LIVE | Covid-19 in SA: 792 new cases, 97 new deaths, with 15 388 vaccines administered to date

Covid-19 in SA: 97 new deaths, 792 new cases

As of Monday, 22 February, the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa is 1 504 588, with 792 new cases since the last report, according to the national Department of Health.

A further 97 deaths were recorded, bringing the total number of Covid-19 deaths to 49 150.

A total of 8 907 857 tests have been conducted to date, with 15 342 new tests conducted since the last report. The recovery rate is 93.9%, with 1 413 566 recoveries to date.

The total number of healthcare workers vaccinated under the Sisonke Protocol, as of 18:00 on 22 February, is 23 059.

UK gives first dose of vaccine to 17.6 million people

More than 17.6 million people have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in Britain, official data showed on Sunday, as daily deaths and coronavirus cases slipped.

Official figures showed that a further 215 people had died within 28 days of a positive test, down from the 445 reported on Saturday, although numbers can be distorted over the weekend.

A total of 120 580 people have now died in Britain from the virus. Deaths on a seven day average are down 27%.The figures showed 9 834 new cases, down from 10 406 the day before.

-REUTERS

India's Serum Institute says prioritising domestic vaccine needs, asks for patience

Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest vaccine maker by volume, on Sunday asked for patience from foreign governments awaiting their supply of Covid-19 shots, saying it had been directed to prioritise India's requirements.

Serbia receives first shipment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine

A shipment of 150 000 Covid-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University arrived at Belgrade airport on Sunday, making Serbia the first country in the Western Balkan region to receive supplies of the shot.

The vaccines, which arrived on a Turkish Airlines plane from Istanbul, were produced in India, said President Aleksandar Vucic, who came to the airport to meet the shipment.

Vucic said the price of the vaccine was "very good as both AstraZeneca and Oxford gave up their profits".

He added that another shipment of 150,000 vaccines is expected in 12 weeks time.

- Reuters

Russia reports 12 742 new coronavirus cases, 417 deaths

Russia on Sunday reported 12 742 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 1 602 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 4 164 726.

Authorities also reported another 417 deaths, raising the official toll to 83 293.

- Reuters

Iran: Results suggest primary Covid vaccine 90% effective

Iran has said its primary vaccine candidate against Covid-19 is 90% effective based on preliminary results.

Mohamad Reza Salehi, who heads clinical trials for COVIran Barekat, told the government-funded Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that immunogenicity tests on 35 of the volunteers who took part in the first phase of human trials of the vaccine showed better-than-expected results.

"Preliminary results show that about 90% of the people who received two doses of the vaccine exhibit evidence of immunity," he said, adding that more testing is needed for more accurate results.

Officials had previously said Barekat is "100% effective" against the Covid-19 variant first discovered in the United Kingdom.

- Al Jazeera

South Korea to begin using Pfizer coronavirus vaccines on 27 February, PM says

South Korea will begin administering the first of 117 000 doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine on 27 February, a day after the country begins its first vaccinations with AstraZeneca's products, the prime minister announced on Sunday.

Plans call for about 10 million high-risk people, including health care workers and staffers and some residents of assisted care facilities and nursing homes, to be inoculated by July.

The first AstraZeneca vaccines are scheduled to be administered on Friday, with Pfizer's shots being deployed the next day, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said in remarks reported by Yonhap news agency.

- Reuters

Fujifilm to restart clinical trial of Avigan to treat Covid-19 - media

Fujifilm Holdings Corp will restart a clinical trial in Japan of its antiviral drug Avigan for the treatment of Covid-19, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Sunday.

Domestic approval of the drug was delayed after a health ministry panel said in December that trial data was inconclusive.

The new study will involve about 270 patients and Fujifilm will aim to seek approval again in October, Nikkei said.Representatives from Fujifilm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

- Reuters

A data error reduced a healthy man to the size of a thumb, qualifying him for Covid-19 vaccination

A British man was offered priority for a Covid-19 vaccine after the NHS listed him as being 6.2cm (2.4 inches) rather than 6 foot 2 inches tall.

EFF threatens court action if political spaces aren't reopened

The EFF has called for the "reopening of political space in South Africa", and has said failure to do so will see them approach the courts to challenge the constitutionality of the ban on political gatherings under lockdown regulations.

Taiwan confirms three cases of Brazil Covid-19 variant

Taiwan's government said on Sunday that it had confirmed three cases of the Covid-19 variant first discovered in Brazil, and that all arrivals from that country would undergo centralised quarantine from this week.

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said the three people, whose initial infections officials announced last month and are being treated in the hospital, had been confirmed on Saturday to have what is known as the P1 Brazil variant.

Chen added that starting at midnight on Wednesday, anyone arriving in Taiwan from Brazil or who had been in Brazil the previous 14 days must quarantine at a centralised facility for two weeks, as arrivals from Britain and South Africa also must to prevent the spread of separate variants found there.

- Reuters

Brazil reports 1 212 new Covid-19 deaths

Brazil registered 1 212 additional Covid-19 deaths and 57 472 new confirmed cases of the virus on Saturday, according to data released by the Health Ministry.

The South American nation has now recorded 245 977 total coronavirus deaths and 10 139 148 confirmed cases.

- Reuters

Britain to offer all adults a Covid-19 vaccine by end of July

All adults in Britain will be offered a first shot of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday ahead of a planned announcement on the cautious reopening of the economy from lockdown.

Johnson will set out a roadmap to ease England's third national lockdown on Monday, having met a target to vaccinate 15 million Britons from higher-risk categories by mid-February.

Britain now aims to give a first dose to all over-50s by 15 April, the government said, having previously indicated it wished them to receive the shot by May.

- Reuters

Mexico's reports 7 785 new Covid-19 cases, 832 more deaths

Mexico's health ministry on Saturday reported 7 785 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the country and 832 more fatalities, bringing its total to 2 038 276 infections and 179 797 deaths.

The real number of infected people and deaths is likely significantly higher than the official count, the health ministry has said.

- Reuters

Australian PM Morrison gets Covid-19 vaccine in 'massive step' toward normal

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine on Sunday, calling the start of the nation's vaccination programme a "massive step" that will enable it to return to normal.

Up to four million Australians are expected to be inoculated by March, with Morrison among a small group receiving the first round of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

"This is the beginning of a big game change," Morrison told reporters moments after getting injected at a medical centre in Sydney.

"Every day that goes past from here gets more normal. And that is what is exciting about today."

- Reuters

French daily new Covid-19 cases up week-on-week for third day in a row

The number of new coronavirus cases in France compared to a week earlier rose for the third day in a row, with the health ministry reporting 22 371 new cases on Saturday, compared to 21 231 last Saturday.

The seven-day moving average of new cases increased further by 163 to 19 217, after falling nearly continuously in the first half of the month.

Health Minister Olivier Veran said earlier on Saturday that the trend in the data over the past few days is not good and France would decide on tightening the curfew or locking down partially in regions where the virus is spreading the quickest, notably on the Mediterranean coast around Nice.

- Reuters

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 7 676 - RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 7 676 to 2 386 559, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Sunday.

The reported death toll rose by 145 to 67 841, the tally showed.

- Reuters

Pfizer jab 95.8% effective against Covid: Israel health ministry

Israel's health ministry said Saturday recent data from its aggressive coronavirus vaccination campaign showed two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab were nearly 96% effective against infection.

Israel's inoculation campaign is regarded as the world's fastest, with one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine administered to 4.25 million people out of its nine million-strong population since December, according to the latest health ministry figures.

Some 2.88 million people have received the recommended full course of two jabs.

- AFP

Presidency welcomes DA withdrawal of vaccine rollout court challenge  

The Presidency has welcomed the DA's decision to withdraw its court action over the country's vaccine strategy, saying the opposition party did not have a case in the first place.

"The DA had sought an order from the court declaring that government's conduct in preparing and implementing its programme to administer Covid-19 vaccines 'is irrational and unconstitutional'," the Presidency said on Friday.

Over 200 million vaccine doses administered globally: AFP           

More than 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered in at least 107 countries and territories, according to an AFP count based on official sources at 10:00 on Saturday.

Some 45 percent of the injections took places in countries belonging to the wealthy G7 club, whose members promised on Friday to share doses more fairly with worse-off countries.

The G7 accounts for just 10 percent of the global population.

AFP

A total of 1 498 766 cases have been reported with 2 327 new cases in the past 24 hours. A reported 1 403 214 people have recovered and there are 48 708 reported deaths, 230 in the past day. This means there are an estimated 46 844 active Covid-19 cases

GLOBAL NEWS

Covid-19 wrap | India will test Brazil, SA, UK travellers and Turkey to start lifting curbs in March

 - Malaysia reported a new daily high of 25 coronavirus deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 1 030.

 - Johnson & Johnson has only a few million doses of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine in its inventory, even as likely US regulatory authorisation is only a few weeks away, White House officials said.

 - Pfizer has yet to deliver about 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to the European Union that were due in December, leaving it about one-third short of the supplies it had expected by now.

Zimbabwe court bans mobile operator's 'depressing' Covid-19 texts

 - Zimbabwe's biggest mobile phone operator has been banned from sending coronavirus updates.

 - This follows court action in which the company was accused of sending messages that caused "mental torment".

 - Zimbabwe has lost several government officials to Covid-19.

J&J vaccine side effects - what you need to know

 - The first of millions of Johnson & Johnson vaccines were administered this week in South Africa.

 - In trials, only 9% of those who received the vaccines reported a fever.

 - Some other complaints included fatigue, headache and muscle ache - which "generally" disappeared within 24 hours after the vaccination.

Scientists to discuss Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine lab study which found decreased protection vs variant

South African scientists will meet on Thursday to discuss a laboratory study that suggests the dominant local coronavirus variant may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer vaccine by two-thirds, the health ministry said.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on Wednesday, includes additional data to one released in a pre-print review published in late January.

South Africa plans to start rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in the coming months, after on Wednesday starting its vaccination programme with Johnson & Johnson's shot in a research study targeting healthcare workers.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday the country was expecting 500 000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine initially and about 7 million doses by June.

South Africa has more people who had Covid-19 than recorded, SANBS study finds

 - The SANBS has found high Covid-19 seroprevalence rates among black donors.

 - The high seroprevalence rates in black communities could be linked to socio-economic conditions.

 - SANBS will be conducting further studies to cover all provinces.

Africa Covid-19 deaths near 100 000 after second wave

Africa's total reported death toll from Covid-19 was approaching 100 000 on Thursday, a fraction of those reported on other continents but rising fast as a second wave of infections overwhelms hospitals.

The continent's reported deaths, at 99 800, compare favourably with North America, which has registered more than half a million, and Europe, which is approaching 900 000, a Reuters tally shows.

But deaths are rising sharply across Africa, driven by its southern region, especially economic powerhouse South Africa, which accounts for nearly half. South Africa was ravaged by a second wave caused by a more contagious variant that has jammed up casualty wards.

 - REUTERS

Covid-19: South Africa's death toll increases by 165 and infections by 2 320

 - As of Wednesday, South Africa recorded a total of 1 496 439 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

 - 2 320 new cases have been recorded since the last report on Tuesday.

 - 165 new Covid-19-related fatalities have been recorded, taking the death toll to 48 478.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS

Vaccine rollout: Meet nurse Zoliswa Gigi-Dyosi, the first South African to get the Covid-19 jab

 - Zoliswa Gigi-Dyosi told News24 it has been "a very bad experience" treating Covid-19 patients.

 - In December, hospitals in Cape Town were running out of bed space rapidly after the country entered the second wave of coronavirus infections.

 - Gigi-Dyosi said she was nominated by the manager of the hospital to receive the vaccine jab.

Deep-freeze case could help transport vaccines in Africa

A South African company is seeking to help solve the logistical nightmare of keeping Covid-19 vaccinations at the ultra-cold temperatures necessary as they are shipped across the continent.

Johannesburg-based natural gas producer Renergen is developing an ultra-cold biological transport freezer for the task, as countries throughout Africa plan for rollouts of comprehensive vaccination programmes.

The vaccines, developed jointly by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, must be stored at -70°C, a far cry from what much of rural Africa can support.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS

J&J vaccine, with time, offers stronger protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and death

 - The J&J vaccine is currently being administered to healthcare workers across SA.

 - According to its trial results, the jab is 100% protective against severe disease, seven weeks after vaccination.

 - Data also indicate the jab demonstrates complete protection against Covid-related hospitalisation and death, four weeks after vaccination.

Covid-19 vaccine: 'Prevention is better than cure' - Doctor who lost parents to virus takes the jab

Staff at Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria spent half of the day rehearsing the inoculation trial of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Wednesday, which kicked off at around 14:00.

Registered healthcare workers were already queuing at the hospital's Covid-19 vaccination area when the media arrived, along with Gauteng Premier David Makhura and Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi.

Clinical researcher Dr Matsontso Mathebula said about 13 workers had been vaccinated at the hospital just after 15:30.

Mathebula added after they were vaccinated, they were observed for 15 minutes.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS

Vaccination of healthcare workers gathers steam, but experts urge govt to deal with 'vaccine hesitancy'

 - The first day of vaccination went ahead with a few teething problems.

 - Experts urged the Health Department to deal with vaccine hesitancy.

 - President Cyril Ramaphosa promised that vaccination would go ahead without a hitch.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS

Defence CFO unaware of SANDF's R200m deal to import unregistered Covid-19 drugs

 - The chief financial officer (CFO) of the Department of Defence says he was unaware officials set a plan in motion to procure Heberon Interferon-Alpha-2B, an unregistered Covid-19 drug.

- Officials spent more than R200 million on the drug.

 - Interferon is manufactured by a Cuban-Chinese company and is believed to be effective in the fight against Covid-19.

SA's latest Covid-19 numbers

The death toll has hit 48 478 after 165 more deaths.

The number of cases has risen by 2 320, taking the total to 1 496 439.

Today's top Covid-19 story:

FULL COVERAGE | Finally! SA sees historic day as Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out

It was a historic day in South Africa as the first round of vaccine shots got underway. A large consignment of vaccines from pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson arrived at OR Tambo Airport late on Tuesday night.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize became the first high-profile citizens to take the jab during a visit to the Khayelitsha District Hospital in Cape Town. Ramaphosa labelled the beginning of the vaccine rollout as a “milestone” in the country's Covid-19 fight.

A total of 80 000 doses of the J&J vaccine has arrived. A further 500 000 doses is expected in a few weeks, while 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine is expected at the end of March.

Here’s a recap of how it went down:

A plane carrying J&J vaccines arrived at OR Tambo International Airport late on Tuesday night. The consignment was then moved to a facility in Gauteng and was distributed to provinces overnight.

Ramaphosa and Mkhize took the jab at a Cape Town hospital. The president encouraged the public to be open to the vaccine. The vaccine will be dispatched to 17 sites across the country.

The Eastern Cape also welcomed its first batch of vaccines at sites in Mthatha and Port Elizabeth. The vaccine was administered to 40 healthcare workers at Bara hospital in Johannesburg. Healthcare workers said they were relieved that the day finally arrived. The vaccine has also been delivered to a site in Pretoria.

Amid the rollout of the J&J vaccine, experts told us that the government should consider distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine which the country originally procured but decided not to use. Those vaccines will be shared with other African countries.

Stay informed with News24
In depth | Everything you need to know about phase 1 of the vaccine rollout
In pictures | From the airport to hospitals - see how day 1 went
Special report | We remember those who died of Covid-19.
Get tested | Antibody tests cost as little as R150 now
Checklist | These are the first symptoms
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Pictured: Zoliswa Gidi-Dyosi, a nurse, was the first person to receive a vaccine shot, at Khayelitsha District Hospital, Cape Town. (GCIS)