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Clenched fist of a man with a painted transsexual flag, wearing an LGTBIQ flag bracelet. Photo: Getty Images

Out of testosterone, out of hope — trans men face second year of hormone shortage

The shortage of the version of testosterone used by state facilities and nonprofits has left transgender men in South Africa with few options

(Photo by Mahmoud Issa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Burn them — that’s what happens to expired Covid vaccines

Vaccines don’t last forever. When they reach their expiration date, the jabs need to be disposed of in a way that ensures they aren’t retrievable. A waste management company…

Has Africa taken its foot off the pedal in the race to secure enough Covid-19 vaccines for all?

Africa needs a billion Covid vaccines, but supply is slowing down

Data collected by Unicef shows an alarming drop-off in shipments arriving in the continent since the start of 2022

(Unless South Africa’s  Covid-19 vaccine uptake improves soon, the country will be saddled with well over seven million expiring doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine by July — with nobody to offload them onto. Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

More than 7-million expired Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines could be wasted by July

Vaccine hesitancy, corruption, and conspiracy theories and disinformation slow down uptake of Covid-19 vaccines

Mandatory vaccination involves, at a glance, the constitutional rights to bodily integrity, privacy, to protection against unfair discrimination and to freedom of thought, religion, conscience and opinion. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

It’s your last shot at the Pfizer vaccine before the roll-out changes

Just under a third of South Africa’s Pfizer vaccines are set to expire by July, so the health department is trying to increase uptake of the doses and donate spare shots

Used vials of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

Wait, donate, demolish: Why millions of South Africa’s vaccines will never be used

Children aged five to 11 get smaller doses of the Pfizer vaccine than adults. That means the government will have to buy new vials to vaccinate this age group but the health…

Health department rolls out Pfizer boosters to eligible individuals

Low uptake anticipated because of festive season, but healthcare workers stand ready

Proactive: Teachers and support staff queue for the Covid-19 vaccination at Universitas Hospital in Bloemfontein in the face of the more transmittable Delta variant. (Mlungisi Louw/Gallo Images/Volksblad)

Health department scraps quarantine, isolation requirements for asymptomatic Covid-19 contacts

The government has also started administering J&J booster shots from 24 December and will roll out Pfizer boosters from 28 December

Video

How your body can protect you from getting sick with Omicron

Omicron’s many mutations allow it to duck our body’s natural defence, but the immune system has a some tricks to prevent you from getting severely ill

File photo by Madelene Cronjé

Children between 12 and 17 are now eligible for second vaccine shot

Those 12 years and older who are severely immunocompromised can get a Pfizer booster dose at least 28 days after their second jab

Alarm as almost 20% of South Africa’s healthcare workers contract Covid

The 10-day healthcare worker ‘isolate and contact trace’ policy puts pressure on other healthcare workers and compromises hospitals’ ability to deliver quality healthcare

The World Health Organisation has enlisted a team of South African researchers to produce a new mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, but with no recipe to follow, it’s not an easy task. (Photo by Patrick Hertzog/AFP via Getty Images)

South Africa at the start of a Covid-19 vaccine the world has never seen

The World Health Organisation has enlisted a team of South African researchers to produce a new mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, but with no recipe to follow, it’s not an easy task

Has Africa taken its foot off the pedal in the race to secure enough Covid-19 vaccines for all?

Covid-19 booster shot possibly on cards for South Africans

The country’s health products regulator has received an application from vaccine manufacturer Pfizer for third-dose approval

The ABCs of DIY vaccines: Why tech transfer is a big thing

A new World Health Organisation initiative is helping nations make their own vaccines, reducing their dependency on imports.

The demand for donor organs far outstrips the supply because data is not shared, not all hospitals are equipped to do transplants and the National Health Act is inadequate. Photo: Burger/Phanie /AFP

Immunocompromised finally prioritised for Covid-19 booster shots

Organ recipients are at greater risk of death from Covid-19, while waiting lists for transplants grow