HealthCare
Misinformation About COVID-19 Can Be Devastating in Rural West Africa
Sierra Leone was later than most to experience its first cases of COVID-19. Though the virus itself did not arrive in the country until 31 March 2020, rumours and fears spread among communities well before the country’s first confirmed case. As happened during the Ebola outbreak from 2014-2016, this pandemic has led to rumours and misinformation that leave some people fearful of visiting healthcare facilities. This could have a devastating effect on children as, at 105 deaths per 1,000 live births, Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of child mortality in the world. Memories of Ebola mean adopting new hygiene measures to reduce the spread of a pandemic is nothing new for people in Sierra Leone. However, as during Ebola, rumours can spread easily and this can lead to a ...
South Africa Begins First COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
Sourced from Getty Images The University of Witswatersrand has announced that South Africa’s first COVID-19 vaccine trial is set to begin, with participants to be enrolled by the end of the week. “This is a landmark moment for South Africa and Africa at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we enter winter in South Africa and pressure increases on public hospitals, now more than ever we need a vaccine to prevent infection by COVID-19,” Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and Director of the South Africa Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, Shabir Madhi, says in a virtual briefing. This new trial aims to find a vaccine that will prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is the virus that causes COVID-19. “We began screening participants for ...
PLWSCD are at Higher Risk of Complications when Infected with COVID-19
Persons Living with Sickle Cell Disease (PLWSCD), are at a higher risk of getting infected with COVID-19, Kenya’s Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), Dr Rashid Aman says. The CAS noted that PLWSCD are more likely to get severe illness if they get infected due to their impaired immunity resulting from the blood disorder and urged them to strictly observe the precautionary preventive measures for COVID-19. “During this period of Coronavirus pandemic, persons living with sickle cell disease are advised, to ensure they keep a minimum of a one-month supply of medication at all times. In addition, they should consult their healthcare providers should they experience COVID-19 symptoms,” he notes. Sickle Cell is a genetic disease characterized by a change in the shape of a red blood cell,...
Online Marketplace for Medical Supplies Launches to Aid Africa-wide COVID-19 Response
Sourced from eNCA. An online marketplace, Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP), has been launched to provide the purchase, volume aggregation, quota management, payment facilitation as well as logistics & transportation of COVID-19-related medical equipment across the African continent. According to Tech Cabal, the new platform provides a reliable database of global manufacturers and logistics service providers for diagnostic kits, personal protective equipment (PPE), devices like ventilators and patient monitors as well as a range of disinfectants. All medical equipment featured on the platform are strictly those that have been approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) as well as other approval ...
New COVID-19 Contact Tracing App Designed “For Nigeria by Nigerians”
Sourced from Washington Post. Rapid Trace, a new innovative contact tracing mobile app has been developed by Cadnetwork Enterprise, burgeoning Nigerian tech firm. The app is being touted as a key in Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19. The Guardian writes that the app is designed “for Nigeria by Nigerians” and is available for free. Currently only on Android smartphones. The app offers a bevvy of features apart from contact tracing. Namely social distance enforcement, crowd control, self-testing & QR, among many more. Darlington Onyeagoro, strategy consultant at Rapid Trace, says that the mobile app was launched because technology is a common denominator in managing and mitigating the impact of the current pandemic, restoring livelihoods and tackling similar challenges in the future. “Pre...
Coronavirus Antibodies Vanish a Few Months After Patients Recover, New Study Finds
According to a study published in the Journal of Nature Medicine, recovered COVID-19 patients may rapidly lose antibodies – the blood proteins necessary to stave off virus infections and the cornerstone of vaccinology. The finding raises new questions about the idea of immunity passports (a way for people considered immune to the virus to move around freely and not need to wear facemasks) and could be cause for concern about the development of an effective vaccine. Researchers in the study tested for antibodies in 37 people who had fallen ill and recovered from the virus in the Wanzhou district of China. They also tested 37 others who had tested positive for the virus but never showed symptoms – what is known as asymptomatic cases. This was in order to address two key questions that will i...
The Difficulties of Reaching Communities in Chad with COVID-19 Safety Messages
Sourced from RFI. The health authorities in Chad are focusing on communities to build confidence so that citizens trust the right information and avoid risky behaviour. Communal living, not uncommon in many of N’Djamena’s neighbourhoods, the Chadian capital, is a source of fear among residents as COVID-19 persists. When the pandemic reached Chad, health authorities rolled out a raft of response measures, including door-to-door visits by community health educators to relay messages on safety. While face-to-face meetings are time-consuming, the sessions are more personal, often carried out by someone from the same community who speaks the same language and has the appropriate cultural understanding. Unlike broadcast messages, people can ask questions and seek clarifications in door-to-door c...
3 Things Healthcare IT Teams can do to Improve Cybersecurity
Sourced from Getty Images. The healthcare industry has been forever changed by digital transformation. Innovation in the medical space has led to advances in new treatments as well as cost savings that do not negatively impact the quality of care. The added benefit: faster, better networks have allowed for the growth of telemedicine, bringing quality care to thousands who did not have access before. An unfortunate side effect has been that cybercriminals are targeting the healthcare sector now more than ever. As a result, cybersecurity is critical to the success of health systems, which are increasingly at risk as cybercriminals look to steal patient data or hold internal resources for ransom. The vulnerabilities that enable these attacks exist in any vertical, but in the case of healthcar...
Over 1 Million South Africans Use National Department’s COVID-19 HealthCheck Tool
South Africa’s National Department of Health (NDoH) has confirmed that over 1 million South Africans have already used their COVID-19 digital self-assessment tool called HealthCheck. The HealthCheck self-assessment tool allows for early detection, mapping and management of COVID-19 cases using USSD and the official COVID-19 WhatsApp Service (COVID-19 CONNECT). The tool comes at a crucial moment in the South African government’s COVID-19 response – when certain aspects of the country’s lockdown have been relaxed and more responsibility is being placed on individuals to ensure their own health when going back to work or school and engaging in outdoor activity and other areas of public life. Members of the public will be able to use HealthCheck to self-assess their COVID-19 risk by completing...
1Life, Samsung and LifeQ Launch “Life Insurance Ecosystem”
1Life, Samsung South Africa and LifeQ have partnered to launch life insurance ecosystem, 1Life Pulse. This initiative is backed by wearables and app technology and enables consumers to grow their life insurance cover by “making better choices”. 1Life Pulse acts as a lifestyle monitor and management system that tracks and guides heart, activity and sleep – monitoring overall wellbeing. Every time a consumer chooses to get a little extra sleep or go for a walk, for example, they’re likely to grow their life cover by up to R216 per day, or up to R6 560 per month, starting from day one. Over two years, policyholders are able to grow their additional life cover by up to R200 000, as they grow their wellbeing. All qualifying new 1Life policyholders that take out cover for R1 million or more...
SA Startup Making Waves with New COVID-19 Tracing Tech
Sourced from Forbes. A South African startup has launched a cheap approach to contact tracing in efforts to help with coronavirus measures. Contact tracing is a method of tracking used in countries like the United Kingdom, Singapore and South Korea to aid in containing SARS-CoV-2 infections. The tracing is able to track exactly who was in contact with an infectious person and thus limit further contact. South Korea, one of the only countries on Earth that have been able to bring a massive COVID-19 outbreak rapidly under control used contact tracing heavily. Currently, the country has just over a thousand cases and is no longer forcing stay-at-home lockdowns and most businesses are open. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_77d.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_77d.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto...
How to Fight COVID-19 in Africa’s Informal Settlements
Sourced from eNCA. The COVID-19 pandemic has cost hundreds of thousands of lives in the world’s richest cities but poses an even greater threat to cities in the developing world. There are now more than 150,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across Africa, in all 54 countries, with South Africa and Egypt the worst affected. One of the most pressing concerns for Africa is that over half the population (excluding in North Africa) live in overcrowded informal settlements. In these areas where several people have to share one badly ventilated room, diseases such as COVID-19 spread fast and it is impossible to practice physical distancing whether in homes or outside. Other preventative measures are equally challenging. Only a third of households in Africa have access to basic handwashing facili...
