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WATERLIT : A sub-study in about one-third of participants in the international REPRIEVE trial reported COVID-19 infections from April 2020 in approximately 13%. Of these, roughly 60% were asymptomatic
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WATERLIT : A UK study of nine group people with significantly reduced immune protection and extended COVID-19 infections, managed at Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Trust in London, includes the longest active infection reported globally to date
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AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : Maternal mortality was higher among women with COVID-19 compared to those without in the Tsepamo Study, and infants born to women with COVID-19 had increased risk of adverse birth outcomes. Maternal deaths did not differ by HIV status but infants exposed to both COVID-19 and HIV were at the highest risk for most adverse outcomes
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AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : COVID-19 caused a lot of stress and panic in all spheres of our lives. Our wallets especially took a hard knock during the pandemic which has seen an increase in the feelings of financial stress among young people. A financial wellness survey, conducted by Sanlam last year, revealed that more than 70% of young people are feeling the pinch. They are weighed down because family members often rely on them for financial support. The study also found that at least 20% of people listed childcare and family responsibilities as having a mental toll on them. Often these individuals are the only ones who are employed within a family setup, adding to the pressure
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AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : The National Department of Health is keeping an eye on developments after 23 cases of the new COVID-19 Omicron sub-variants were detected in South Africa earlier this week. Experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) are working with scientists and researchers in SA and Botswana to understand the nature of these variants, named BA.4 and BA.5. Their infectivity and virulence is especially under the spotlight with at least four people also infected in Botswana. According to the latest statistics from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), SA's positivity rate is going the wrong way. On Tuesday, it sat at 5.6%;this has since increased to 7.5% as reported last evening
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"AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : It's official - Gauteng, the former epicentre of South Africa's Omicron variant driven surge in cases last November - has exited the fourth wave. But, Health Minister, Joe Phaahla, who announced the news while updating the country on government's latest efforts to fight COVID-19 earlier today, is worried about the country's vaccination rates. ""In terms of the technical definition of a wave, we can now say officially that Gauteng has technically exited the fourth wave this week,"" said Phaahla. Phaahla said the National Department of Health has seen a 13,9% reduction of new cases and 6.3% reduction in hospitalisations. However, the Western Cape, followed by KwaZulu-Natal, aren't out the woods just yet. Both provinces recorded their highest number of cases this past week"
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"AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : Hypertension is simple to prevent, simple to diagnose, and simple to treat but according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, one in three South Africans live with the condition. The CEO of the South African chapter of the foundation Professor Pamela Naidoo said high blood pressure is responsible for 1 in every 2 strokes and 2 in every 5 heart attacks. ""High blood pressure is known as a `silent killer' because there are rarely any symptoms or visible signs to warn that blood pressure is high. That is why more than 50% of people with high blood pressure are unaware of their condition,"" said Naidoo"
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AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : A study, released today, has provided the first global evidence that two COVID-19 doses, followed by a booster, may not provide sufficient protection against being infected with the Omicron variant. South African and German scientists conducted the study when the Omicron variant was identified in SA last November. Seven fully vaccinated German tourists, who visited Cape Town where they got infected with the new strain, were used for the study. The scientists were drawn from Stellenbosch University, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, and the Universities of the Western Cape and Cape Town, as well as the National Health Laboratory Service
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AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : Supply chain disruptions, which emerged as a result of Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020, and were joined by rising inflation towards the end of 2021, have intensified in the first part of 2022. With the war in Ukraine and the Covid-19 shutdown in Shanghai, it looks as if disruptions may worsen. The other side of logistical disruption and the war in Ukraine is that it is causing a spike in the prices of certain commodities, so mining companies are more anxious than ever to accelerate expansion projects - even as their contractors are battling to secure the necessary inputs. For example, the shortage of microchips, which are used in a vast range of consumer products, including cell phones and automotive vehicles, stemmed not only from the closure of factories but also rising demand for technology, when more employees had to work from home. Three-quarters of microchip production is located in East Asia, according to the New York Times
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AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : This World Aids Day, South Africans are carrying the greatest HIV/Aids burden in the world, our country's original pandemic. Yet, to combat COVID-19, our country has been able to move millions of people through vaccination sites each month. So, how do we utilise COVID-19 learnings and vaccination sites to bridge this gap for all our people living with HIV/Aids? Imagine if we turned each large community-based vaccination site into an opportunity where individuals could not only be vaccinated but also get screening and counselling for other critical health concerns? A large number of community-based outside facilities have the option to become multifunctional centres, we just need to figure out how to balance our resources