SA vaccination drive kicked off with the J&J vaccine

Global update:

• Global cases have surpassed 111.95 million, while the death toll has surpassed 2.47 million; recoveries are at 87.32 million.
• The US has 28.75 million cases, accounting for 26% of global cases; the death toll is 511,133. 
• India has 11 million cases and 156,418 deaths; Brazil 10.16 million cases and 246,560 deaths.
• Germany has been very cautious; the health ministry will evaluate the impact of the return to school this week for some children before lifting restrictions.
• A study has shown that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has seemingly stopped most recipients of Israel’s vaccinations from becoming infected. This study provides some evidence that immunization will curb transmission of the virus.
• Australia has started its vaccination program; Malaysia and South Korea are expected to begin inoculations later this week.
• More than 205 million doses have been administered across 92 countries at an average rate of 6.44 million doses a day.

Africa update:

• Africa’s Covid-19 cases are at 3.85 million; fatalities are at 101,496 as a second wave of infections overwhelms hospitals on the continent.
• Morocco has 481,155 reported cases, Nigeria 152,074, Ghana 80,253, Kenya 104,201.
• Nigeria has plans to vaccinate 109 million citizens in two years.
• The SA variant is now 'dominant' in Zimbabwe; it comprises over 60% of cases within Zimbabwe’s borders.
• Health experts have indicated that African countries may struggle to acquire vaccines as they lack the statistics to reveal the true extent of the spread of the virus.
• French President Emmanuel Macron has said Europe and the US should urgently allocate as much as 5% of their vaccine supplies to developing countries as their vaccination campaigns have scarcely begun. China and Russia have also offered to help fill the gap.

South Africa update:

• SA currently has the 16th highest caseload, at 1.503 million; 1,429 new cases were reported yesterday.
• Covid-19 deaths rose by 113 yesterday, to 49,053; 1.41 million people (or 93,8%) have recovered from the virus.
• Gauteng has the highest number of confirmed cases, at 401,995 (accounting for 26.7% of the total); 9,481 deaths have been reported. 
• The Western Cape has 276,246 (accounting for 18.4% of the total) and 11,035 deaths, while KwaZulu-Natal has 327,001 (accounting for 21.7% of the total) and 9,464 deaths.
• The Eastern Cape has 193,682 cases (accounting for 12,9% of the total) and 11,206 deaths.
• 8.89 million tests have been conducted since 5 March; 24,856 tests were conducted yesterday.
• The SA vaccination drive kicked off last week. The J&J vaccine is being given as an observational study; the health and future infections of all participants will be tracked. The J&J vaccine has shown to be effective in offering protection from the SA variant of the virus.

Read PDF