COVID-19 Updates

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Prisons Services has said that it has so far vaccinated only 18 percent of its 66,832 inmates across the country. Frank Baine, the Uganda Prisons Spokesperson said that only 2% of the already vaccinated prisoners have received the second dose. Baine explained that …

Los Angeles, U.S. | Xinhua | Though surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses in U.S. states will soon expire, the White House Vaccine Task Force rejected the proposal to donate unused doses to other countries, the Washington Post recently reported. Health authorities and hospitals in Southern California have seen the demand for COVID-19 …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Lawyers and health rights activists are calling upon government to put a stop to the illegal vaccine mandates that are being introduced at several organisations across the country. As a means to stop the spread of Covid-19, some government offices like the ministry of health, …

Havana, Cuba | Xinhua |  Cuba reported on Saturday the lowest number of daily infections of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in four months, with 1,393 cases registered in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 944,431. In Cuba, an accelerated mass immunization process against COVID-19 is underway, in which …

Washington, US | Xinhua |  Rates of gun violence in the United States surged by almost a third during last year’s COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports. Researchers identified around 51,000 incidents of gun violence across the United States during the 13-month period of the …

Windhoek, Namibia | Xinhua |  Namibia’s Health Ministry said Saturday it has discontinued the use of Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in national vaccination program with immediate effect following safety concerns by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). According to Ben Nangombe, the executive director of the Namibian Ministry …

Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has  launched the commencement of $30 per person mandatory testing by government for COVID-19 for all incoming passengers at Entebbe International Airport. Since May, private laboratories have been testing un-vaccinated passengers from ten high risk countries such as Kenya, South …

London, UK | Xinhua | The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed Friday that the Delta variant sub-lineage (Delta AY.4.2) was designated a Variant Under Investigation (VUI) on Oct. 20, 2021, and has been given the official name VUI-21OCT-01. The UKHSA said the designation was made on the basis that …

  Washington, US | XINHUA | The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday officially endorsed booster shots for both the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines in certain populations, and allowed “mix and match” dosing for booster shots. The decision came a day after the U.S. …

Berlin, Germany | Xinhua | A booster vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine of BioNTech and Pfizer increased protection to up to 95.6 percent, the companies announced on Thursday. A randomized, controlled phase III study of more than 10,000 people aged 16 years and older found that booster vaccinations with the Comirnaty …