COVID-19 Updates

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa surpassed the 9-million mark on Wednesday as the continent strives for adequate access to vaccines. The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said that as of Wednesday evening, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases …

Stockholm, Sweden | Xinhua | A rapid increase in the number of Omicron COVID-19 variant cases is imminent, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned on Wednesday. The European Union’s (EU) health watchdog also urged countries to rapidly intensify their vaccination efforts, and reintroduce and strengthen other measures …

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. Tuesday said final results show that its novel COVID-19 oral antiviral tablets could reduce risk of hospitalization or death by close to 90 percent for high-risk patients. The results, based on an analysis of over 2,000 patients in a phase …

London, UK | Xinhua | Given that the Omicron variant has already taken hold in Britain, all 11 countries on England’s COVID travel red list are to be taken off from 0400 GMT on Wednesday, British Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Tuesday. Javid made the announcement in the parliament, adding …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There have been many concerns about getting people to recover from the mental stress caused by COVID-19 lockdowns as many authorities move to reopen their countries fully. However, other countries have reinstated some restrictions to battle new variants like Omicron, which according to some experts …

Brazzaville, Congo | Xinhua | Africa is being hit by the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic driven by the Omicron variant, after recording the fastest weekly surge in new cases since May 2020, said an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday. “Africa is now officially in the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister for Health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has tasked district leaders in the Ankole sub-region to recruit more data entrants at vaccination centres. Dr Aceng was speaking at the launch of the accelerated Covid-19 vaccination campaign for the 13 districts forming the Ankole sub-region …

United Nations | Xinhua | United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned against criminal exploitation of COVID-19 recovery resources. In a video message to the ninth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption (CoSP9) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the top UN official warned …

Moroto, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Health authorities in Karamoja have asked for more Johnson & Johnson vaccines to help them vaccinate pastoralists whose movement is highly unpredictable. During the dry spell, pastoralists from Karamoja move in search of water and pastures. There are concerns by health authorities that the targeted …

  The Omicron coronavirus variant partly escapes the protection offered by the Pfizer vaccine Johannesburg, South Africa | Xinhua | A laboratory research has suggested that the Omicron variant can partially escape antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The research, led by Professor Alex Sigal from the Africa Health …