africa, vaccine hesitancy adds to slow rollout of doses KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Some Africans are hesitating to get COVID-19 vaccines amid concerns about their safety, alarming public health officials as some countries start to destroy thousands of doses that expired before use. Malawi and South Sudan in recent days have said they will destroy some of their doses, a concerning development on a continent where health officials have been outspoken about the need for vaccine equity as the world's rich nations hold the bulk of shots.

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Africa

Conakry

Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Reconsidering the origins of Ebola virus disease outbreaks by reviewing new evidence from Guinea

Tue, 2021-04-27 21:53 — mike kraft

Spillover or endemic? Reconsidering the origins of Ebola virus disease outbreaks by revisiting local accounts in light of new evidence from Guinea - Guinea English Analysis on Guinea about Health and Epidemic; published on 23 Apr 2021 by BMJ ReliefWeb

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Analysis: The vaccine stuation as countries seek more Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 doses

Fri, 2021-04-16 12:11 — mike kraft

Analysis: Countries seek more Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 shots as concerns mount over rival vaccines Wealthy governments are looking to COVID-19 shots from Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) to keep their vaccination programs on track, as safety concerns and production problems sideline vaccines from AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson, public health experts and industry analysts say. Carl O'd

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J&J vaccine pause could have worldwide impact

Thu, 2021-04-15 12:32 — mike kraft

With Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine on pause, the consequences could ripple worldwide.

After a day that many hoped would add clarity to the rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s troubled Covid-19 vaccine, the picture on Thursday is as muddy as ever in the United States.

The “pause” that U.S. health officials put in place on the use of the vaccine might now stay in place for seven to 10 days. It’s a decision with potentially painful consequences that could ripple worldwide.

After considering whether to reinstate the vaccine, a panel of expert advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined on Wednesday that it needed more time to assess a possible link to a rare but serious blood-clotting disorder.

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