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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

The first child to be vaccinated at MeCRU Clinical Research Unit in South Africa on September 10, 2021 in Pretoria, South Africa. ..China’s Sinovac Biotec will trial its COVID-19 vaccine on children and adolescents aged 6 months to 17 years, the trial has been approved by South African drugs regulator SAHPRA .The study will evaluate the efficacy, immunogenicity and safety of the CoronaVac vaccine. .(Photo by Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images via Getty Images)..

Almost 7 000 children receive Pfizer shot on first day for under-18s

More than 39 000 young people had registered on the government’s database by 4pm on Wednesday

Teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 will be able to register to receive their Covid-19 jab from 20 October. (Photo by Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images via Getty Images)..

SA teens, you’re next in the queue for a vaccine — no parental permission required

Teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 will be able to register to receive their Covid-19 jab from 20 October. This group will be given only one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, for…

Fixing the problems in both the public and private health system will help ensure all people in South Africa get quality and healthcare

South Africa opens up vaccinations for 12 to 17 year-olds

Vaccinology researcher Professor Shabir Madhi said young people were being vaccinated to reduce the number of people who could transmit the virus and the focus should instead be…

The convenient myth of an Africa spared from Covid-19

There are few, if any, studies to support Pfizer chief executive’s assertion that the global south would be more vaccine-hesitant than the north

A healthcare worker administers a SINOVAC Covid-19 vaccine on a minor during the Numolux/SINOVAC Paediatric Covid-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Pretoria, on September 10, 2021. – The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of two doses of CoronaVac against confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 cases in children and adolescents aged 6 months to 17 years. Efficacy will also be evaluated against hospitalization and severe COVID-19 cases. The study worldwide will enroll 14 000 children and adolescents in various pediatric age group cohorts across 5 countries (South Africa, Chile, Philippines, Malaysia and Kenya). (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)

Pfizer vaccine approved for children older than 12, but roll-out not yet on the way

Vulnerable older groups remain a priority for the health department, so no Covid-19 jabs for children for now