<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="754" height="452" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus_Shutterstock.jpg" alt="Clarification on COVID-19 “hotspots” as SA moves to level 3 lockdown" class="wp-image-361805" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus_Shutterstock.jpg 754w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus_Shutterstock-300x180.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus_Shutterstock-696x417.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus_Shutterstock-701x420.jpg 701w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 754px) 100vw, 754px" /><figcaption>Clarification on COVID-19 “hotspots” as SA moves to level 3 lockdown</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, June 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Deaths on the African continent from COVID-19 are expected to fall by nearly 94 percent in 2022 compared to last year, modelling by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed on Thursday.



2021 was the pandemic&#8217;s most deadly year in Africa, with COVID-19 the seventh major cause of death, just below malaria.



&#8220;Our latest analysis suggests that estimated deaths in the African region will shrink to around 60 a day in 2022. &#8230; Last year, we lost an average of 970 people every day,&#8221; WHO Africa director Matshidiso Moeti told a virtual news conference.



The gulf in the numbers is due to increased vaccination, improved pandemic response and natural immunity from prior infections, the WHO said.



COVID deaths in Africa have been uneven. Richer countries and southern African nations have had around double the mortality rates of poorer ones in other parts of Africa, partly due to co-morbidities that increase the risk of death, the WHO analysis found.



Around 23,000 deaths are expected by the end of the year, provided current variants and transmission patterns remain the same, according to the analysis.



The findings infer that only one in 71 COVID-19 cases are recorded in Africa and that about one in three deaths have been missed.



Although African countries struggled early in the pandemic to secure COVID vaccines as rich countries hoarded available doses, many are now well-supplied with shots but are having trouble getting them into arms. The reasons include hesitancy and logistics.



As of the end of May, Africa had reported over 11.8 million confirmed COVID cases and more than 250,000 deaths.



&#8220;The job is not yet done. Every time we sit back and relax, COVID-19 flares up again. The threat of new variants remains real, and we need to be ready to cope with this ever-present danger,&#8221; Moeti told the briefing.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru and Alexander Winning in Johannesburg; Editing by James Macharia Chege and Tomasz Janowski)

Clarification on COVID-19 “hotspots” as SA moves to level 3 lockdown

Africa’s COVID deaths to fall by 94% in 2022, WHO analysis shows

GENEVA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Health Organization&#8217;s (WHO) members re-elected Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as Director General by a strong majority for another five years, the president of the World Health Assembly said on Tuesday.



The vote by secret ballot, announced by Ahmed Robleh Abdilleh from Djibouti at a major annual meeting, was seen as a formality since Tedros was the only candidate running.



Ministers and delegates took turns to shake hands and hug Tedros, a former health minister from Ethiopia, who has steered the UN agency through a turbulent period dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The president had to use a gavel several times to interrupt the applause.



Addressing the assembly soon after his re-election, Tedros said the WHO&#8217;s focus will be on emergency preparedness and improvement of the agency.



&#8220;This pandemic has been very unprecedented and many lessons that we should learn and we are learning. But, at the same time we cannot just pause, learn and implement&#8230;instead of pausing to learn, we&#8217;re saying while learning let&#8217;s implement.&#8221;



The newly re-elected WHO head teared up while talking about the current Ukraine crisis and the death of his younger brother from a childhood disease amidst war and poverty decades ago.



&#8220;When I visited Ukraine when I saw especially the kids..It was the image from more than 50 years ago that came to my mind, so visible, so hounding. The smell, sound and image of war. That is what I don&#8217;t want to happen to anyone.&#8221;



Several countries including Germany and the United States were quick to offer their congratulations.



German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach tweeted that Tedros got 155 of 160 votes, calling it a spectacular result. &#8220;Congratulations, fully deserved.&#8221;



Germany recently overtook the United States as the UN health agency&#8217;s top donor.



However, Tedros’ second-term candidacy did not receive the support of his native Ethiopia due to friction over the Tigray conflict. Ethiopia&#8217;s envoy to the assembly made it clear that Botswana&#8217;s statement congratulating Tedros did not represent all 47 countries of the African group.



&#8220;The established working method of the African group is to work by consensus. I would like to point out that there was no consensus. Hence, the distinguished representative of Botswana cannot deliver the statement on behalf of the African group.&#8221;



(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby, Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy; Additional reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Catherine Evans)VIEW LESS

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Tedros re-elected as head of World Health Organization

GENEVA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;African countries raised an objection on Tuesday to a U.S.-led proposal to reform the International Health Regulations (IHR), a move delegates say might prevent passage at the World Health Organization&#8217;s annual assembly.



If Africa continues to withhold support, it could block one of the only concrete reforms expected from the meeting, fraying hopes that members will unite on reforms to strengthen the U.N. health agency&#8217;s rules as it seeks a central role for itself in global health policy.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XF0HC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The IHR set out WHO members&#8217; legally binding obligations around outbreaks. The United States has proposed 13 IHR reforms which seek to authorise the deployment of expert teams to contamination sites and the creation of a new compliance committee to monitor implementation of the rules.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XC0VG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The draft proposal yet to be formally decided is seen as the first step in a broader IHR reform process and would aim to change article 59 that would speed up the implementation for future reforms from 24 to 12 months.



But the African group expressed reservations about even this narrow change, saying all reforms should be tackled together as part of a &#8220;holistic package&#8221; at a later stage.



&#8220;The African region shares the view that the process should not be fast tracked&#8230;,&#8221; Moses Keetile, deputy permanent secretary in Botswana&#8217;s health ministry, told the assembly on Tuesday on behalf of the Africa region.



Diplomats said that African objections may be a strategy to seek concessions on vaccine and drug-sharing from wealthier countries who were seen to be hoarding supplies during COVID-19.



&#8220;We find that they are going too quickly and these sorts of reforms can&#8217;t be rushed through,&#8221; said an African delegate in Geneva who was not authorised to speak to the media.



The U.S. mission in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment.



Several other countries expressed broad support for the idea of IHR reforms, without giving specifics. Iran and Malaysia also expressed reservations.



One diplomat following the discussions &#8220;They don&#8217;t agree but it&#8217;s not a disaster. It&#8217;s a multilateral process so you can&#8217;t force things through.&#8221;



The negotiations will run alongside talks on a potential pandemic treaty, raising concerns over duplication. &#8220;Several developing countries have said that the WHO has too many platforms for negotiation, and it is simply not manageable,&#8221; said Nithin Ramakrishnan, consultant for the Third World Network.



Since the U.S. IHR proposal, Russia has also submitted draft revisions, diplomats say. This assembly is expected to officially launch IHR reform discussions, which may last up to two years.



(Additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bangalore; Editing by David Gregorio)

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Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly￼

GENEVA, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that it must be &#8220;at the centre&#8221; of a global healthcare system, while also acknowledging the need for internal reforms.



The World Health Assembly from May 22-28 is seen as one of the most important in the UN health agency&#8217;s 75-year history, as it seeks to define its future role in global health policy and get approval for a funding overhaul.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XC0VG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2X96B0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;We need a stronger and sustainably financed WHO, at the centre of the global health security architecture,&#8221; Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a major speech at the WHO&#8217;s annual assembly.



But he added: &#8220;There have been many calls for WHO to change. And there is no question that more change is needed.&#8221;



The WHO is under scrutiny after an independent panel described it as &#8220;underpowered&#8221; when COVID-19 struck, with limited powers to investigate outbreaks and coordinate containment measures.



However, its 194 member states are seen as split over whether it deserves new powers after its handling of COVID.



&#8220;Some members are saying the WHO did what it could during the pandemic and want to strengthen its authority and others are very disillusioned with the WHO and &#8230; are very divided on whether it should be given more powers,&#8221; said Adam Kamradt-Scott, a professor of Global Health at the School of Transnational Governance.



In the same speech, Tedros said COVID is far from over and that the world was not ready for the next pandemic, echoing the findings of a major report last week.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2XA0VC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;It&#8217;s clear that the world was and remains unprepared for a pandemic,&#8221; he said.



(Reporting by Emma Farge and Mrinalika Roy; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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WHO chief says it must take central role in global health

May 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The International Monetary Fund&#8217;s executive board on Monday approved a three-year, $456 million extended credit facility arrangement for Mozambique, with about $91 million available for immediate disbursement, the Fund said.



The facility is the southeast African nation&#8217;s first program since the global lender suspended support six years ago.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2VV4W0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The IMF said the three-year arrangement will help support economic recovery and policies to reduce public debt and financing vulnerabilities, while creating space for public investments in human capital, climate adaptation and infrastructure.



The Fund said the program will support a reform agenda centered on establishing a sovereign wealth fund to manage the country&#8217;s liquefied natural gas wealth, mobilizing tax revenue and strengthening public finances.



&#8220;Mozambique has managed the COVID pandemic relatively well, maintaining macroeconomic stability and reform momentum even as the country has weathered a series of shocks, culminating with the effects of the war in Ukraine,&#8221; IMF&nbsp;Deputy&nbsp;Managing&nbsp;Director Bo Li said in a statement. &#8220;With policy space now limited, sustaining the economic recovery underway and tackling debt vulnerabilities are priorities.&#8221;



(Reporting by Rami Ayyub and David Lawder; Editing by Sandra Maler and Christopher Cushing)

Mozambique records first COVID-19 death

IMF board approves $456 mln program for Mozambique

<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>South Africa&#8217;s Aspen facing poor demand for shots</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Could slash production without orders</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>WHO, Gavi say supplies for COVAX initiative already secured</li></ul>



By Promit Mukherjee and Jennifer Rigby



JOHANNESBURG/LONDON, May 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVID-19 vaccine partner Gavi have no immediate plans to buy shots made by Aspen Pharmacare&nbsp;APNJ.J, the two bodies said, dealing a blow to Africa&#8217;s efforts to develop its own vaccine production capacity.



Aspen completed a deal in March to package, sell and distribute Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s&nbsp;JNJ.N&nbsp;vaccine in what was lauded as a game-changing moment for an under-vaccinated continent frustrated by sluggish Western handouts.



But the South African company&#8217;s expectations of high demand in Africa, where just a sixth of adults are fully vaccinated, have not materialised. Its CEO warned last week it would be forced to re-purpose about half of its vaccine production capacity if orders did not pick up.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2WU0ZX&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Africa&#8217;s top public health body, has called upon organisations procuring shots for the continent to prioritise sourcing from African producers.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WX4A6&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



However, COVAX &#8211; the global COVID-19 vaccine-sharing programme instrumental in Africa&#8217;s pandemic response &#8211; has no current plans to place orders with Aspen because of oversupply.



COVAX is backed by the WHO, the global vaccine alliance Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).



&#8220;In the case of Aspen, the current overall demand situation means we are currently not in a position to buy large quantities of vaccines,&#8221; a Gavi spokesperson said.



&#8220;However, we are in discussion to see if a collaboration would be feasible as part of expanding regional supply.&#8221;



Kate O&#8217;Brien, the WHO&#8217;s Director of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, said COVAX had already secured the 380 million vaccine doses required for the global programme for the second and third quarters of this year.



&#8220;COVAX &#8230; has more supply than is at present being demanded by countries, and that&#8217;s a good place to be in,&#8221; she told Reuters.



LOCAL PRODUCTION AT RISK?



As wealthy countries used their purchasing power to corner early supplies, Africa initially struggled to source COVID-19 shots, leading to calls for a boost to the continent&#8217;s vaccine production capacity.



The African Union&#8217;s goal is to produce 60% of all routine vaccines &#8211; covering everything from COVID to measles &#8211; administered in Africa locally by 2040, up from the current 1%, and several such plants are being set up.



The WHO and European Union are backing regional vaccine manufacturing initiatives. And South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda and Kenya are all seeking to establish vaccine production hubs.



Recently, however, acute shortages of COVID-19 vaccines have given way to a glut of doses as donations to COVAX and supplies from drugmakers have picked up and African governments&#8217; vaccination campaigns struggle to keep pace.



Aspen CEO Stephen Saad warned that the current lack of demand called into question the viability of local production, endangering Africa&#8217;s future vaccine security.



&#8220;There&#8217;s lives at stake here,&#8221; he told Reuters, adding that if Africa, and the rest of the world, didn&#8217;t support its capabilities the continent would remain at the back of the queue in the next pandemic.



Last year, the Biovac Institute, another South African vaccine producer, struck a deal with Pfizer&nbsp;PFE.N&nbsp;and BioNTech&nbsp;22UAy.DE&nbsp;to manufacture around 100 million doses a year of their COVID-19 vaccine for the African Union (AU). Production is due to start later this year.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2OX0VN&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;The lack of demand is certainly worrisome to all,&#8221; Biovac Institute CEO Morena Makhoana said. &#8220;This emphasises why we need dedicated vaccine capability so that we have entities that can go through the ups and downs of the vaccine industry.&#8221;



Ayoade Alakija, co-chair of the AU-backed African Vaccine Delivery Alliance, said it was unfair to blame purchasing organisations for the demand shortfall.



African governments, she said, were now largely responsible for a glut of vaccines, having failed to establish successful mass vaccination campaigns and ensure their countries&#8217; ability to absorb vaccine supplies.



&#8220;African political leadership &#8230; seems to have jumped from &#8216;we have no vaccines&#8217; to manufacturing vaccines, and forgotten the two steps in between,&#8221; she said.



(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby in London, Promit Mukherjee in Johannesburg and Emma Farge in Geneva; Additional reporting by Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Josephine Mason and Kirsten Donovan)

A pack of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines is seen as the country receives its first batch of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines under COVAX scheme, at the international airtport of Accra, Ghana February 24, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko

WHO, Gavi not planning COVID vaccine buys from S.Africa’s Aspen

JOHANNESBURG, May 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s top public health body urged all those purchasing COVID-19 vaccines for the continent to place orders with South Africa&#8217;s Aspen Pharmacare&nbsp;APNJ.J, saying the market was key to developing vaccine manufacturing on the continent.



The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was doing everything it could behind the scenes to prevent a situation where Aspen closes its facility due to a lack of orders.



Aspen negotiated a licensing deal in November to package and sell Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s&nbsp;JNJ.J&nbsp;COVID-19 vaccine and distribute it across Africa.



This was hailed as a game-changing moment for an under-vaccinated continent frustrated by sluggish Western handouts, but Aspen&#8217;s&nbsp;COVID-19 vaccine&nbsp;plant now risks shutting down after receiving not a single order, a company executive said on Saturday.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WT0CQ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



&#8220;We have said from the very beginning of the conversation on local production that market, market, market is the key to ensuring that we have a thriving local production, manufacturing enterprise,&#8221; said Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, deputy director of the Africa CDC.



&#8220;Our message is that we need to have all those who are purchasing vaccines at the global level for African countries, they need to purchase those from African producers first,&#8221; he said at a regular media briefing.



(Reporting by James Macharia Chege and Estelle Shirbon)

Aspen_Place,_Durban_South_Africa

Africa CDC urges COVID-19 vaccine buyers to order from S.Africa’s Aspen

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415885" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A doctor monitors a Covid-19 patient in the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the community hospital in Germany on April 28, 2021.
RONNY HARTMANN | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>

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South Africa may be entering fifth COVID wave – health minister

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="486" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CQHINN5F4RNGHNRMGELCZ3TNL4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416771" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CQHINN5F4RNGHNRMGELCZ3TNL4.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CQHINN5F4RNGHNRMGELCZ3TNL4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CQHINN5F4RNGHNRMGELCZ3TNL4-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>People stand in line to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, at the Narok County Referral Hospital, in Narok, Kenya, December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI/DAKAR, April 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 infections, largely driven by a doubling in cases reported in South Africa, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, urging people&nbsp;across&nbsp;the continent to continue to get vaccinated.



Africa had been experiencing a lull in COVID cases, with the WHO earlier this month pointing to the longest-running decline in weekly infections on the continent since the start of the pandemic.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2WC190&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



But last week cases started to pick up in South Africa &#8212; the country that has recorded the most infections and deaths in Africa to date &#8212; and health authorities there are monitoring for signs of a fifth infection wave.



&#8220;This week new COVID-19 cases and deaths on the continent increased for the first time after a decline of more than two months for cases and one month for deaths,&#8221; Benido Impouma, director for communicable and non-communicable diseases at the WHO&#8217;s Africa office, told an online news conference.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-congo-starts-ebola-vaccinations-to-stem-outbreak-in-northwest-who-says">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/congo-starts-ebola-vaccinations-to-stem-outbreak-in-northwest-who-says/">Congo starts Ebola vaccinations to stem outbreak in northwest, WHO says</a></h3>



Impouma&nbsp;said&nbsp;there was no evidence&nbsp;as yet to&nbsp;suggest the rise in cases was linked to any new sub-lineages or a new coronavirus variant.



Helen Rees, executive director of the University of the Witwatersrand&#8217;s Reproductive Health and HIV Institute in Johannesburg, told the same news conference that an increasing share of South Africa&#8217;s COVID cases were the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages of the Omicron variant.



But she said the country had so far not seen a huge increase in mortality or intensive care admissions.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AJ8N2V502H&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Separately, the WHO&nbsp;also said on&nbsp;Thursday that Africa was witnessing a surge in outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases including measles, polio and yellow fever.



&#8220;The rise in outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases is a warning sign. As Africa works hard to defeat COVID-19, we must not forget other health threats,&#8221; WHO Africa director Matshidiso Moeti said in a statement.



(Reporting by Alexander Winning, Hereward Holland and Sofia ChristensenEditing by Estelle Shirbon and Gareth Jones)

People stand in line to receive COVID-19 vaccine, in Narok

Africa seeing uptick in COVID cases driven by South Africa, WHO says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="491" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/RCAQG2GW4VO3VFJIAGKN325BYE.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416745" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/RCAQG2GW4VO3VFJIAGKN325BYE.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/RCAQG2GW4VO3VFJIAGKN325BYE-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/RCAQG2GW4VO3VFJIAGKN325BYE-133x90.jpg 133w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa attends a briefing for World Health Assembly (WHA) delegates on the Ebola outbreak response in Democratic Republic of the Congo at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DAKAR, April 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Democratic Republic of Congo has kicked off Ebola vaccinations to stem an outbreak in the northwest city of Mbandaka, the World Health Organization&nbsp;(WHO)&nbsp;said on Wednesday.



Two people are known to have died so far in the city of over one million inhabitants where people live in close proximity to road, water and air links to the capital Kinshasa.



The first death occurred on April 21 and the second on Tuesday, marking the central African country&#8217;s 14th Ebola outbreak.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WO1U7&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Around 200 doses of the rVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine have been shipped to Mbandaka from the eastern city of Goma, with more to be delivered in coming days, the WHO said in a statement.



So far 233 contacts have been identified and are being monitored, it added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-moderna-plots-vaccines-against-15-pathogens-with-future-pandemic-potential">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/moderna-plots-vaccines-against-15-pathogens-with-future-pandemic-potential/">Moderna plots vaccines against 15 pathogens with future pandemic potential</a></h2>



Three vaccination teams are on the ground and will focus on reaching all people at high risk.



&#8220;With effective vaccines at hand and the experience of the Democratic Republic of the Congo health workers in Ebola response, we can quickly change the course of this outbreak for the better,&#8221; WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti said in the statement.



Congo&#8217;s equatorial forests are a natural reservoir for the Ebola virus, which was discovered near the Ebola River in northern Congo in 1976.



The country has seen 13 previous Ebola outbreaks, including one in 2018-2020 in the east that killed nearly 2,300 people, the second highest toll recorded in the history of the hemorrhagic fever.



The most recent ended in December in the east and caused six deaths. Mbandaka, the capital of Equateur province, has also contended with outbreaks in 2018 and in 2020.



Genetic testing has shown that the current outbreak was a new &#8220;spillover event&#8221;, meaning it was transmitted from infected animals rather than linked to previous events.



(Reporting by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Bernadette Baum)

RCAQG2GW4VO3VFJIAGKN325BYE

Congo starts Ebola vaccinations to stem outbreak in northwest, WHO says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106913464-1626783928878-gettyimages-1233680604-AVDjune7.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-410942" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106913464-1626783928878-gettyimages-1233680604-AVDjune7.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106913464-1626783928878-gettyimages-1233680604-AVDjune7-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/106913464-1626783928878-gettyimages-1233680604-AVDjune7-140x80.jpeg 140w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>In this Photo illustration a World Health Organization(WHO) logo seen displayed on an Android phone.
Avishek Das | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



DAKAR, April 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa is experiencing its longest-running decline in&nbsp;weekly&nbsp;COVID-19 infections since the&nbsp;start of&nbsp;the pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.



Recorded weekly cases have fallen for the past 16 weeks&nbsp;and deaths for the last eight,the latter dropping to 239 in the past week,&nbsp;it said&nbsp;in a statement.



The upcoming cold season in the southern hemisphere could prompt a new spike in cases, it said.



&#8220;With the virus still circulating, the risk of new and potentially more deadly variants emerging remains, and the pandemic control measures are pivotal to effective response to a surge in infections&#8221; said WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti.



This is a developing story&#8230;



(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and John Stonestreet)

Africa COVID cases on longest run of declines since pandemic’s start -WHO

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106999424-1641903525497-gettyimages-1237650594-CALIFORNIA_VIRUS-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416161" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106999424-1641903525497-gettyimages-1237650594-CALIFORNIA_VIRUS-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106999424-1641903525497-gettyimages-1237650594-CALIFORNIA_VIRUS-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106999424-1641903525497-gettyimages-1237650594-CALIFORNIA_VIRUS-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106999424-1641903525497-gettyimages-1237650594-CALIFORNIA_VIRUS-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106999424-1641903525497-gettyimages-1237650594-CALIFORNIA_VIRUS-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106999424-1641903525497-gettyimages-1237650594-CALIFORNIA_VIRUS-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The top U.S. health regulators on Tuesday cleared fourth Covid vaccine doses for older adults, amid uncertainty over whether an even more contagious version of omicron will cause another wave of infections in the U.S. as it has in Europe and China.



The FDA authorized Pfizer and Moderna fourth doses for everyone age 50 and older, as well as a fifth dose for certain younger people with compromised immune systems. People age 12 and older with weakened immune systems are eligible for a Pfizer fifth dose, and those 18 and older with the same condition are eligible for Moderna.



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention quickly signed off on the decision, paving the way for those eligible to get a new round of boosters. The CDC also recommended that all adults who received two doses of Johnson &amp; Johnson’s vaccine get third shots using Pfizer or Moderna. Adults who received the J&amp;J vaccine and a second shot of Pfizer or Moderna are not yet eligible for a third dose, unless they are age 50 and older or have compromised immune systems.



All of the new boosters are to be administered at least four months after the last shot.



The FDA and CDC made the decision without calling meetings of their vaccine advisory committees, a rare move the agencies have made more frequently over the course of the pandemic to expand uses of already-approved Covid vaccines. The drug regulator’s authorization comes just two weeks after Pfizer and Moderna asked the FDA to permit a second booster shot based on data from Israel.



The FDA’s advisory committee on vaccines is scheduled to meet on April 6 to discuss the future of booster shots in the U.S. The vaccine experts are expected to hold a broad discussion about boosters and will not vote on a specific recommendation.



Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA office responsible for vaccine safety and efficacy, said the drug regulator did not call an advisory meeting because the decision was “relatively straightforward.”



“This fourth booster dose is something that evidence that we have now from Israel suggests that by getting this, one can reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in this population of older individuals,” Marks said during a call with reporters after the decision.



Dr. Paul Offit, a committee member, criticized the drug regulator for moving forward without holding an open meeting where the American public can hear experts weigh the data and make a recommendation to the FDA about the best path forward. The vaccine advisory committee’s recommendations are nonbinding, but they help provide transparency for the public.



“It’s just sort of fait accompli,” Offit said of the FDA authorization. “So is this the way it works? We talk endlessly about how we follow the science — it doesn’t seem to work out that way.”



The FDA has not called on the committee members to make a recommendation on booster shots since last fall when they voted in favor of a third Pfizer or Moderna dose for people age 65 and older and younger people at risk of severe Covid.



Health experts disagree on whether a fourth vaccine dose is needed right now, though the debate is nuanced. There is broader agreement that the elderly or people with compromised immune systems may benefit from additional protection. Another booster shot for young, healthy adults is more controversial, as they are less susceptible to severe illness from Covid.



Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said some scientists believe the only purpose of the shots is to keep people out of the hospital. However, Hotez said vaccine policy should also seek to prevent infection and long Covid. The effectiveness of the third dose against hospitalization from omicron has also declined over time, he said.



Read more: 



The CDC published a study in February that showed the effectiveness of the third dose against emergency room visits declined from 87% to 66% against emergency room visits, and from 91% to 78% against hospitalization at four months after receiving the shot.



“That gives me pause for concern that the boosters are not necessarily holding up as well as we’d like,” said Hotez, who strongly supports a fourth dose based on Israeli data showing another booster increases protection for people older than 60.



Israeli scientists, in a study published last week, found the death rate from omicron was 78% lower in senior citizens 60- to 100-years-old who received a fourth Pfizer dose compared with those who received just three shots. The study, which has not undergone peer review, examined the medical records of more than 500,000 people from January through February at Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health-care provider.



The FDA decision to authorize fourth doses for those age 50 and older was broader than Pfizer’s request and narrower than Moderna’s. Pfizer had asked the FDA to clear fourth doses for those age 65 and older, while Moderna asked the drug regulator to permit them for all adults age 18 and older. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel told CNBC last week that the biotech company filed a broader request in order to give the FDA flexibility to decide which age group needs a fourth dose right now.



John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, criticized Moderna’s request for a fourth dose for all adults as an aggressive, blanket application that doesn’t distinguish between the different needs that older and younger people have.



“The old and frail person has much more need of an additional vaccine dose than a young healthy athlete,” Moore said.



The authorization of fourth shots comes as a more contagious omicron subvariant, BA.2, has caused new waves of infection in major European nations and China, which is battling its worst outbreak since 2020. BA.2 has gained ground in the U.S. since February and is expected to become the dominant variant here in the coming weeks. White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has said infections might increase in the U.S. due to BA.2, though he doesn’t expect another wave.



“We’re hoping that by taking this action, we will help allow people to take steps to protect themselves should we have another wave that comes through this country,” Marks said.



BA.2 generally does not make people sicker than the earlier version of omicron, BA.1, and the vaccines have the same level of effectiveness against both types of the variant, according to studies from South Africa and Qatar among others. Neither study has undergone peer review.



It’s unclear if the FDA will also approve fourth doses for younger adults at some point, as there’s less data to support such a decision right now. Marks said the U.S. might need a more general booster campaign for people under 50 years old in the fall, when Covid will likely pick up again and immunity will have waned. He also said the U.S. might have to switch to a vaccine that targets a specific variant such as omicron. The current vaccines were developed against the Wuhan strain.



An Israeli study from February among health-care workers ages 18 and older indicated that a fourth dose does not boost immunity but restores it to the peak strength of the third dose. Many people in the study who received a fourth dose still got infected, though they were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms.



“A fourth vaccination of healthy young health-care workers may have only marginal benefits,” Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay and a team of scientists from Sheba Medical Center and Israel’s Ministry of Health who conducted the study wrote in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine this month.



The FDA advisory committee voted overwhelmingly against a third dose for everyone age 16 and older in September last year because the experts felt there wasn’t enough data to support such a decision. Two months later, the FDA authorized Moderna and Pfizer boosters for all adults without holding an advisory committee meeting, and then lowered eligibility in December and January to include everyone 12 and older.

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CDC recommends fourth Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccine doses for people age 50 and older

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107035723-1648098747562-gettyimages-1387214727-vcg111374466081-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416072" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107035723-1648098747562-gettyimages-1387214727-vcg111374466081-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107035723-1648098747562-gettyimages-1387214727-vcg111374466081-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107035723-1648098747562-gettyimages-1387214727-vcg111374466081-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107035723-1648098747562-gettyimages-1387214727-vcg111374466081-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107035723-1648098747562-gettyimages-1387214727-vcg111374466081-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107035723-1648098747562-gettyimages-1387214727-vcg111374466081.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>People line up for nucleic acid testing at a temporary Covid-19 testing site on March 22, 2022 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China. Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — As mainland China battles its worst Covid-19 outbreak since early 2020, local governments increasingly say the new omicron BA.2 variant is to blame.



That’s the new Covid subvariant, which preliminary research indicates is even more transmissible than the original omicron variant — but doesn’t necessarily cause more severe illness.



Mainland China has reported well over 1,000 new confirmed Covid cases a day since March 12, with the number holding above 2,000 for the last three days. That’s not including the asymptomatic case count, which can be just as many, or far more, than the number of daily confirmed cases.



From the northern province of Jilin — which accounts for more than half of the new daily cases — to industrial centers like Tangshan and Shenzhen, local authorities have blamed omicron BA.2 for the latest wave of Covid.



“Omicron BA.2 caused this outbreak, and spreads faster and more easily than previous viruses,” the export-heavy province of Fujian said in an online statement Tuesday, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese text.



The subvariant is also “stealthier” and harder to find, but infections are primarily mild or asymptomatic cases, the Fujian government said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/pfizer-ceo-says-two-covid-vaccine-doses-arent-enough-for-omicron/">Pfizer CEO says two Covid vaccine doses aren’t ‘enough for omicron’</a></h3>



Scientists have also described BA.2 as a “stealth” variant because it contains mutations that could make it harder to distinguish from the older delta variant using PCR tests.



Despite apparent changes in the virus’ severity, China has maintained its stringent zero-Covid policy of using swift, regional lockdowns to control outbreaks. The strategy had helped the economy quickly return to growth after the initial shock of the pandemic in early 2020.



Different provinces or cities can impose quarantines or travel restrictions on people coming from other regions, or at least require valid virus tests, adding hurdles to commercial travel.



For example, a company had to change its truck driver to a local one before the vehicle entered a city in the Guangxi region, said Klaus Zenkel, chair of the south China chapter of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. “Otherwise he cannot enter the area where he needs to deliver the goods to.”



Zenkel is based in the southern city of Shenzhen, which ended a week-long lockdown Sunday night.



“If you compare this lockdown for the seven days last week, 14 to 21 of March, it was almost tougher than two years ago when the pandemic started,” he said, referring to the tighter government restrictions on international travel and stay-home policies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-smaller-businesses-hurt-more"><a></a>Smaller businesses hurt more</h2>



More than half of mainland China shut down in February 2020 for an extended Lunar New Year holiday in an effort to control the initial outbreak of Covid-19 in the country. The economy contracted that quarter, but quickly rebounded.



This time around, multinational corporations could maintain production by keeping workers in the same area as factories, but smaller businesses lost a week of output, Zenkel said Wednesday. He said district governments are asking businesses to share what their losses were, for potential compensation plans.



Shenzhen is pretty much returning to normal, but many people were still getting tested every day so they could present valid negative results as needed for in-person business meetings, he said. “Let’s hope [with] all these experiences and all the China data, the Chinese government can find a way to go from zero-Covid to ‘live with Covid.’”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/moderna-patent-application-raises-fears-for-africa-covid-vaccine-hub/">Moderna patent application raises fears for Africa COVID vaccine hub</a></h3>



Across the country, Covid tests remain a primary way for authorities to confirm whether people are allowed into a city or whether a neighborhood can end its lockdown. These tests — which can’t yet be self-administered at home — now only cost about 8 yuan ($1.25) in Beijing, or free if arranged by community leaders.



At a Shanghai city press briefing Wednesday, Wu Fan, deputy dean of Shanghai Medical College at Fudan University, emphasized the need for the public to maintain social distancing, comply with testing and health code checks, and monitor themselves carefully.



“This time, the omicron BA.2 variant seems to be running very quickly,” Wu said, according to CNBC translation of the Chinese remarks. “Just chasing it isn’t enough. [We] also need to cut off the path ahead of it.”

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Omicron ‘stealth’ variant BA.2 is spreading rapidly in China

The CEO of the WHO Foundation has told CNBC that the global economy will lose “trillions of dollars” if more Covid-19 vaccines aren’t delivered worldwide.



Anil Soni, who became the Foundation’s first CEO in January 2021, said “the governments of Europe and the West have a clear obligation to donate excess doses and to put money on the table to buy the vaccines, the volumes necessary to deliver to 70% of the world’s population this year.”



The World Health Organization has set a target for 70% of the global population to be vaccinated by mid-2022.



Speaking in late February for this week’s episode of CNBC’s “Equity and Opportunity” on vaccine equity, Soni said it is a “moral imperative” to vaccinate the world against Covid.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/u-s-eu-india-south-africa-reach-compromise-on-covid-vaccine-ip-waiver-text/">U.S., EU, India, South Africa reach compromise on COVID vaccine IP waiver text</a></h3>



“We live in a world in which we see the effects of deep, structural generations-long inequity. This is an opportunity to do something very different and show that history can be corrected. That we can achieve the moral victory of an equitable response where everyone in the world, all of us have equal value, receives the same access to this life-saving technology,” Soni said.



“But epidemiologically and economically, vaccine inequity is self-defeating, the numbers just make that clear. We’re going to lose trillions of dollars in the global economy if we don’t achieve high vaccine coverage, because what you’ll have in global supply chains is materials not able to come from the countries in which you have continued lockdowns, continued high rates of transmission of Covid-19.”



Soni said that even with vaccines, the spread of the most recent variant, omicron, had been “breathtaking,” and if large populations of the world remain unvaccinated, future variants could develop which may be resistant to vaccinations.



The WHO Foundation was established in 2020 to support the World Health Organization’s work in addressing the biggest global health challenges.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-not-enough-progress"><a></a>Not enough progress</h2>



Soni told CNBC that he was proud of the “tremendous progress” achieved through vaccines in the first two years of the Covid crisis. But he said the pandemic won’t be over until the 70% global target is met, and there hasn’t been enough progress on that front.



Last week, the U.N. reported that while more than 10.5 billion vaccine doses had been administered globally, only about 13% of those in low-income countries had been vaccinated, compared with nearly 70% in high-income ones.



“We have the ability to do it, we can make it happen, but we’ve got to act very differently in the next few months to achieve that target. We have to mobilize more resources, money to buy the vaccines, we have to share doses, and critically, we have to ensure effective delivery in countries around the world to go from the billion doses that have been delivered in low-income countries to hitting that 70% target,” Soni said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fundraising-campaign"><a></a>Fundraising campaign</h2>



In 2021, the WHO Foundation launched the “Go Give One” fundraising campaign.



The campaign encourages everyone to contribute $5, with 95% of the money going toward buying a single vaccine through the international initiative COVAX — co-led by the WHO, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations and vaccine alliance Gavi, alongside delivery partner UNICEF.



Soni said the campaign had raised $15 million so far, buying 3 million vaccines.



He also said the sharing of manufacturing knowledge to produce vaccines is “critically important” in achieving vaccine equity.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415907" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/107030435-1647339049342-gettyimages-1231394670-AFP_93U99U-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A shipment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from a plane at Felix Houphouet Boigny airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 26, 2021. Sia Kambou | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



“Manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries, in the Americas, in Asia, in Africa, have the ability to make these products and they are ready to make them,” he said.



“A number of organizations, including the World Health Organization, is facilitating the technology and the information transfer, but we need those companies in the West, in Europe, in the United States to cooperate and to see this as a win, to see this as an opportunity for them to invest in the type of capacity in these countries, in the manufacturing industry, that they simply can’t meet themselves.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Freedom through vaccinations</h2>



When asked what he would say to those who are against receiving a vaccine, Soni said he was keen to engage in such conversations, ask about their concerns and provide more data and information on vaccine safety.



“Many of the vaccines have received conditional approval, not full approval, that doesn’t mean they’re not effective. It means that there’s a regulatory process that requires a certain amount of data about the stability of a product on a shelf, to provide the full approval,” he said.



With a number of countries scrapping all Covid restrictions recently, Soni warned that it’s necessary to protect that freedom through vaccinations.



“We are in a moment in which we are feeling liberation and freedom. That’s wonderful. But we have to protect that and the way we protect that is by ensuring everyone is vaccinated,” he said.

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Vaccine inequity will cost the world trillions of dollars, WHO Foundation warns

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415903" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/PVCLBPTKKJJGPJLPKT5BMBUGNA.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Vials labelled &#8220;AstraZeneca, Johnson &amp; Johnson, Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine&#8221; are seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON/GENEVA March 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States, European Union, India and South Africa have reached a consensus on key elements of a long-sought intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines, according to a proposed text reviewed by Reuters.



Sources familiar with the talks described the text as a tentative agreement among the four World Trade Organization members that still needs formal approvals from the parties before it can be considered official. Any agreement must be accepted by the WTO&#8217;s 164 member countries in order to be adopted.



Some elements of the consensus deal, including whether the length of any patent waivers would be three years or five years, still need to be finalized, according to the text. It would apply only to patents for COVID-19 vaccines, which would be much more limited in scope than a broad proposed WTO waiver that had won backing from the United States, according to the document.



The document authorizes use of &#8220;patented subject matter required for the production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines without the consent of the right holder to the extent necessary to address the COVID-19 pandemic&#8221;.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/kenya-lifts-remaining-covid-restrictions%ef%bf%bc/">Kenya lifts remaining COVID restrictions</a></h2>



It said IP rights would also be waived for ingredients and processes necessary for COVID-19 vaccine manufacture, a move aimed at granting critical know-how to many countries lacking expertise, especially for advanced mRNA-type vaccines.



The text contained several limitations, including that the waiver is only available to WTO member countries that exported less than 10% of global exports of COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021.



The tentative agreement does not include COVID-19 treatments or tests, and the limitations would likely exclude China from any waiver, a source familiar with the negotiations said.



The text, which was produced in negotiations last week, was being circulated to officials in Brussels, Washington, Johannesburg and New Delhi before being presented to other WTO members. Adoption of the IP waiver by the consensus-driven organization is far from certain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-promising-path">&#8216;PROMISING PATH&#8217;</h2>



USTR spokesman Adam Hodge said the informal discussions among the four principal parties had not yet resulted in agreement, but had produced a promising compromise and consultations were continuing.



&#8220;The difficult and protracted process has resulted in a compromise outcome that offers the most promising path toward achieving a concrete and meaningful outcome,&#8221; Hodge said in an emailed statement.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VI30G&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



A WTO spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters query on the talks.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/pfizer-ceo-says-two-covid-vaccine-doses-arent-enough-for-omicron/">Pfizer CEO says two Covid vaccine doses aren’t ‘enough for omicron’</a></h3>



The tentative deal comes after months of negotiations over how to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine production in developing countries, where vaccination rates have lagged far behind wealthy countries.



In talks brokered by WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the United States, EU, India and South Africa broke away from negotiations among the organization&#8217;s 164 members to try to craft an agreement.



Objections from some countries with large pharmaceuticals sectors, including Switzerland and Britain, had stalled progress in negotiations among the larger group. India and South Africa had first proposed the WTO vaccine IP waiver in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic exploded.



A spokesperson for pharmaceutical industry trade group PhRMA said efforts to waive intellectual property commitments are unnecessary and harm efforts to end the pandemic. Voluntary technology transfer and partnerships have helped vaccine makers to target production of 20 billion doses in 2022, more than enough for the world, she said.



(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder in Washington, Emma Farge in Geneva and Phil Blenkinsop in Brussels, additional reporting by Caroline Humer; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Richard Pullin)

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U.S., EU, India, South Africa reach compromise on COVID vaccine IP waiver text

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-415885" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/106970721-1636033270223-gettyimages-1232591117-AFP_98Y9XM-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A doctor monitors a Covid-19 patient in the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the community hospital in Germany on April 28, 2021. RONNY HARTMANN | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — Covid cases are rising in Europe, with an increasing number being attributed to the prevalence of a “stealth” subvariant of the omicron strain.



Covid cases have increased dramatically in the U.K. in recent weeks, while Germany continues to mark record high daily infections with more than 250,000 new cases a day. Elsewhere, France, Switzerland, Italy and the Netherlands are also seeing Covid infections start to rise again, aided and abetted by the relaxation of coronavirus measures and the spread of a new subvariant of omicron, known as BA.2.



Public health officials and scientists are closely monitoring BA.2, which has been described as a “stealth” variant because it has genetic mutations that could make it harder to distinguish from the delta variant using PCR tests, compared with the original omicron variant, BA.1.



The new subvariant would be the latest in a long line to emerge since the pandemic began in China in late 2019. The omicron variant — the most transmissible strain so far — overtook the delta variant, which itself supplanted the alpha variant — and even this was not the original strain of the virus.



Now, Danish scientists believe that the BA.2 subvariant is&nbsp;1½ times more transmissible&nbsp;than the original omicron strain, and is already overtaking it. The BA.2 variant is now responsible for over half of the new cases in Germany and makes up around 11% of cases in the U.S.



That number is expected to rise further, as it has in Europe.



“It’s clear that BA.2 is more transmissible than BA.1 and this, combined with the relaxation of mitigation measures and waning immunity, is contributing to the current surge in infections,” Lawrence Young, a professor of molecular oncology at Warwick University, told CNBC on Monday.



“The increased infectiousness of BA.2 is already out-competing and replacing BA.1, and we are likely to see similar waves of infection as other variants enter the population.”



As long as the virus continues to spread and replicate, particularly in populations which are under-vaccinated or where vaccine-induced immunity is decaying, “it will throw up new variants and these will remain a continual threat even to those countries with high rates of vaccination,” Young noted. “Living safely with Covid doesn’t mean ignoring the virus and hoping it will go away forever.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-do-we-know-about-ba-2"><a></a>What do we know about BA.2?</h2>



The BA.2 variant is being closely monitored by the World Health Organization and similar public health bodies on a national level, including the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) which has said the subvariant is “under investigation” but is not yet of concern.



Still, the WHO acknowledged in a statement last month that “the proportion of reported sequences designated BA.2 has been increasing relative to BA.1 in recent weeks.”



Initial data show that BA.2 is a little more likely to cause infections in household contacts, when compared with BA.1. It’s not believed currently that the BA.2 variant causes more severe illness or carries an increased the risk of being hospitalised, however further research is needed to confirm this, according to a U.K. parliamentary report published last week.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/who-says-the-new-omicron-subvariant-doesnt-appear-to-be-more-severe-than-the-original/">WHO says the new omicron subvariant doesn’t appear to be more severe than the original</a></h3>



Hospitalizations have also risen in a number of European countries as Covid infections have risen in recent weeks, but deaths remain far lower than in previous peaks thanks to widespread vaccine coverage.



The UKHSA has done a preliminary analysis comparing vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for BA.1 and BA.2 infections and found that the levels of protection are similar, with efficacy of up to 77% soon after a booster shot, although this wanes over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>‘Growth advantage’</h2>



The WHO has also noted that BA.2 differs from BA.1 in its genetic sequence, including some amino acid differences in the spike protein and other proteins which could give it an advantage over the original omicron.



“Studies are ongoing to understand the reasons for this growth advantage, but initial data suggest that BA.2 appears inherently more transmissible than BA.1, which currently remains the most common omicron sublineage reported.&nbsp;This difference in transmissibility appears to be much smaller than, for example, the difference between BA.1 and Delta,” the WHO said last month.



The WHO added that initial studies suggest that anyone who has been infected with the original omicron variant has strong protection against reinfection with its subvariant BA.2.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/south-africa-seeing-more-cases-of-omicron-sub-variant-monitoring-it/">South Africa seeing more cases of Omicron sub-variant, monitoring it</a></h3>



Dr Andrew Freedman, reader in infectious disease at Cardiff Medical School, told CNBC he doesn’t think we need to be too concerned about BA.2, despite the fact that it is slightly more contagious.



“I suspect the rising number of cases is related to several factors including BA.2, the relaxation of restrictions and more social mixing, less mask wearing and some waning of immunity from both previous infections and vaccination, especially in those who received boosters early on,” he said.



“There has been an upturn in hospital admissions testing positive for Covid in the U.K., but many of these are incidental and there has not been a parallel increase in deaths.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Growing in prevalence</h2>



The U.K., and the rest of Europe, have acted as a bellweather for the U.S. at several points in the pandemic, declared two years ago by the WHO. particularly when it comes to the rise and spread of new Covid variants which have emerged and subsequently supplanted previous strains of the virus.



This makes the emergence and growing prevalence of the BA.2 variant a point of concern for the U.S. where cases have nosedived recently to reassuring lows.



Already some parts of the U.S. are seeing an increasing number of infections linked to BA.2, particularly in New York, according to data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



Elsewhere, China is currently facing its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the height of the pandemic in 2020.



It’s unclear whether BA.2 is contributing to the latest wave of cases, although a prominent infectious disease expert in China told news outlet Caixin that much of the current outbreak is being driven by the BA.2 subvariant.



U.K. data certainly illustrates BA.2′s increasingly prevalence. Sequenced data from Feb. 27 to Mar. 6 found that 68.6% of cases were omicron lineage BA.2, with just 31.1% omicron BA.1.

Covid cases are rising as omicron’s ‘stealth’ subvariant spreads around the world

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/W2O6CWZWAJNK5N5WDZVQRZKNTI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415792" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/W2O6CWZWAJNK5N5WDZVQRZKNTI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/W2O6CWZWAJNK5N5WDZVQRZKNTI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/W2O6CWZWAJNK5N5WDZVQRZKNTI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/W2O6CWZWAJNK5N5WDZVQRZKNTI-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/W2O6CWZWAJNK5N5WDZVQRZKNTI.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) treatment pill Paxlovid is seen in boxes, at Misericordia hospital in Grosseto, Italy, February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s top public health agency has agreed a memorandum of understanding with Pfizer&nbsp;PFE.N&nbsp;to&nbsp;bring supplies&nbsp;of the pharmaceutical firm&#8217;s Paxlovid antiviral COVID-19 pills&nbsp;to the&nbsp;continent, its director said on Thursday.



Data from a mid-to-late stage study in November showed Paxlovid was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalisations and deaths compared to placebo, in adults at high risk of severe illness.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2SZ0UA&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),&nbsp;also said&nbsp;it was&nbsp;still talking to Merck&nbsp;MRK.N&nbsp;about obtaining supplies of its molnupiravir COVID pill and a call was scheduled for&nbsp;this week about that.



&#8220;For the Pfizer situation, we have the MOU. The memorandum of understanding is with the legal office at the AU (African Union),&#8221; said Nkengasong. The Africa CDC is&nbsp;an AU agency.



&#8220;Once that is cleared we will formally make an announcement with Pfizer and provide details,&#8221; he told an online media briefing.



A World Health Organization panel last week backed the use of molnupiravir for high-risk patients such as the immunocompromised, the unvaccinated, older people and those with chronic diseases.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N2V444L&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Merck&#8217;s pill has been in lower demand than the Pfizer medication because of comparatively low efficacy and potential safety issues for certain groups. <a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2U81SK&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-dozens-of-firms-to-make-cheap-version-of-merck-covid-pill-for-poorer-nations">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/africa-cdc-says-it-will-talk-to-merck-about-covid-pill-pfizer-talks-advanced/">Dozens of firms to make cheap version of Merck COVID pill for poorer nations</a></h3>



South Africa&#8217;s government has said it was not planning to buy Merck&#8217;s pill for cost reasons, despite the drug gaining approval from the country&#8217;s health regulator.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2US5AH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Nkengasong said African countries should be using a combination of public health measures, vaccines, testing and the Pfizer and Merck treatments in their efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic this year.



&#8220;These molecules have a very unique role to play in a campaign to fight against this terrible pandemic,&#8221; he said.



Nkengasong expressed a concern about countries where vaccination rates were still very low, which include most African countries, saying people should not be complacent as the virus still posed a grave risk.



&#8220;Of course the war going on in Ukraine has taken a lot of attention away from COVID, which is unfortunate because COVID has now killed close to 6 million people,&#8221; he said.



&#8220;If the deaths of 6 million people doesn&#8217;t shake us, then I don&#8217;t know what can shake us in our humanity.&#8221;



(Reporting by James Macharia Chege; Writing by Estelle Shirbon)

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Africa’s COVID deaths to fall by 94% in 2022, WHO analysis shows

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Africa objects to U.S. push to reform health rules at WHO assembly