The big news this week was cabinet’s decision to lift the suspension of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine.  Also included in this round-up are medical experts’ opinions on the vaccine roll-out and the safety of the vaccine itself, and a second wave of Covid-19 in India, which has seen nearly 3.5 million new cases in April alone.

SA records steady increase in Covid-19 cases

This week, during his nationwide readiness assessment tour, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said that should the manufacturers of the Covid-19 vaccines stick to their delivery commitments, 46.2 million South Africans will be vaccinated by the end of March 2022. Read more on Polokwane Review.

Delhi hospitals issue SOS alerts over oxygen supplies as India’s Covid crisis mounts

The second wave of Covid-19 in India has seen nearly 3.5 million new cases this month alone. Frantic messages on social media show the scale of the country’s Covid crisis. Pleas for everything, from hospital beds and medicine to Covid tests and oxygen are being made online. Read more here.

We would have won the fight long back. #CoronaInIndia pic.twitter.com/b9CYrWitRi

— Satya (@TheSatyaShow) April 13, 2021

Third Covid-19 wave looms as infectons rise in three provinces

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) is working with the Northern Cape, Free State and North West to ascertain whether the rise in cases in these provinces can be attributed to cluster outbreaks. With the April school holiday here, the NICD urges for compliance in the proper wearing of masks, practising good hand hygiene and social distancing. Read more here. 

SASSA apologises for delay in Covid-19 grants

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has delayed paying Covid-19 social relief grants for March and April because of a transition in government financial years. Read more: Zululand Observer.

Cabinet welcomes decision to end J&J vaccine suspension

In the first physical cabinet meeting since the Covid-19 lockdown began last year, President Cyril Ramaphosa and his executive earlier this week welcomed the recommendation by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to lift the suspension of the J&J Sisonke Vaccination Programme. This followed the suspension of the J&J vaccination roll-out programme in the United States of America after six people, who received the J&J vaccine, developed a rare type of blood clot. Read more here. 

Expert: SA vaccine roll-out an ‘absolute disaster’ so far

Wits University professor of vaccinology Shabir Madhi says South Africa has fallen dramatically short when it comes to the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines. Speaking earlier this week at the Think Big webinar hosted by PSG, Madhi said he believes the country will only get back to some kind of normal life once 15 million or more people are vaccinated. Read more on our sister publication’s website: Citizen.

WATCH: No reason to doubt vaccines, says top SA scientist

The development of rare blood clots in six women – out of 6.8 million people vaccinated with the J&J vaccine in America – prompted that country and subsequently South Africa to halt its use. However, one of South Africa’s top scientists has assured vaccination sceptics that the benefits far outweigh the risks. Watch the video interview here.