Coronavirus: Why South Africa has yet to roll out vacci

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Coronavirus: Why South Africa has yet to roll out vaccines - BBC News

South Africa is the worst-hit country in Africa, but has not yet started doing Covid-19 vaccinations.

By Peter MwaiBBC Reality Check image captionSouth Africa has the highest number of infections in Africa More than a third of all Covid-19 cases in Africa have been in South Africa and numbers are surging with the emergence of a new variant of the virus. But unlike some other badly hit countries in the world, South Africa is yet to start its vaccination programme. President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa has so far secured twenty million doses, due to be delivered in the first half of 2021. But there's no detailed timeline for a programme aiming to vaccinate as many as forty million people. image copyrightGetty Images South Africa has been seeking to source vaccines in three ways:

via the World Health Organization-backed Covax scheme
via arrangements made by the African Union
through bilateral contracts with vaccine manufacturers

Covax is a global initiative in which countries pool their resources to support the development of vaccines with a view to ensure that all countries receive a fair supply of effective vaccines. South Africa expects to acquire doses for around 10% of the population through Covax and has been told it will receive them from April through to June. The African Union established the African vaccine acquisition task team last year to source vaccine doses for the continent. But it appears the vaccines won't be available for several months. The health ministry says it has a bilateral deal with the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine-maker, for 1.5 million doses. It expects to receive the first batch of one million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab later this month, and the rest in February. The country wants to vaccinate healthcare workers initially. But with the number of workers estimated at 1.2 million, the first batch doesn't look like it will be enough. There's been concern that many poorer, less-developed countries are being left behind in the global competition to secure vaccine supplies. However, critics suggest that South Africa - as the richest country in Africa - should not be in this position. "The stunning reality is that it [South Africa] has neither a secured vaccine supply nor a plan for mass inoculation in the foreseeable future that can withstand scrutiny," says the Progressive Health Forum, a group of leading medical experts in the country. The opposition Democratic Alliance has called on the government to give full details of its negotiations with vaccine suppliers, accusing the government of "dropping the ball". It claims the government only started to talk to vaccine suppliers in early January. Dr Anban Pillay, deputy director-general at the Ministry of Health, says the country was in touch with manufacturers as far back as last September. "There have been various conversations through the better part of last year," says Dr Pillay. He's defended the government's strategy. image captionTwo full doses of the Oxford vaccine gave 62% protection, a half dose followed by a full dose was 90% and overall the trial showed 70% protection. "The vaccines that most of the other countries have procured are vaccines that may not be ideal for South Africa from various perspectives," he has said. He says the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine wouldn't be appropriate for mass vaccination, often in remote rural areas, due to its storage requirements of -70C. And he points out that the ministerial advisory committee advised against using this vaccine. "We were waiting for the other vaccines that we can use as a mass rollout campaign, and those vaccines had not come through the production line yet," he said. He also says some countries have gone ahead with some vaccines without completed clinical trial data, which wouldn't be allowed by the regulator in South Africa. The government says it couldn't have signed deals early without knowing whether the vaccines were safe and effective, as this would have been in contravention of national financial laws. "In terms of our public funds, we're required to invest in a product once we understand that the product works," Dr Pillay says. Wealthy countries, such as the UK and others, signed deals for prospective vaccines as early as July last year while they were still in development and undergoing trials. And countries who can afford to pay most at the earliest stage of production can often secure an advantage, according to experts. Also, some countries like Brazil and Mexico which were able to host vaccine trials, used that as a way to secure supplies. South Africa did host a trial for the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine last year. image captionSouth Africa has been taking part in human trials for several potential Covid-19 vaccines Research by Duke University in the US tracking advance vaccine commitments by country shows that apart from the wealthiest countries, there are a number of less well-off countries that had confirmed deals for vaccines. And among the 20 countries with the most coronavirus cases, many have already started their vaccination programmes. But it's also worth saying that among countries which have more than a million cases, apart from South Africa, there are others yet to start vaccinating such as Colombia, Peru, Ukraine and Iran. Read more from Reality Check Send us your questions

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Covid: 'Most dangerous time' of the pandemic, says Prof Whitty - BBC News

The warning from England's chief medical officer comes as seven mass vaccination centres open.

media captionProfessor Whitty: "We need to really double down this is everybodys problem" The UK will go through the "most dangerous time" of the pandemic in the weeks before vaccine rollout has an impact, England's chief medical officer has warned. Prof Chris Whitty urged people to minimise all unnecessary contact with others. The next few weeks will be "the worst" of the pandemic for the NHS, he said. Thousands more people are due to receive a vaccine this week after seven mass centres opened across England. NHS England said hundreds more GP-led and hospital services would also open later this week. But with all centres, people will need to wait until they receive an invitation. The government is aiming to offer vaccinations to around 15 million people in the UK - the over-70s, older care home residents and staff, frontline healthcare workers and the clinically extremely vulnerable - by mid-February. Health Secretary Matt Hancock will set out the government's vaccine delivery plan at a news conference later. He said the proposals would be the "keystone of our exit out of the pandemic". Outlining the vaccine rollout in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that ministers aim to give all over-80s the first dose of the vaccine over the next four weeks. The Welsh Government plans to offer a vaccine to all over-50s and everyone who is at greater risk by spring. In Northern Ireland, which is rolling out vaccines for care workers, health trusts have seen the busiest 48 hours since the start of the pandemic. Mr Hancock said on Sunday about two million people in the UK had been vaccinated so far. Over the weekend, the UK passed the milestone of 80,000 deaths with coronavirus since the start of the pandemic. Currently, around one in 50 people across the UK is infected and Prof Whitty told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There's a very high chance that if you meet someone unnecessarily they will have Covid." In a separate interview with BBC One's Breakfast, he said: "This is everybody's problem. Any single unnecessary contact you have with someone is a potential link in a chain of transmission that will lead to a vulnerable person." He said there were over 30,000 people [in English hospitals alone] with Covid-19 - compared to about 18,000 [in England] at the peak last April. He added that "anybody who is not shocked" by the number of people in hospital "has not understood this at all". "This is an appalling situation," he said. In Essex, Southend Hospital has had to reduce the amount of oxygen used to treat patients after supply "reached a critical situation", according to a document shared with the BBC. In Surrey, a temporary mortuary has been opened as hospital mortuaries have reached capacity. Almost 200 bodies are being stored at the emergency site, which is a former military hospital, and other local authorities have told the BBC they expect to open similar facilities soon. Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England national medical director, said "this is much bigger than the first wave back in April". "I don't think anyone in the NHS has known anything like this, this is a once-in-a-century pandemic," he said. Prof Rupert Pearse, an intensive care doctor, told BBC Breakfast that in a "normal" winter it would be "unlikely" that more than three of four flu patients would need intensive care at any one time, but his unit is now running 130 intensive care beds because of the effects of Covid. "To compare this to a normal winter flu epidemic is out of all proportion, it's orders of magnitude larger," he said. media captionThe emergency body storage facility in a Surrey woodland Under the national lockdown, people in England must stay at home and can go out only for limited reasons such as food shopping, exercise, or work if they cannot do so from home. Similar lockdown measures are in place across much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ministers held two meetings on Sunday to discuss how to enforce the current lockdown measures more strictly and whether even tighter restrictions may be needed. BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said no decisions on further restrictions were taken as there was a desire within government to wait until reliable data on existing measures becomes available in 10 days. However, he added there had been a discussion on better enforcement of existing regulations, including at shops and workplaces. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer questioned why there are "less restrictions in place" now than there were last March. In his first speech of the year, he said "we need to see the evidence behind nurseries" remaining open. Asked whether tighter restrictions were needed, he said: "I do think it's time to hear from the scientists [about] what else could be done and that probably should be done in the next few hours". There is a lot of debate about whether the lockdown restrictions need to be tightened. There are certainly some anomalies. For example, we are told to only leave the home for essential purposes, but coffee shops remain open for takeaways and retail shops for click-and-collect in England and Wales. However, even if those elements are tightened up, there is a limit to what the government can do. It is why, in his round of media interviews on Monday, Prof Whitty repeatedly talked about individual decision-making. The mixing of different households continues. Some of it is allowed under the support bubble exemptions, but undoubtedly some of it is taking place outside of this. It is, after all, virtually impossible to police what goes on in people's homes. It is why messaging is so important - and so ministers and officials are stressing the pressure the NHS is under. A further tightening of the restrictions could also help make the point. But there is also a recognition this is hard. People are fatigued. A further crackdown could also erode goodwill. The vaccination programme is described as the biggest in NHS history. The seven mass testing sites, which NHS England said were chosen to give a geographical spread, are:

Millennium Point, Birmingham
Ashton Gate, Bristol
ExCel Centre, London
Manchester Tennis and Football Centre
Centre for Life, Newcastle
Robertson House, Stevenage
Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey

The new centres will each be capable of delivering thousands of vaccinations each week and will be followed by "dozens more" large-scale sites, NHS England said. There will be about 1,200 vaccination sites when more GP-led and hospital services open later this week, along with the first pharmacy-led pilot sites, it added. Some vulnerable people have questioned why they have been asked to travel to centres miles away from their homes during a pandemic, but the NHS has said people would not miss out on their vaccination if they wait for an appointment at a centre closer to home in the coming weeks. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said nobody should be asked to travel more than 10 miles to get a vaccine once more centres open. Asked on Today why the centres were not open 24 hours a day, he said it was "more convenient" for older people to attend during the day. "If we need to go to 24-hour work we will absolutely go to 24 hours a day to make sure we vaccinate as quickly as we can," he said. But he cautioned: "We are limited by the amount of vaccine that is coming through the system." Pharmaceutical firm Boots said its first vaccination site was due to open later this week to offer the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab to the people most vulnerable. It said sites in Huddersfield and Gloucester were planned to open in the coming weeks. Two vaccines - Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca - are currently being administered in the UK. On Friday a third coronavirus vaccine - made by US company Moderna - was approved for use, although supplies are not expected to arrive until spring. Are you due to have a vaccination today? What has been your experience of receiving a vaccination? Email: [email protected] Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at [email protected] Please include your name, age and location with any submission.

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Covid: Mass vaccination centres to open in England - BBC News

Hundreds of GP-led and hospital services also open this week as the vaccination programme ramps up.

image captionThe Centre for Life in Newcastle is one of seven mass vaccination centres opening to the public on Monday Thousands more people will receive a Covid-19 vaccine this week as seven mass centres open across England. NHS England said hundreds more GP-led and hospital services would also open later this week. The government is aiming to vaccinate 15 million people in the UK - the over-70s, healthcare workers and those required to shield - by mid-February. Health Secretary Matt Hancock will set out the government's vaccine delivery plan at a press conference later. He said the proposals would be the "keystone of our exit out of the pandemic". The government will also publish its first daily figures which will reveal how many people have been given the vaccine. Mr Hancock said on Sunday about two million people in the UK had been vaccinated, with some 200,000 jabs administered in England daily. The vaccine plan will be unveiled after the UK recorded more than 80,000 coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic. In Surrey, which has one of the highest infection rates in the country, a temporary mortuary has been opened as hospital mortuaries have reached capacity. Almost 200 bodies are being stored at the emergency site, which is a former military hospital, and other local authorities have told the BBC they expect to open similar facilities soon. media captionThe emergency body storage facility in a Surrey woodland On Saturday scientists warned stricter lockdown measures might be needed in England and the health secretary has urged people to follow the spirit as well as the letter of the rules. Mr Hancock told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday "every time you try to flex the rules that could be fatal" and said staying at home was the "most important thing we can do collectively as a society". Under the national lockdown, people in England must stay at home and can go out only for limited reasons such as food shopping, exercise, or work if they cannot do so from home. Similar measures are in place across much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Ministers held two meetings on Sunday to discuss how to enforce the current lockdown measures more strictly and whether even tighter restrictions may be needed. BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said no decisions on further restrictions were taken as there was a desire within government to wait until reliable data on the impact of the existing measures becomes available in 10 days before going any further. However, he added there had been a discussion on better enforcement of existing regulations which included how to ensure shops and workplaces that have remained open were observing health and safety rules, including social distancing. The vaccination programme is described as the biggest in NHS history, with an aim of offering jabs to most care home residents by the end of January and the most vulnerable by mid-February. Some 600,000 invites were due to be sent out over the weekend and this coming week to people aged 80 or older who live up to a 45-minute drive from one of the new regional centres. The new sites, which NHS England said were chosen to give a geographical spread covering as many people as possible, are:

Millennium Point, Birmingham
Ashton Gate, Bristol
ExCel Centre, London
Manchester Tennis and Football Centre
Centre for Life, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Robertson House, Stevenage
Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey

However, some vulnerable people have questioned why they have been asked to travel to centres miles away from their homes during a pandemic. The NHS said people would not miss out on their vaccination if they do not use the letters to make an appointment at one of the centres, adding that local jabs would become available to people if they waited. Two Labour MPs also raised concerns about the letters being delayed in getting out to people due to coronavirus affecting Royal Mail staff. The new centres will each be capable of delivering thousands of vaccinations each week and will be followed by "dozens more" large-scale sites, NHS England said. There will be about 1,200 vaccination sites in total when more GP-led and hospital services open later this week, along with the first pharmacy-led pilot sites, it added. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the government's vaccine delivery plan would "set out our ambitions for the coming weeks and months as we continue to expand our programme at breakneck speed". "It's been phenomenal to see our extensive preparations come to fruition and from Monday the public will also be able to see exactly how we will ensure they and their loved ones get the vaccine as quickly as possible," he added. Prof Stephen Powis, NHS England national medical director, said "increasing supplies" meant the NHS could "open even more vaccination services and protect even more people this week". He also called on the public to help the NHS, saying: "Please don't contact the NHS to seek a vaccine, we will contact you. When we do contact you, please attend your booked appointments." Pharmaceutical firm Boots said its first vaccination site was due to open later this week to offer the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab to the people most vulnerable. It said sites in Huddersfield and Gloucester were planned to open in the coming weeks. And Scotland is starting its wider rollout of the Oxford vaccine at more than 1,100 locations from today. Two vaccines - Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca - are currently being administered in the UK. On Friday a third coronavirus vaccine - made by US company Moderna - was approved for use, although supplies are not expected to arrive until spring.

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Be passionate, but not violent - First Lady Melania Trump bids farewell - News24

First Lady Melania Trump released a farewell message on Monday.
"The past four years have been unforgettable," she said in a six-minute speech.
The Trumps' departure from the White House has been very dramatic, with various established inauguration traditions abrogated.

First Lady Melania Trump released a farewell message on Monday as she prepares to leave the White House, saying that "violence is never the answer," weeks after the president's supporters stormed the US Capitol. In a formal, six-minute speech recorded on video, she made only a fleeting reference to her husband as she paid tribute to military families, pandemic health workers and those helping victims of opioid abuse. "The past four years have been unforgettable," the First Lady said. "As Donald and I conclude our time in the White House, I think of all of the people I have taken home in my heart and their incredible stories of love, patriotism and determination." "Be passionate in everything you do. But always remember that violence is never the answer, and will never be justified," she said. "When I came to the White House, I reflected on the responsibility I have always felt as a mother to encourage, give strength and teach values of kindness." The Trumps' departure has been fractious, with the president refusing for months to accept the election result due to false allegations of fraud, and declining to congratulate his successor Joe Biden. The outgoing president and his wife have also not invited Biden and his wife Jill for the traditional tea visit in the Oval Office, and will not attend Biden's presidential inauguration on Wednesday. "The promise of this nation belongs to all of us who do not lose sight of our integrity and values, use every opportunity to show consideration for another person, and build good habits into our daily lives," Melania Trump, 50, said. President Donald Trump has been largely out of the public eye since his supporters rampaged through Congress on 6 January, triggering his historic second impeachment a week later.

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India stun Australia in historic fightback to clinch Test series - Daily Maverick

Bowled out for 36 in the first Test, without half-a-dozen frontline players, missing their talismanic skipper and leading batsman and competing away from home against a team with a formidable home record, India were supposed to roll over against Australia. Bu…

The Indian team celebrates victory after day five of the 4th Test Match in the series between Australia and India at The Gabba on January 19, 2021 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images) It seems years ago now, but when a Josh Hazlewood-inspired Australia bowling attack ripped Indias batting apart in the third innings of the first Test in Adelaide in December, it appeared the four-Test series was already over. India were skittled for 36 in their second innings after being well-positioned for a win after holding a 53-run first-innings lead. But Hazlewoods five for eight in five overs, with Pat Cummins adding four for 21, not only won the day, but to almost everyone outside Indias camp, had inflicted irreparable mental damage on Indias batting unit. Not so fast. Despite the fact that Australia knocked off the 90 needed to win with eight wickets remaining, there was a sense of calm in the Indian camp. On Tuesday, after nearly three months down under, they completed one of the most remarkable turnarounds in cricket history to win the fourth Test at the Gabba in Brisbane by three wickets and take a 2-1 series win. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant led the way with a brilliant 89 not out while Cheteshwar Pujara provided heroic support with 56 off 211 balls and 10 severe blows to the arms, head and body. Pujara was the embodiment of Indias fighting spirit from the second Test onwards. The contest at the Gabba went down to the last hour, of the last day, of the last Test. Australia ultimately lost, but great contests require two actors to elevate them to legendary status. And no doubt, this series will go down as legendary. This team has tremendous character and self-belief. Even after being bowled out for 36, the team had the belief that they could come back, India coach Ravi Shastri said after the match. Virat [Kohli] also left the team, but he will always be with us. Thats because this team wasnt built during this series. This team has been built over the past five or six years. And Virat Kohlis character has rubbed off on the team. Ajinkya Rahane led in Virat’s absence, and while hes a cool customer, hes a real fighter from inside. He handled the troops really well in Virats absence. Fittingly Pant hit the winning runs at 17:37 (local time), just 23 minutes from the scheduled end of play, as India scored 328 for seven a record run chase at the Gabba. It also ended Australias 31-match unbeaten run at the Gabba. India only needed a draw to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy, which they have held since 2017, after winning the second Test in Melbourne and stubbornly forcing a draw in Sydney. But this India team wanted to win to underline they were the better team over four compelling encounters. In a series that had everything, including sadly, an incident of some of the Sydney crowd hurling racial abuse at fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, fortunately, it was the compelling cricket that will be remembered. We were here to win the series, but we have just been outplayed by a disciplined and tough Indian side who fully deserve the series win. We have to look back over a lot of things, and well go through it as a group, and we have been outplayed by a better side this series, Australia captain Tim Paine said after the match. If Pujura embodied the physical courage to deny Australia, it was Pant who embodied the mental pluck to take the attack back to Australias much-vaunted bowling attack. Fortune favours the brave they say, and India were brave in every sense physically, mentally and tactically. I think this is one of the biggest things in my life right now, Pant said after his heroics at the Gabba. I wasnt playing in the starting matches, but it has been a dream series I can say that. After not playing the first match, I have been practising hard and everything paid off because we won the series. The team management always backs me and tells me that you are matchwinner and you always have to go and win the match for the team. That’s the only thing I keep on thinking every day that I want to win matches for India and I am happy that I did it today. It was a fifth-day pitch and the ball was turning a bit and I thought I had to be a bit disciplined with my shot selection. And it was all held together by the understated, but brilliant stand-in skipper Rahane, who steered his side to a first win in Brisbane and a first-ever back-to-back series win in Australia. India show mettle Not only did India fall apart in the first Test, they then had to deal with the loss of captain and leading batsman Virat Kohli, who returned home to be at the birth of his daughter. With 14-day quarantine periods required to come into Australia, it just wasnt feasible for the skipper to return for the fourth Test. With Kohli gone, India suffered injuries throughout the series. Opener Rohit Sharma missed the first two Tests through a hamstring injury while top order batter Mayank Agarwal missed the third Test. Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (abdominal strain), Mohammed Shami (arm fracture) and Umesh Yadav (torn calf) all succumbed at various stages. Star spinner Ravi Ashwin (back strain) also missed the fourth Test. Spinner Ravindra Jadeja missed the first and the fourth Tests through concussion and a thumb injury. All-rounder Hanuma Vihari, who frustrated Australias bowling attack in the drawn third Test in Sydney, missed the Brisbane decider through a hamstring injury. Pant wasnt even the first choice wicketkeeper going into the series but took his chance when called into the side, as did all the others who had to step up in hostile conditions. Seamers Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini all contributed heavily at the Gabba. Saini took a five-for in the second innings, which Australia dismissed for 294. Shardul weighed-in with four wickets on a pitch that was supposed to favour Australias barrage of seamers. The comeback After the lows of Adelaide, India regrouped and immediately, and stunningly, put Australia on the backfoot at the MCG in Melbourne. The home team won the toss and batted, but were dismissed for 195. Bumrah took four of the wickets as no Australian batsman reached a half century. In reply, India turned the screw, scoring 326 with Rahane contributing 112 in a classic skippers innings that showed Australia the series was far from over. Australia again struggled with the bat and only managed 200 in their second innings, as no batsman reached a half century again. It left India needing a modest 70 to win, but after what happened in Adelaide, there were some butterflies. With India at 19 for two, Australia had their tails up so soon after dismissing the tourists for 36, but Rahane (27 not out) and opener Shubman Gill (35 not out) saw them home by eight wickets. The series was level halfway through, and in the context of the Adelaide collapse, it was perhaps the most remarkable comeback by a touring team in Australia. The third Test in Sydney ended in a draw but it was a moral victory for India, who stubbornly batted through a deteriorating fifth-day pitch to force the stalemate. Australia posted 338 after winning the toss and batting. Steve Smith finally found some form on his way to 131. India could only respond with 244, giving the Aussies a handy 94-run first innings advantage. The home side piled on 312 for six before declaring their second innings with Cameron Green (84) and Smith (81) setting the platform. From there Hazlewood, Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were supposed to finish off India with more than a day to bowl at them. But Indias resilience was otherworldly with Ashwin and Vihari surviving for 42.1 overs while adding only 62 runs, it forced a draw and sent the series into the Gabba decider. And the rest is history. DM

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