Covid-19: Breaking news across the world this week

South Africa opens vaccines to over 18s

As Covid-19 cases in South Africa continue to rise and vaccine hesitancy remains a concern, government is appealing to people over the age of 18 to get vaccinated as a matter of urgency.

The debate on whether or not to get vaccinated against Covid-19 has been the talk of the country – and indeed the world – for many months. This week, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and the National Immunisation Safety Expert Committee reassured the public that both the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are safe to use.

Read more by clicking here.

Sydney’s lockdown extended

One of Australia’s largest cities has extended its stay-at-home orders until the end of September. This after the military was deployed to enforce lockdown regulations.

Sydney’s more than five million residents have been told to stay at home since June as the city started dealing with an upsurge in Covid-19 infections.

“I apologise to the vast majority of people in those communities who are doing the right thing, but for our health and safety moving forward, we need to make these difficult decisions,” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

As of August 19, Australia had fully vaccinated just over 22% of its population, with a recorded 971 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Israel offers third vaccine ‘booster shot’ to over 50s

Israel has among the best vaccination rate and has been lauded for its comprehensive vaccine roll-out programme, with over 60% of its population fully vaccinated.

Despite this, Israel is currently grappling with a surge in Covid-19 infections, owing to the Delta variant. This has prompted the government to administer a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine to those over the age of 50 – which may prompt other nations to follow suit.

“This is a very clear warning sign for the rest of [the] world,” says Ran Balicer, chief innovation officer at Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health maintenance organisation. “If it can happen here, it can probably happen everywhere.”

This third shot is only recommended for those with weakened immune systems.

WHO criticises nations for third shot while millions remain unvaccinated

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has criticised wealthier nations for amassing third ‘booster shots’ for its citizens, whilst many countries have not been able to vaccinate their people at all.

“I called for a temporary moratorium on boosters to help shift supply to those countries that have not even been able to vaccinate their health workers and at-risk communities, and are now experiencing major spikes,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom, director-general of the WHO.

Only 10 countries in the world have vaccinated over 75% of their populations, while poorer countries have barely vaccinated 2%.

“I was stunned by the news that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines […] in South Africa are leaving the continent and going to Europe, where virtually all adults have been offered vaccines at this point,” he says.

Dr Adhanom has urged J&J to prioritise vaccine distribution throughout Africa.

Over 7.3 million confirmed #COVID19 cases on the African continent – with more than 6.5 million recoveries & 186,000 deaths cumulatively.

View country figures & more with the WHO African Region COVID-19 Dashboard: https://t.co/FKav40Cbdd pic.twitter.com/IRqsgb8uV0

— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) August 19, 2021

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