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Old habits die hard: J&J’s failure to deliver COVID jabs to SA is nothing...
South Africa is still awaiting millions of COVID vaccines from Johnson & Johnson even though the country contributed to its COVID research through the Ensemble and Sisonke studies.
Poverty, violence and stress: Why South Africa’s young people are anxious
A study in eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal found that poverty and violence drive generalised anxiety disorder among youth living in urban informal settlements.
Vaccine denialism kills: Mail & Guardian has let down its readers
Those who dispute that the COVID vaccines used in South Africa are safe and effective are just wrong.
Four lessons from 40 years of HIV: Why COVID doesn’t end with equitable vaccine...
Inequity in COVID vaccine access echoes mistakes from the HIV response. In the forty years since Aids was first identified, there have also been several lessons on how to contain a pandemic. Starting with equity and supporting health systems.
A pandemic without an end: How systemic racism is hampering vaccine uptake
COVID vaccine roll-outs are missing communities of colour. This has been linked to distrust in health services among minority groups due to historical abuse. But that further victimises these communities. Here’s why racism continues to pervade the health system and breed mistrust.
How well is Pfizer’s COVID jab working in SA? We break down some of...
A local analysis found promising protective effects of the Pfizer COVID vaccine — even among those who had only received one dose. The data from Discovery Health illustrates how vaccination can lower your risk of infection. But even with this promise, the variants circulating in South Africa means we shouldn’t abandon existing safety measures.
‘We only write about them when they are dead’: Hate killings of black lesbians...
Nearly three decades after South Africa’s first Gay and Lesbian pride march, journalist and researcher Nechama Brodie takes a look at the violent history the country’s black lesbians have endured.
A false sense of safety? Why ending the COVID pandemic doesn’t stop with vaccines
The world was able to develop COVID-19 vaccines in just over a year. But much more needs to be done before we can end the pandemic.
The Sisonke trial rewrote history. Eight lessons for the nationwide vaccine roll-out
Usually, the gap between designing a study and scaling it up to reach people on the ground takes years. Sisonke did it in a matter of 17 days – and rewrote history.
Finding an HIV vaccine: Five lessons from the search for a COVID jab
The COVID pandemic has revealed that vaccine development and testing timelines can be shrunk from decades to months. But not without its shortcomings. Here’s a look at what lessons we can learn from the search for a COVID jab.
Winning the COVID vaccine race: Why the TRIPS waiver is just the beginning
Waiving COVID vaccine intellectual property rights is a start, but ending the pandemic also requires that drug companies share the know-how of how to produce their jabs and that more countries develop the capacity to produce shots.
Rape, time & place: How to understand SA’s geography of violence
Simply identifying hotspots doesn’t explain why some places report more gender-based violence than others. This limits our understanding of the problem, and our ability to find a solution.
Four factors blocking medicines made in Africa
Setting up a continent-wide medicines regulator in Africa could be key to getting the continent’s people the treatments and COVID vaccines they need. Here’s why more countries need to put their weight behind it.
We say goodbye to South Africa’s ‘people’s doctor’, Sindi van Zyl
South Africa lost one of its most prominent HIV doctors, Sindisiwe Van Zyl this weekend due to COVID-related complications. She’ll be remembered for her ability to make HIV and reproductive health knowledge accessible to her hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers.
‘No respecter of persons’: Why COVID-19 variants don’t recognise vaccine passports
As long as the coronavirus is still circulating in many parts of the world, mutations will continue to occur. This means that herd immunity in any individual country may be thwarted by new variants that can bypass the protections offered by current vaccines. Here’s why worldwide vaccination needs to happen as quickly as possible.
Vaccine misinformation: What to do when it’s coming from leaders
Refuting lies about vaccines peddled by those in leadership positions may be less about trying to change their minds and more about protecting those who might be listening.