[Thread] 1. Nationally, SA has exited the 4th (#Omicron) #COVID19 wave, says @PresidencyZA. What are the implications? [next tweet]
2. New rules for isolation:
1. Those who test + for #COVID19 with no symptoms = no isolation 2. If you test + with symptoms: isolate for 7 days (down from 10 days) 3. Contacts (people a + person were in touch with) don't have to isolate unless they develop symptoms
1. SA has excited the 4th wave 2. 60-80% of SAs have #COVID19 antibodies because of vaccination (46.5% of adults = vaccinated with 1 shot) or previous (natural) infection
4. Is this the 1st time SA has announced new isolation rules?
No. On 24 Dec @heatlhza issued similar guidelines:
In the old guidelines people with #COCIVD19 symptoms had to isolate for 8 days (that's now down to 7 days)
6. What's changing in schools?
1. "School shifts" for learners will end, so all learners can go to school each day and not in groups to provide space for social distancing 2. Social distancing of 1 meters = removed
7. How did the old rules (having to attend school in shifts) impact schools?
School drop outs increased significantly — particularly in poorer schools that had no choice be to create "school shifts" because of lack of space. More here:
Q & A thread (questions asked on #Twitter): 1. When will SA start 2 vax kids between 5 + 11?
1. No jab has been registered for 5-11 in SA 2. @SAHPRA1: #Pfizer (they have a jab for 5-11) hasn't yet applied 4 authorisation, but has indicated an intention to apply
2. Can we use our current #Pfizer stock if Pfizer gets authorisation for vaxxing kids between 5-11?
1. No. 2. Why not? @HealthZA: "Kids between 5-11 get a different dose than people of 12+, so we'd need to order those jabs/vials."
3. Will you get an sms from the #EVDS 2 tell you it's time 4 your #COVID19 jab booster?
1. No, not yet. 2. Why not?
@heatlhza: "We have sent over 300 million sms's and need to move some budget for this next lot. It costs 16c per sms + 32c if characters run over to a 2nd sms."
JUST IN: [Thread] 1/6 1. @CEPIvaccines and Institute Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) have signed an MOU to fill and finish up to 300 million doses of #COVID19 jabs per year 2. Production will start in the 3rd quarter of 2022
2/6 What is "fill + finish?" 1. It's when a company handles the end part of the production of a meds 2. In the case of jabs a company imports the drug (active) substance/key ingredient, mixes it with an inactive substance, puts it in vials (pouches in IPD's case) + packages it
3/6 1. IPD will use a different method to fill + finish #COVID19 jabs 2. It won't put the jabs in glass vials, rather in plastic pouches (like a drip bag) that can hold 200 doses of vaccine per pouch 3. The pouch method = more suitable for poorer countries. Why? (next tweet)
[Thread] 1. What's happening with SA #Omicron hospital + death data?
Waasila Jassat, @nicd_sa:
"Decoupling" between cases, hospitalisations/deaths = continue.
Black: new #COVID19 cases
Grey: hospitalisations
Red: deaths
Cases higher than Wave 1-3, admissions/deaths = lower
2. #Omicron started in Gauteng + spread 2 other provinces within a week. With previous waves the spread 2 other parts of the country took much longer. So with #Omicron the peaks of provinces' hospitalisations/deaths = much closer to each other.
3. #Omicron hospital admissions in SA peaked at about 60% of the #Delta wave and deaths at about 14-15%
JUST IN [Thread] 1. @SAHPRA1 is reviewing 6 #COVID19#vaccine applications for emergency use authorisation (called Section 21 approval), including new applications for #Sputnik Lite (1 shot of the 2-shot #Sputnik V jab) and #Novavax.
2. Four of the 6 #COVID19#vaccine applications are for 2 of the same jabs. So different companies applied 4 approval 4 the same vaccines: 1. #Sputnik (Dr Reddy's Labs, Lamar International) 2. #Sinopharm (MC Pharma, Lamar International; Lamar also applied for Sputnik Lite)
3. On 18 Oct @SAHPRA1 rejected Lamar International's application 4 #Sputnik because of concerns that it might increase HIV negative people's risk of #HIV infection. The application remains open. Lamar needs to submit data to prove the jab is safe.
@Dr_Groome of @nicd_sa: 1. Almost 99% of all new #COVID19 cases in SA now = #Omicron (Omicron = red on table, see Nov/Dec) 2. Extremely low proportions of other variants are currently detected through sequencing
2. @Dr_Groome: 1. SA reached its #Omicron peak on 15 Dec (22,588 new #COVID19 cases on that day) 2. Reported cases = only +/- 10% of the actual cases 3. There's been a small increase in new cases over Xmas, but we have seen persistent decreases in terms of 7 day moving averages
3. @Dr_Groome: 1. Previous waves were longer and waves started and ended a few weeks apart in different provinces. With #Omicron the wave is much steeper and provinces followed each other much quicker 2. Gauteng (where SA's Omicron wave started) has exited its 4th (Omicron) wave
[Thread] 1. From TONIGHT (Fri), 8pm, adult #COVID19 hospitalisation data in SA will be available on @HealthZA's dashboard.
Milani Wolmarans, @HealthZA, #EVDS:
The data will be categorised into 3 types of patients: 1. Fully vaccinated 2. Partially vaccinated 3. Unvaccinated
2. What's happening so far?
Of 7,826 adults in hospital because of #COVID19:
- 5,731 (73%) = unvaccinated
- 321 (4%) = partially vaccinated (this = lower than fully vaccinated as there are far fewer partially than fully vaxxed people in total)
- 1,774 (22.6%) = fully vaxxed
3. What % of adults (18+) have been fully + partially vaccinated?