AstraZeneca/Oxford Vaccine
WTO chief: Patent waiver not enough to close vaccine gap
World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that intellectual property waiver alone will not be enough to narrow the huge COVID-19 vaccine supply gap between rich and poor countries. She told the European Parliament that it was clear that discussions around vaccine patents alone would not suffice, saying that global leaders should do more to ensure that there is equitable production and distribution of the jabs. Okonjo-Iweala said developing countries had complained that the licensing process was cumbersome and should be improved upon. She added that while it makes sense to protect research and innovation, it is also important to expand access to the vaccines. According to her, manufacturers should work to expand production, pointing to idle capacity ...
Only 49% of South Africans will take the COVID-19 Vaccine, Research Shows
Although COVID-19 infection rates seem to be declining and vaccines are slowly being rolled out in the country, most South Africans are wary of a third wave, further lockdowns and job losses. A survey by gig technology company, M4Jam asked South Africans about their main concerns as the country marked exactly one year since the first COVID-19 case in the country was diagnosed. Despite South Africa’s rejection of its first shipment of vaccines and widespread misinformation about the effectiveness of vaccinations, 49% of respondents (up from 32% in the January survey) said they would take the vaccine when it became available to them. 44% of respondents (down from 58% in the January survey) said they would adopt the approach of “wait and see” if the vaccine works for people they knew before m...
AstraZeneca Promises 2 Million Additional COVID-19 Vaccines to Ghana
Image sourced from TimesLIVE Ghana is expected to receive an additional two million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines by the end of May, on top of the already promised 600,000 COVID-19 vaccines from Covax – this would aid the country’s mission to vaccinate around 20 million Ghanaians. According to News Ghana, more than 300,000 people have been vaccinated since the COVID-19 mass vaccination programme started on 2 March 2021. “Those who received doses of the AstraZeneca vaccines included, health care workers, persons with underlying health conditions, essential service providers and those who were 60 years and above, as well as members of the security agencies, Executive, Legislature and Judiciary branches of government.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_abe.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_abe.td...
Ghana Set to Receive Free Covax COVID-19 Vaccines
Image sourced from TimesLIVE Ghana is set to receive 600,000 COVID-19 vaccines from Covax. After a year of disruptions and more than 80,700 Ghanaians getting infected with the virus, the path to recovery for the people of Ghana is expected to finally begin. “We are pleased that Ghana has become the first country to receive the COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX Facility. We congratulate the Government of Ghana – especially the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, and Ministry of Information – for its relentless efforts to protect the population,” reads a statement from UNICEF. “As part of the UN Country Team in Ghana, UNICEF and WHO reiterate our commitment to support the vaccination campaign and contain the spread of the virus, in close cooperation with all partners, including Gavi and...
