The country’s medicines regulator Sahpra says it’s on track to announce its registration decision by the end of October
Hetero and Dr Reddy’s will be funded by the Gates Foundation and Unitaid to produce and sell the twice-a-year anti-HIV shot around R692 per person a year
The health department hopes to make the twice-a-year anti-HIV injection lenacapavir available soon and to be buying generics by 2027
The country isn’t getting extra money from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, TB and Malaria; it has to use cash from a grant it has already been awarded and was cut by 16% in June
Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder affects 5% to 7% of schoolgoing children, but doctors can only prescribe treatment for a month at a time, so don’t get too much medication regularly
Almost 5% of the world’s carbon emissions come from the healthcare sector. Rethinking how hospitals run can get this down. But healthcare workers say regulations stop them from doing this
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority had to speed up its approval of new medicines while still ensuring that they were safe and effective
Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela leads the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) — a public entity few people knew about until the Covid-19 pandemic hit
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 explains how this is done
KwaZulu-Natal’s state facilities are in the lead when it comes to stocking HIV prevention medicines — 97% of them do — and the Western Cape is the only province where men use HIV prevention medicine more than women
South Africa’s public hospitals and clinics won’t be getting a new Covid-19 treatment called molnupiravir. The tablets have regulatory approval but they aren’t the right fit for the country
South Africa is unlikely to buy a new oral Covid-19 pill called molnupiravir, despite the drug having been approved for use in the country. That’s because deciding to spend money on a medication rests on more than just whether it works
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 department doesn’t have the money to do so
There is less demand for ivermectin when South Africa is between Covid-19 waves. But nobody is tracking how many people may be using the animal formulation
The Russian-produced vaccine might increase the risk of vaccinated males getting HIV, says South Africa’s health products regulatory authority
The youth is the first of 2 000 South African children taking part in the global trial to test the CoronaVac vaccine
Children from the age of six months to 17 years will take part in vaccine trials
Side-effects are common when you receive any type of vaccine, a senior vaccine researcher says
Selling medication without a license to prescribe or dispense it is illegal, and can lead to a hefty fine or imprisonment
Johnson & Johnson plans to replace our two-million unusable vaccines by July. The vaccines are unsuitable for use and must be destroyed, while the country’s vaccination programme is behind schedule
Vaccine roll-out will be easier now that Pfizer confirms the lifespan of its Covid-19 vaccine in a refrigerator is more than six times longer than first estimated
South Africa opts to voluntarily suspend its vaccination programme following advice from US health authorities after a rare blood clot development.
The first batch of vaccines is almost here, but a top government adviser says achieving herd immunity by the end of the year is ‘unrealistic’
Full track and traceability of Covid-19 jabs won’t happen during South Africa’s vaccine roll-out, as the health department has not yet adopted the “overarching” system that would make this possible.
The department of health is also negotiating with manufacturers other than AstraZeneca to secure more than one type of vaccine