London, UK | XINHUA | Millions of Britons woke up Tuesday to face new strict lockdown measures requiring them to stay indoors as COVID-19 infections continue to spiral upwards. Announcing the lockdown, the third of its kind since the pandemic began in the country, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson …
Read More »Lack of trained staff leaves ICUs in regional referral hospitals idle
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Intensive Care Units in the country are not up and running as intended due to a lack of staff to operationalise the specialised wards. According to hospital administrators that URN spoke to, most regional referral ICUs in the country are not working due to a …
Read More »Experts frown at Ugandan companies testing staff for COVID-19 as offices reopen
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As offices were reopening on Monday after the end of year festivities, the Insurance Training College (ITC), the training arm of Uganda’s Insurance sector opted for testing all its staff for SARS – COV -2, the virus that causes COVID-19 which has had over 30,000 …
Read More »Thousands of blind Karimojong can now see, thanks to modern surgery
Moroto, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Being blind for years and then one day you can see the beauty of creation and technology is like a miracle. But modern Science can appear to be miraculous, and such is what happened to Ms Grace Nachap one of the victims of trachoma in …
Read More »Uganda, Africa awaits CoviShield vaccine from India
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT, URN & XINHUA | When the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) VG Somani on Sunday approved the Oxford coronavirus vaccine and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for “restricted use”, the clapping and cheering that followed could be heard in nearly all the capital cities of Africa, including …
Read More »Egypt receives, licenses China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
Cairo, Egypt | Xinhua | Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Saturday that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm has been officially licensed for emergency use in Egypt. “Tomorrow, the Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) will send us the official license early in the morning, which it has …
Read More »China approves first self-developed COVID-19 vaccine
“This vaccine will be provided free of charge to all Chinese people,” said an official with the National Health Commission Beijing, China | Xinhua | China has announced that it had granted conditional marketing authorization for its first self-developed COVID-19 vaccine. The inactivated vaccine, which got the approval from the …
Read More »UN health agency clears COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organization has given a green light to the Pfizer/BionTech COVID-19 vaccine to be used under emergency terms. This is the first validation that the UN health agency has issued for any of the available three COVID-19 vaccines that have shown the efficacy …
Read More »NEW YEAR: Bars turn away revellers
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Bars and restaurants operating in Ntinda, Kamwokya and Kololo on Thursday turned away revellers who wanted usher in the new year. As early as 9:00 pm, streets that would normally experience an increase in traffic as revellers partied, welcoming the new year were deserted. …
Read More »People living with HIV face starvation in Amuru
Amuru, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | More than 3,000 people living with HIV in Pabbo Town Council in Amuru District are facing severe starvation. The patients are enrolled under Pabbo Health Centre III; St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor and The Aids Support Organization – TASO in Gulu City for Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). The …
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