COVID-19 WRAP | SA's Covid-19 infections rise to 1,533,961

March 18 2021 - 21:22

SA records fewer than 1,500 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours

SA recorded 1,464 new Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday.

There were also 90 Covid-19 related deaths recorded in the same period.

This means that there have now been 1,533,961 total confirmed infections across SA, as well as 51,724 confirmed fatalities.

March 18 2021 - 19:28

Presidency gives Khusela Diko more time to respond to disciplinary charges

Suspended presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko's disciplinary hearing has been delayed because of the death of her husband, Madzikane II Thandisizwe.

This was revealed by the deputy minister in the presidency Thembi Siweya during a question-and-answer session of the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon.

Diko is on suspension after a Special Investigating Unit investigation which was prompted by the multimillion-rand personal protective equipment scandal at the Department of Health in Gauteng.

March 18 2021 - 19:05

Tito Mboweni hits out at airlines for not following Covid-19 protocols

Finance minister Tito Mboweni slammed airlines' lack of adherence to Covid-19 protocols, warning the country might face multiple waves of the pandemic as a result.

He cited the lack of non-pharmaceutical prevention measures — including social distancing and loading maximum numbers of passengers — as some of the “wrong things” airlines were doing.

Mboweni was answering questions at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday, where he warned that the behaviour at some of the country's airports had been “over-normalised” when the country was not out of the woods yet.

March 18 2021 - 15:28

Cape Town company to manufacture Covid-19 vaccine

Cape Town-based biopharmaceutical company Biovac is to collaborate with US-based immunotherapy company ImmunityBio to manufacture a second-generation Covid-19 vaccine, the company said on Thursday.

ImmunityBio’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate, now undergoing clinical trials in SA and the US, works by killing infected cells and preventing the virus from replicating.

March 18 2021 - 13:37

SA AstraZeneca study was a downer, but pointed way ahead, says Madhi

SA hasn't yet administered a single Covid-19 vaccine outside clinical trials, but research carried out in the country has made a “compelling case” for the development of second-generation vaccines.

“The findings of our [Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine] study are truly a turning point in Covid-19 vaccine development — and a rude awakening,” said Prof Shabir Madhi, who led a trial with more than 2,000 participants.

“This one, small South African study has alerted the world to the fact that second-generation Covid-19 vaccines will be required to provide protection against inevitable and persistent SARS-CoV-2 variants,” said the head of the vaccines and infectious diseases analytics research unit at Johannesburg's Wits university.

March 18 2021 - 12:47

AU says benefits outweigh risks of AstraZeneca Covid-19 shot

The AU said on Thursday that it considers that the benefits of AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine outweigh the risks and recommended that vaccinations continue across the continent.

March 18 2021 - 07:19

At least 168,413 health workers have received Covid-19 jabs

March 18 2021 - 07:08

Pfizer-BioNTec approved for emergency use in SA: here is what you need to know about the vaccine

As SA prepares for the second phase of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has approved a “section 21” emergency use application for the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTec.

According to Sahpra, this means that the sought-after vaccine has been approved for distribution but the approval is subject to monitoring the vaccine’s efficacy and safety.

“This approval is subject to conducting a post-section 21 authorisation efficacy and safety surveillance of comirnaty vaccine in SA (including efficacy against the SARS-CoV2 B. 1.351 lineage), said the authority.