Category: #COVID19

WHO Technical Advisory Team Warns That Omicron Reduces Vaccine Effectiveness…Calls For Development Of Stronger Vaccines

Michael Gwarisa

PRELIMINARY data from the World Health Organization (WHO) Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) shows that the mutational profile of the Omicron strain reduces vaccine effectiveness in symptomatic patients. By Michael Gwarisa The technical advisory team also called for the urgent development of COVID-19 vaccines that have high impact on prevention of infection and transmission, in addition to the prevention of severe disease and death, are needed and should be developed so as to reduce the need for booster doses. Until such vaccines are available, and as the…

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The Way We Interact With Our Wildlife Now, Will Determine How We Deal With The Next Global Health Pandemic

Michael Gwarisa

THE world is still struggling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic which has had the global health sector on its toes since 2020 as scientists search for a solution to the prevailing health crises. The first case of the coronavirus strain or the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus was reported in Wuhan, a City in the Hubei province of China in December, 2019. By Michael Gwarisa More than two years after the first case was recorded, scientist and health experts are still looking into its origin. Even though the bulk of…

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Hybrid Variant, The DeltaCron Discovered In Cyprus

Healthtimes

A strain of Covid-19 that combines delta and omicron was found in Cyprus, according to Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology. SOURCE: Bloomberg There are currently omicron and delta co-infections and we found this strain that is a combination of these two,” Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV Friday. The discovery was named “deltacron” due to the identification of omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes,” he said. Kostrikis and his team have…

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Faith and vaccination are not mutually exclusive

Michael Gwarisa
Members from various churches gather at the women and girls symposium

Religious leaders from the Christian, Hindu and Muslim communities in Kenya recently came out to support the government’s efforts to vaccinate the population against Covid-19. They called on their congregants to shun myths and misconceptions associated with the vaccine and to get vaccinated in order to better protect themselves from severe illness and hospitalisation as Kenya ramps up its vaccination efforts. This is an important step. And we need to see more of it across the continent. As in many other regions, religion plays a pivotal role in Africa. More…

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How Threatening Is The New ‘IHU’ Variant Of Coronavirus?

Healthtimes

This strain of the SARS-CoV-2 carries the N501Y mutation While the world is pulling in resources to fight back against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, scientists have detected a relatively new strain. Called the IHU variant, or B.1.640.2, it was first detected in southern France last month but has now begun catching the attention of global experts. Detected by researchers at the Marseille-based Mediterranee Infection University Hospital Institute (IHU), the variant has 46 mutations. This is leading to the fear that IHU could be more resistant to existing vaccines.…

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NHS struggles as sickness takes out 1 in 10 staff

Healthtimes

More than 110,000 NHS staff — nearly one in 10 — were absent on New Year’s Eve, according to figures showing that Covid is hitting healthcare far harder than previously thought. SOURCE: The Times Uk Of them, almost 50,000 were at home sick or self-isolating because of Covid-19 while patients faced 40-hour waits at A&E, late operations, closed wards and long ambulance delays. Boris Johnson has told ministers to test emergency contingency plans to minimise the disruption to services such as hospitals, schools and social care. Public sector leaders have…

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#JUSTIN: Gvt Postpones Schools Opening For 2022 First Term

Michael Gwarisa

ZIMBABWE President, Emerson Mnangagwa has announced that only examination classes will resume classes as announced by the Ministry while the general school calendar has hereby been delayed until further notice. By Michael Gwarisa In a Televeised address, President Mnanagwa said the move was in line with the Lockdown level two which has been extended by a further 2 weeks, after which an appropriate review will be announced, guided by a scientific appreciation of the situation. “Examination Classes exempt from this delay are however expected to strictly comply with preventive measures.…

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COVID-19 Pandemic End In Sight Says Bill Gates

Healthtimes

MICROSOFT founder and billionaire, Bill Gates who has in  past hogged headlines for predicting an Armageddon type of COVID-19 pandemic says he now sees the light at the end of the tunnel and the COVID-19 pandemic’s end could be within our reach. This article is an extract from Gate’s end of year review of the prevailing pandemic which can be accessed on the gatesnotes.com website. Read the extract below from Gates. NB// all the information below was penned by Bill Gates himself: Why I’m hopeful the end of the COVID-19…

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WHO lists 9th COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use with aim to increase access to vaccination in lower-income countries

Healthtimes

THE World Health Organization issued an emergency use listing (EUL) for NVX-CoV2373, expanding the basket of WHO-validated vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine, named CovovaxTM, is produced by the Serum Institute of India under licence from Novavax and is part of the COVAX facility portfolio, giving a much-needed boost to ongoing efforts to vaccinate more people in lower-income countries. WHO’s EUL procedure assesses the quality, safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and is a prerequisite for COVAX vaccine supply. It also allows countries to expedite their own regulatory approval…

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AMR In The Midst Of COVID-19: Are We In A Fix?

Michael Gwarisa

ACCORDING to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Antimicrobial resistance (AMR ) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi. By Michael Gwarisa As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others. However, over the…

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