COVID-19 Updates

Vaccination remains a key tool to prevent severe cases and deaths from COVID-19 infection Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Friday urged African health authorities to intensify COVID-19 prevention measures amid the emergence of a new variant. The Africa CDC …

Brussels, Belgium | Xinhua | The European Union will not renew its mandatory approval system for COVID-19 vaccine exports when it expires at the end of the year, the European Commission said on Friday. This means that vaccine producers will no longer have to request authorization to export vaccines outside the …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden announced Friday that the United States will impose travel restrictions on eight African countries as a new variant of the coronavirus has been detected on the continent. Per advice from his chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, Biden said that starting Monday, his …

Omicron (B.1.1.529): SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) classified on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2, which was first reported from South Africa, as a “Variant of Concern” (VOC), and asked countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts. South Africa has seen …

Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA – URN | Only 27 percent of health workers in Africa have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This is according to a preliminary analysis by World Health Organization (WHO). Analysis of data reported from 25 countries finds that since March 2021, 1.3 million health workers …

  Brussels, Belgium  | Xinhua | A complete vaccination against COVID-19 will grant European Union (EU) citizens free movement within the bloc for nine months, starting from the date of the last shot, said Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice on Thursday. Reynders was presenting a proposal of the European …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda registered an increase in cases of Female Genital Mutilation during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to reports from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development. FGM is the removing of the external genitalia of girls and young women in some traditional cultures. In Uganda, FGM is practiced …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government has finally released the modalities for the disbursement of the Covid-19 relief package worth 200 Billion Shillings for small enterprises. The fund was announced back in June as the government closed more sectors as part of the measures to contain the second wave of …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | COVID-19 mandates including vaccination and standard operating procedures should be enforced by authorities while knowing that there are people whose natural immune system is strong enough to beat the pandemic, experts have said. The government of Uganda continues to encourage Ugandans to go for COVID-19 …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The country needs much better investment in health facilities to respond effectively to the Covid-19 third wave. Lt. Col Dr. Henry Kyobe, the National COVID-19 Incident Commander says that the Ugandan health system might not fare any better than it did during the second …