🧵1. Will SA vax kids between 5 + 11 years @ #COVID19?
- The vax MAC = not made a recommendation 2 @HealthZA. @SAHPRA1 = not approved vax 4 this group yet
- But if they say "yes" = no money 2 buy the jabs. Kids jabs = different from adult jabs. We can't use the ones we've got.
2. Do other countries vaccinate kids between 5 + 11 @ #COVID19?
- Just over a quarter of kids between 5 + 11 = vaxxed in the US
- UK = vaxxing vulnerable kids (for now)
- Sweden = only vaxxing kids vulnerable to respiratory diseases
- Full story: bit.ly/3JVGmzu
3. What about our current #COVID19 vax stock?
- In total we've got 27 million doses
- 400,000 #Pfizer doses will expire on March 31
- 7 million #Pfizer doses will expire in June/July
- Full podcast: bit.ly/3BYCFqc
4. What will happen to our unused #Pfizer doses if we don't use them before they expire?
- We will have to destroy them
- Meanwhile @HealthZA is talking to countries to see if we can swap jabs (give them some now and they give us jabs back later when we run out on our side)
5. Will SA buy other jabs that @SAHPRA1 has so far approved, i.e. Sinopharm and Sinovac?
- Definitely not in 2002, says @HealthZA's Nicholas Crisp:
“That would be a huge waste of money and a massive logistical challenge."
6. @HealthZA now allows 4 "mix +match" boosters (different booster than the jab u got vaxxed with). What will happen 2 #Sisonke (#JnJ + JnJ) participants who didn't have the choice?
- MAC = deciding if = save 2 have a #Pfizer booster after 2 JnJ shots, decision soon.
7. Will SA be dropping its #COVID19 test result requirements for entry into the country and replace it with #COVID19 vaccination certificates?
Nicholas Crisp, @HealthZA: "It's under discussion and will mostly likely change."
BREAKING [Thread]
From Wed, 23rd Feb, you can: 1. Get a 2nd #Pfizer jab 21 days after a 1st jab (previously = 42 days) 2. Get a Pfizer booster (3rd jab) 3 mnths after a 2nd jab (previously = 6 months) or choose 2 have a #JnJ booster after 2 #Pfizer shots (boosters = only for 18+)
2. From TOMORROW, Mon, 21st Feb, people of 18+ who received 1 #JnJ jab can:
- Choose to have a #Pfizer booster (instead of a 2nd #JnJ shot [booster] after 1 JnJ shot), in other words, you'll be able to "mix and match"
3. What should you do if a site has only 1 brand of #COVID19 vaccine available?
@HealthZA: 1. You should go with the same jab that you got 4 vaccination as a booster (or look for a different site) 2. Homologous boosting (booster = same as your other doses) = preferred
1. South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia are the 1st six countries who will receive technology transfer to produce #mRNA vaccines as part of the WHO's mRNA tech transfer hub.
2. What is tech transfer? It's sharing the "know how" of how to produce jabs, in addition 2 the recipe. It's a little like putting together a piece of DIY furniture: You need the different pieces to put together but also instructions on how to do it plus the tools to do it with.
3. What is the WHO's mRNA transfer hubs?
1. One of the hubs will be based in SA 2. The hubs in low- and middle-income countries will work with local companies, scientists + academics to figure out the methods for making specific jabs
BREAKING: [Thread] 1. @SAHPRA1 has given emergency authorisation for the importation of the #COVID19 treatment molnupiravir (provided by the drug company MSD)
2. What is molnupiravir? It's an antiviral pill that can lower your chances of falling seriously ill or dying from COVID
2. With which conditions does @SAHPRA1's authorisation of molnupiravir come?
1. The pills can initially only be imported for 6 months 2. There's a limit on the nr of pills that can be imported (nr = not mentioned in the press release) 3. Only people of 18+ can use it
3. How well does molnupiravir work?
If taken within 5 days after the 1st #COVIVD19 symptoms, it can: 1. Lower the risk of hospitalisation by 30% in unvaccinated, high-risk COVID patients 2. Reduce the risk of dying from COVID by 89%
[Thread] 1. How fast is BA.2 (a subvariant of the #Omicron variant) spreading in SA and is it making people sicker than BA.1 (the original form of #Omicron)?
2. What is BA.2? 1. It is a new form (scientists call it a sub-variant or new lineage) of the #Omicron variant 2. BA.2 has been detected in 145 countries 3. Data from the UK and Denmark suggest BA.2 is more transmissible than BA.1 (so it spreads faster)
3. How widely has BA.2 spread in SA? 1. BA.2 (one of the new forms of #Omicron) has taken over from BA.1 (original form of #Omicron) 2. Look at the graph:
- Light orange = BA.1
- Dark orange = BA.2
JUST IN: 1. [Thread] 1. 63 civil society orgs in SA have written an open letter to #Moderna to immediately withdraw the mRNA vaccine patents it has filed in SA 2. Why? They says the patents pose long term barriers to local production of #mRNA vaccines
2. What about #Moderna's #COVID19 jab? 1. Moderna = pledged not 2 enforce patents on its jab 4 the duration of the pandemic 2. But the company = filed several patents with broad claims in SA, prompting fears it will begin enforcing patents while COVID = still endemic in Africa
3. Has #Moderna agreed to join and help Africa with local production via the WHO's #mRNA hub?
No. They're refusing to be part of the hub or to share their know-how. That's why SA's Afrigen has had to decipher their #COVID19 vaccine recipe. bit.ly/3Js0YiF