SA has 57,471 active cases of Covid-19



South Africa has 57,471 active cases of Covid-19, out of a total of 3,931,534 confirmed cases and 3,773,111 recoveries.

The country has identified 1,662 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. That increase corresponds to a 13.7% positivity rate, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service.

25,081,137 tests were conducted in both the public and private sectors. The majority of new cases today are from Gauteng (39%), followed by Western Cape (22%). KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 13%; The Free State accounted for 6%; Mpumalanga and North West each accounted for 5%; Eastern Cape and North Cape each accounted for 4%; and Limpopo accounted for 1% of today’s cases.

The NICD has reported 19 deaths, 8 of which have occurred in the last 24 to 48 hours. This brings the total death toll to 100,952 to date.

“Due to ongoing review by the National Department of Health (NDoH), there may be a backlog in reported Covid-19 deaths.”

There has been an increase of 83 hospitalizations in the last 24 hours.

Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine effective for children under five with three doses

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine is safe and effective when given in three doses to children under five, the companies said Monday, welcome news for parents in the only age group not yet eligible for vaccination in most countries question comes.

The announcement comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans highly anticipated meetings in the coming weeks to consider approval.

In a clinical study, Pfizer-BioNTech evaluated three doses of three micrograms each and found that the vaccine elicited a strong immune response in children aged six months to four years.

Side effects were similar in the vaccine and placebo groups.

The effectiveness of the vaccine was 80.3 per cent according to a preliminary estimate – although this was based on very low numbers and may change significantly by the time the final estimate is made.

“We are pleased that our formulation for the youngest children, which we carefully selected at one-tenth the adult dose strength, was well tolerated and elicited a strong immune response,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.

“We look forward to soon completing our submissions to regulatory authorities worldwide in the hope of making this vaccine available to younger children as soon as possible, subject to regulatory approval,” he added.

Additional coverage from AFP