Epidemics Tracker

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | A booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine would provide enough protection against the Omicron variant while two doses may not be sufficient, said COVID-19 vaccine developers Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE on Wednesday. Three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine would generate sufficient serum antibodies to …

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses. Senators voted 52-48 on the resolution, which needed a simple majority to be approved. Democratic Senators Jon Tester and Joe Manchin voted with Republicans, giving it enough support to be …

Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | Certain features of the Omicron variant, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday. With the Omicron variant now present …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has urged Ugandans to remain calm even if the Omicron COVID-19 variant has been detected in the country. This comes following the detection of nine Omicron variant cases among travellers from South Africa and Nigeria. The variant was first detected in …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Xinhua | The African Union (AU) warned that travel and entry bans in connection with the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant limit the free movement of people and goods, imposing immediate and significant impact on African countries. The 55-member pan African bloc, in a statement issued …

Harare, Zimbabwe | Xinhua | The Zimbabwean government on Tuesday expressed deep concern at the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country driven by the omicron variant, and plans to bar the unvaccinated from boarding public transport. “Cabinet notes with concern that there has been a sharp increase in the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Researchers studying Uganda’s homemade COVID-19 vaccines reveal encountering huge challenges accessing mice to be able to test their candidate drugs. This comes after Science and Innovations Minister Dr. Monica Musenero was recently bashed over revelations of acquiring each mouse at 8 Million Shillings. The scientists …

United Nations | Xinhua | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been in self-isolation after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, said Farhan Haq, his deputy spokesman. “He has shown no symptoms and has initially tested negative. Out of an abundance of caution, he has canceled all his …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Health rights activists have blasted Uganda Human Rights Commission-UHRC for downplaying the right of Ugandans to reject vaccination. It comes a day after the Commission chairperson, Mariam Wangadya, said that Ugandans have no right to reject the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination exercise during a press conference …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organization-WHO has updated its guidelines on COVID-19 therapeutics, excluding use of convalescent plasma for non-severe COVID-19 patients. While the organization gives researchers testing efficacy of plasma in treating severe and critical COVID-19 patients in clinical trials a go ahead, they say in their …