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Tag: Vaccines

Africa Ghana West Africa World 

Ghana hit by widespread childhood vaccine shortages

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , ,
Ghana has been hit with widespread shortages of vaccines for routine immunisation of babies from birth to at least 18 months. Under the routine vaccination programme, Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease; oral polio vaccine 0 (OPV); Measles-Rubella; Meningitis and Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) are administered. Health experts fear that the situation has the potential to… Read More
Africa Business World 

WTO waives intellectual property rights to support vaccine production in Africa

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , ,
– – The World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced in June 2022 an agreement to waive the intellectual property rights that usually apply in the manufacturing of vaccines, to assist the production of COVID-19 vaccines in developing countries. The measures were proposed to the WTO by the South African and Indian governments, with other developing countries supporting the move. The waiver… Read More
Africa East Africa Featured World 

Somalia surpasses 10% COVID-19 Vaccination Milestone

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , , ,
– – Somalia has now reached the 10 percent (two doses) COVID-19 vaccination milestone, which means that the country is no longer in band of countries with least vaccination rates. The milestone is a result of continued and resilient efforts by the government and stakeholders to sustain commitment to COVID-19 vaccination amidst prevailing social economic turbulence. Somalia started COVID-19 vaccination… Read More
Africa World 

COVAX surpasses 1.5 billion COVID-19 vaccine deliveries

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , ,
– – COVAX, the international coalition that is responsible for making Covid-19 vaccines accessible to countries around the world has surpassed the milestone of 1.5 billion deliveries. It has said that the COVID-19 vaccines delivered around the world had reached 1.5 billion, following a shipment of 2.26 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to Tanzania. A little over… Read More
Africa World 

Vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks on the rise in Africa

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , ,
– – Africa is witnessing a surge in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases over the past year. Almost 17 500 cases of measles were recorded in the African region between January and March 2022, marking a 400% increase compared with the same period in 2021. Twenty African countries reported measles outbreaks in the first quarter of this year, eight more than… Read More
Africa Ghana West Africa World 

Ghana: Doctors in a tussle over efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , ,
– – Two groups of medical doctors working in Ghana are at loggerheads over the efficacy of Covid -19 vaccines being administered in the country. On January 10, the first group petitioned President Akufo-Addo to stop the mandatory covid-19 vaccination in the country due to potential dangers. According to the concerned doctors, the vaccines do not prevent infection or spread,… Read More
Africa North Africa World 

Algeria starts producing its own Covid-19 vaccines

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , ,
– – Algeria has now started producing its own Covid-19 vaccines as it announces plans to produce 8 million doses each month. Production started on Wednesday according to the country’s Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane. The Covid-19 vaccine being produced in Algeria was developed by Chinese firm Sinovac. Algerian officials said the development is a major achievement following the launch of… Read More
Africa Ivory Coast West Africa World 

Ivory Coast begins vaccination against Ebola

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , ,
– – Ivory Coast has begun an Ebola vaccination programme following the confirmation of its first case since 1994. The country’s health ministry said the family of the infected teenager and health workers involved were the first to be given the jab. Health official Serge Ehole said that they planned to have vaccinated by Wednesday “all the 2,000 people that… Read More
Africa Ghana West Africa World 

Ghana’s ‘inflated’ Covid-19 vaccine price sparks calls for probe

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , ,
– – Ghana’s minority lawmakers and anti-corruption campaigners are demanding a probe into the award of a contract for the supply of Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccines. It follows a publication by a Norwegian newspaper that the government of Ghana bought the vaccines at a price which is 90 percent more than the factory price. The report revealed that the government… Read More
Africa Ghana Malawi World 

Thousands of expired Covid vaccines to be destroyed in Africa

Elwin Mandowa, , , , , , , , ,
– – Several African countries are set to destroy Covid-19 vaccines currently in circular as they have expired this week. The vaccines were donated to these countries under the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) with the support of the African Union. Malawian health officials have signaled they will destroy over 16,000 of the expired coronavirus vaccines. 102,000 doses of… Read More