Berlin, Germany | Xinhua | German biotechnology company BioNTech and U.S. company Pfizer have started clinical trials of an Omicron-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate in healthy adults 18 through 55 years of age, the companies said on Tuesday. The trials would evaluate the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate, according …
Read More »Economists call for budget re-prioritisation
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) says the Covid-19 pandemic caused a drop in revenues, economic shutdown and new expenditure pressures which now calls for re-prioritization of national resources. According to Paul Lakuma, the Head of the Macro-Economic Unit at EPRC, a medium plan in reallocating …
Read More »Uganda losing 17 people to Covid-19 everyday as economy fully reopens
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health is now banking on personal responsibility to curb the transmission of COVID-19 as the economy fully reopens. Bars, entertainment centres, public concerts and the entire Arts industry are now allowed to operate, after close to two years of extreme restrictions which …
Read More »Fauci optimistic Omicron cases to peak in February
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | Anthony Fauci, top U.S. infectious disease expert, said Sunday he is confident that most states in the country will reach a peak of Omicron infection cases by mid-February. “You never want to be overconfident when you’re dealing with this virus,” Fauci said in an interview with …
Read More »Few schools reporting Covid-19 surveillance data among learners
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health is bothered about the few schools that are reporting COVID-19 surveillance figures, two weeks after the reopening of schools across the country. According to data from the health ministry, only 775 schools (approximately 2.5 per cent) out of an estimated 30,519 …
Read More »New pregnancy policy bears twin problems
Is Education ministry aborting morality to please donors? Kampala, Uganda | MUBATSI ASINJA HABATI | Two weeks before Uganda ended the longest school closure in the world owing to outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Education and Sports instructed all primary and secondary schools to allow pregnant students to …
Read More »COVID-19 affects sperm quality in men – Study
Washington, USA | THE INDEPENDENT | Men infected with COVID-19 might experience a short-term reduction in sperm count, according to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The study shows that some men infected with COVID-19 might find it hard to impregnate a woman after recovering from the …
Read More »Cases drop for first time as Africa’s fourth COVID-19 wave ebbs: WHO
Brazzaville, Congo | Xinhua | Weekly COVID-19 cases in Africa have dropped significantly and deaths dipped for the first time since the peak of the fourth pandemic wave propelled by the Omicron variant, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday. Newly reported cases fell by 20 percent in the week …
Read More »WHO releases fact sheet on Omicron coronavirus variant
Copenhagen, Denmark | Xinhua | A fact sheet addressing “speculation, assumptions and misinformation being communicated about the Omicron variant” of COVID-19 was released by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Regional Office for Europe on Wednesday. According to the WHO, the latest epidemiological data shows a rapid rise in COVID-19 infection rates …
Read More »Biden enters 2nd year in office with unmet priorities
Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | This week marks one year since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, with plummeting approval ratings and unresolved key priorities. A year ago when Biden spoke to a divided nation, weeks after the U.S. Capitol riot, he said he would bring back unity and do “great …
Read More »