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By Grace Kuria World Bank Group and GAVI have urged countries with excess coronavirus vaccines to release them as soon as possible. In a meeting, World Bank Group President David Malpass and José Manuel Barroso, Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance also discussed various challenges facing acquisition and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines by developing countries….

By Grace Kuria World Health Organization, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that “Confusion and complacency in addressing COVID-19 means the pandemic is a long way from over, but it can be brought under control in months with proven public health measures.” While addressing a media briefing, the Director General insisted that “The…

By XINHUA “Africa must put in place resources and measures to ensure it produces its own vaccines for the current crisis and the future,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said during Africa’s vaccine manufacturing virtual conference on Monday. During the conference, leaders including African countries’ presidents and those from health and…

By Reuters Botswana is investigating the deaths of two among thousands of people who had been given doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to see if there is any link, the health ministry said. The southern African country has so far administered about 31,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only vaccine it has started rolling…

By Reuters Data from a late-stage research to test if AstraZeneca’s diabetes drug Farxiga could treat patients hospitalised with COVID-19 and at risk of developing serious complications fell short of its main goals, the drugmaker said on Monday. The Farxiga data did not achieve statistical significance in cutting the risk of the disease worsening and…

By Grace Kuria Somalia has on Sunday received 200,000 doses of Chinese Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine. Somali minister for health, Dr. Fawziya Abikar, various government officials and Chinese ambassador to Somalia Qin Jian were present at the Mogadishu airport to receive the shipment, said a ministry statement. The delivery of the vaccine follows a deal signed by…

By XINHUA The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,340,817 as of Sunday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU), said the death toll from the pandemic stood at 115,418 while 3,897,927 patients across the continent…