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By 9 September, South Africa had 25 laboratory-confirmed mpox cases in three provinces (Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape), with three people dying from the virus. (Berkay Ataseven, iStock)
AFRICA
Audio

No mpox jabs for SA yet — but WHO and Africa CDC will help to fight the outbreak

Health authorities say vaccines will mostly be donated, or, when available, be bought via negotiated deals with drugmakers, but with different budgets

  • Mia Malan
8 min read
A health worker conducts a coronavirus rapid antigen test at a Testaro Covid-19 testing site in the Goodwood district of Cape Town, South Africa, on Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. South Africa announced the discovery of a new variant, later christened omicron, on Nov. 25 as cases began to spike and the strain spread across the globe. (Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
COVID 19

Meet the scientists tracking Covid-19’s crappy future

Water in the country’s drains can pick up a spike in Covid-19 cases or a threatening new variant in time for clinics to prepare for an influx of patients

  • Zano Kunene
10 min read
COVID 19
Video

The 30-day rule: Why you have to wait for a vaccine if you’ve recently had Covid

Scientists know that people who have had Covid still benefit from getting vaccinated with at least one shot of the vaccine. But can you get vaccinated while you have Covid?

  • Mia Malan
  • Mohale Moloi
5 min read
Up to one in five people can get long COVID — a condition in which someone keeps on feeling ill for months after their initial symptoms have cleared up. (Paul Botes)
ACCESSIBLE HEALTHCARE

The Covid pandemic has exacerbated weaknesses in health systems, particularly in poor countries

Strategic investments in health care for all are needed to ensure safe births, treatment of tuberculosis, malaria, measles, pneumonia and diarrhoea, and children are vaccinated

  • Carin Jämtin
  • Stefan Swartling Peterson
6 min read