Explaining science in your language!. As South Africa adapts to the new world that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us into, it’s important to stay informed. This is why we’ve partnered with Mzansi’s number one newspaper, Daily Sun, to bring you COVID-19 Conversations — a column that will provide Sun readers with the latest clinical developments around COVID-19. This is where you’ll find out what scientists across the globe are working on to find a safe and effective treatment and vaccine for the coronavirus.
Emergency buying of vaccines work-ins and outs
25th of March 2021
Getting medicines granted emergency use authorisation (EUA) has moved at a quicker pace since the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccines that are circulating all over the world have been accessed through this mechanism to allow them (vaccines) to be used while trials are still underway.
How a vaccine is registered
25th of March 2021
Many COVID-19 vaccines are now distributed globally, and countries have their ways of authorising medicine. Here’s what the process looks like in Mzansi.
A few ways Mzansi can get vaccines
17th of February 2021
According to Medscape, as of 8 February, the New York Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker listed that there were 67 vaccines in human trials, and that 20 had reached final research stages. There were also almost 90 preclinical vaccines under investigation. The South African government has so far confirmed procuring three vaccines that were going to be used in the first phase of the vaccination programme.
AstraZeneca Vaccine Delay: What does this mean for Mzansi
17th of February 2021
There was excitement when the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India arrived in the country on 1 February. According to Health Minister Dr Zwedi Mkhize, healthcare workers were supposed to get vaccinated on Wednesday, 10 February.
And then came the shocking news on Sunday, 7 February, that the AstraZeneca vaccine was not effective in protecting against mild to moderate illness from the 501.YV2 variant of COVID-19 that was discovered in Mzansi in December 2020.
Plan B for vaccine roll-out
17th Of February 2021
Government has had to look at alternative vaccines that provide protection against the 501Y.V2 variant of the coronavirus. This follows the discovery that the highly efficacy of between 60% to 90% against COVID-19, isn’t strong enough to prevent mild to moderate disease caused by this variant of the virus that was discovered in South Africa.
All about South Africa’s first vaccine clinical trial
20th of November 2020
Have you heard about the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine trail? In South Africa, this trial is called Ox1Cov-19 – the VIDA-Trial. VIDA is the first COVID-19 vaccine trial in South Africa which that kicked off on the 23rd of June 2020. The trial is a partnership between the University of Witwatersrand, University of Oxford and the Oxford Vaccine Group, which is also partially funded by the South African Medical Research Council.
The South African Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
20th Of November 2020
The Novavax Vaccine Trial is the second COVID-19 trial to be conducted in South Africa. Using the same technology as the flu vaccine, it will be tested at ten sites across South Africa in Gauteng, Western Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and the Free State.