Aspen to produce COVID-19 vaccine in Africa
“A deal struck by South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine in Port Elizabeth will bring technology transfer but may not increase the supply of vaccines to the continent.”
News & Analysis: Guinea-Bissau
“A deal struck by South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine in Port Elizabeth will bring technology transfer but may not increase the supply of vaccines to the continent.”
“Broad beneficial non-specific effects of vaccines on the immune system could be useful in a pandemic. Right now many clinical trials are investigating whether old vaccines, such as BCG, oral polio vaccine and MMR, can strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of serious COVID-19.”
“Schools in Guinea-Bissau are once again receiving students, after a seven-month break as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with tight new restrictions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes the disease.”
“Guinea-Bissau held a big gathering in its capital to mark its 47th independence anniversary at a time when huge rallies are being discouraged as a measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus.”
“As lockdowns, curfews and transport disruptions prevent many vulnerable people from getting healthcare, communities are stepping into the breach. Community health workers and volunteers are ensuring their peers, friends, and neighbours are protected from disease.”
“This year, the coronavirus pandemic has forced governments to grapple with difficult questions regarding lockdowns, contact tracing and the provision of emergency financial assistance to citizens now without work. In developing countries, these hardships are magnified with the World Bank estimating that remittances – money transfers sent from foreign workers to their home countries – to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to fall by 19.7 percent (from $554 billion in 2019 to $445 billion in 2020). Considering the significant role that remittances play in alleviating poverty and improving nutrition, many governments have turned to mobile cash transfers for vulnerable citizens to use while minimising COVID-19 exposure.”
“The coronavirus pandemic has tightened its grip on much of Africa, where reported cases have more than tripled over the last month, jeopardizing overstretched medical teams as the need for care soars.”
“For new producers in the pandemic era, some licensing rounds are likely to be cancelled, and production is being pushed back once more. Debt is becoming an even greater issue. Yet some investors—like Total in Uganda—still show signs of interest.”
“With a rise in populism and associated patterns of scapegoating, response to any crisis in the United States tends to default towards denial, deflection, blame-shifting, and foot-dragging, rather than the proactive, collective response necessary for resilience that is so much more evident in West Africa. Governments in much of the region have responded swiftly and urgently to curb COVID-19, with the memory of the Ebola outbreak still strong.”
“As COVID-19 races its way across Africa, there are two stories happening at once. The first is of governments using their armies and militarized police to beat, threaten, and shoot their way to public health…The second is of communities knitting together their meager resources to fill the gap of failed services and absent states.”