Access to mRNA vaccines remains a challenge for many countries

Business Day 17 July 2021 - A handful of facilities in the US and Western Europe account for almost all the world’s mRNA vaccine supply, leaving many countries in a race to catch up

The latest surge in Covid-19 cases is widening one of the biggest inequities of the pandemic era: the gap between nations that have messenger RNA vaccines and those that don’t. The cutting-edge technology, which made its debut during the pandemic, has proven more effective than any other in staving off infections and serious illness from the coronavirus. Yet just a handful of facilities in the US and Western Europe account for almost all of the world’s mRNA vaccine supply — leaving many countries in a desperate race to catch up. From South Korea to Indonesia and SA , governments are seeking to set up mRNA production and develop other collaborations in the space, but they’re also realising it could take them years to master the new science, leaving their countries reliant on less potent vaccines that potentially expose them to repeated waves of Covid-19 and delay their economies from reopening. 

CDC defends mask wearing as key to preventing Covid-19 transmission

Business Day 16 July 2021 - Senior US health official says masks are a key tool in preventing virus transmission even as some lawmakers call for ending the rules

A senior US health official who signed a sweeping order for masks to be worn on nearly all forms of public transport said they were a key tool in preventing Covid-19 transmission even as some lawmakers call for ending the rules. Marty Cetron, director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, told Reuters on Thursday the agency's “current position” is the mandate should not be lifted. “Masks are really powerful and we should make sure they're part of our arsenal,” Cetron said in an interview. “We mask not just to protect ourselves — we mask because it's the way we take care and express our concern for each other.” 

Afrox to prioritise medical oxygen despite force majeure

Business Day 15 July 2021 - Afrox, a major supplier of medical gases, has warned customers of its potential inability to supply them, though it will continue to prioritise the delivery of oxygen to state hospitals inundated with Covid-19 cases.

Afrox, a major supplier of medical gases, has warned customers of its potential inability to supply them, though it will continue to prioritise the delivery of oxygen to state hospitals inundated with Covid-19 cases. The group said force majeure — typically invoked when unforeseeable circumstances render someone unable to meet their contractual obligations — was declared to its customers over safety concerns and the disruption of vehicle movement on the N3 highway linking KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The affected products include LPG, hard goods (equipment), industrial oxygen cylinders as well as bulk industrial and medical oxygen. Oxygen therapy using medical-grade oxygen is widely used in the treatment of severe and critical Covid-19 patients. Afrox said it will undertake normal deliveries of industrial gases and medical oxygen via bulk tankers where it is safe to do so. 

SA’s health-care system at risk, say Western Cape health chiefs

Business Day 15 July 2021 - Looting and violence blamed for disrupting supply chains in the country

The country’s health-care system is at risk from the disruption of supply chains caused by this week’s looting and violence in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape health chiefs warned on Thursday. Head of health Keith Cloete said there were “significant risks for the entire supply chain”, including the delivery of medicines, as the third wave of Covid-19 approaches its peak in most of the country. At a Covid-19 media briefing chaired by premier Alan Winde, Cloete said the national health department was considering what to do with vaccination supplies earmarked for KwaZulu-Natal, where looting has severely disrupted the rollout. 

This is how to overcome Covid-19 vaccine bottlenecks

Business Day 15 July 2021 - A new platform will serve as a marketplace that matches up buyers and sellers of filters, lipids, vials, bioreactor bags and other key supplies used to make vaccines

A new initiative aims to overcome bottlenecks that have hampered the production and global rollout of Covid-19 shots, linking manufacturers with suppliers of vital materials. The platform, led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), will serve as a marketplace that matches up buyers and sellers of filters, lipids, vials, bioreactor bags and other key supplies used to make vaccines. The goal is to accelerate production of tens of millions of doses that can flow to Covax, the global distribution programme that has fallen short of its initial targets. 

Medicine supply shortages at risk of spreading throughout SA in looting aftermath

Business Day 15 July 2021 - The entire medicine supply chain has been disrupted in KwaZulu-Natal, warehouses and distributors ransacked and Durban harbour at a standstill

Business for SA (B4SA) on Wednesday warned that the escalating medicine supply crisis in KwaZulu-Natal has the potential to destabilise supplies throughout SA if the violence and looting in the province is not swiftly brought under control. The entire medicine supply chain has been disrupted in the province, with key distributors, wholesalers and pharmacies destroyed or rendered inoperable by the violence, sending health facilities and patients scrambling to find supplies. The unrest has also brought Durban harbour to a standstill, a situation that if not quickly resolved could disrupt imports of raw and finished https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2021-07-15-medicine-supply-shortages-at-risk-of-spreading-throughout-sa-in-looting-aftermath/pharmaceutical products, said B4SA health spokesperson Stavros Nicolaou. 

Violence and looting cripple healthcare across Gauteng and KZN

Medical brief 14 July 2021 - Violent unrest and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng have decimated hospitals and health services. 

COVID-19 vaccination has ground to a halt. Lives are being endangered by violence as well as by lack of access to treatment, medicines, oxygen, food and essential supplies. Ambulances and clinics have been attacked and some services suspended. The crisis in the midst of a COVID third wave, has exacerbated both. Severe staff and pharmaceutical shortages, temporary closures of health facilities or services – including dozens of hospitals and clinics – and treating patients for protest-related injuries have piled extra pressure on the health sector. It was reported yesterday that 90 pharmacies had been lost to looting.