COVID-19 Updates

Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned on Wednesday that the more transmissible Omicron together with the currently circulating Delta variants might lead to “a tsunami of cases,” putting immense pressure on national health systems. Recapping WHO’s response since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Director-General …

Gulu, Uganda  | THE INDEPENDENT | Gulu district health officials have returned a total of 108,220 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to the Ministry of Health. The vaccines were part of 166,586 doses of Moderna that the district received early last month to boost the mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign launched in …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The United States and European countries have shattered records for daily COVID-19 cases, driven by the Omicron variant that is sweeping the globe and hampering global efforts to tame the coronavirus. U.S. CASES HIT RECORD HIGH The lightning spread of the Omicron variant in the United …

  Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | 148 people are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 despite the high number of positive cases being reported, this is according to records from the Ministry of Health. According to records, as of December 25, over 148 positive cases are admitted nationwide in treatment …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Communications Commission-UCC has asked radio and television stations to avail airtime to government officials to mobilize people for Covid-19 vaccination. In a letter dated December 23rd 2021 and signed by Suzan Wegoye, UCC acting Executive Director, the Commission says it is implementing a …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday authorized American pharmaceutical company Merck’s oral antiviral for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19, the second pill approved for treating COVID-19 following the one from Pfizer. Merck’s pill, called molnupiravir, is authorized to use in adults with positive …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has asked the elderly and those living with other health conditions that compromise immunity to seek booster doses of COVID-19 jabs. This development comes after the country registered a hundred percent increase in cases in the last week. According to test …

Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | Blanket vaccine booster programs are likely to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic rather than ending it, as a result of unequal distribution of vaccines between rich and poor countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized Pfizer’s oral antiviral tablets for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19, the first pill approved for COVID-19 treatment in the country. The pill, called Paxlovid, is authorized for use in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age …

But deaths remain low ANALYSIS | THE INDEPENDENT | An 83% surge in new COVID-19 cases in early December in Africa, driven by the Delta and the Omicron variants, is causing fewer deaths than previous surges—but more waves could be building as updated forecasts warn that the continent may not …