The fluvoxamine arm of the TOGETHER trial, a randomised adaptive platform trial investigating the efficacy of repurposed treatments for COVID-19 among high-risk Brazilian adult outpatients, is the largest trial of the SSRI fluvoxamine as a COVID-19 treatment to date. Of the 741 participants who were treated in an emergency setting for COVID-19 after receiving fluvoxamine,…
Study of 621 people in the UK with mild COVID-19 infections found that people who received two vaccine doses could still pass the infection on to vaccinated and unvaccinated household members. The analysis found that 25% of vaccinated household contacts tested positive for COVID-19 compared with 38% of unvaccinated household contacts. The infectiousness of vaccinated…
The Embassy of Sweden and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have signed an agreement of UGX 67 Billion Shillings to boost the Covid-19 vaccination in Uganda. Maria Håkansson, the Ambassador of Sweden to Uganda and the UNICEF Representative in Uganda, Dr Munir Safieldin signed the agreement on Thursday at the UNICEF offices in Kampala. According…
Health workers who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 will be denied access to hospitals. This comes at a time when health workers are hesitant to get vaccinated. According to the health ministry’s plan, by now at least 150,000 health workers should have been fully vaccinated but data from the Ministry of Health shows less…
Doctors under the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) announced a strike on November 22, 2021. Now, hours after the strike began, some doctors seem to have disregarded the strike by showing up for work but others are stuck to the decision by UMA. At many health facilities around Kampala, doctors dressed in their white coats are…
At least 3,925 teenage girls in Agago district have been impregnated in the last one year, statistics from the District Health Department has revealed. A report released Monday shows that 3,925 out of 19,503 expectant mothers who visited various health facilities for antennal care services-ANC between 2020 to August 2021 were girls of 18 years and below. The…
AstraZeneca vaccine seems to provide better protection compared to the other COVID-19 vaccines four months after inoculation. Prof. Walter Jaoko, a Medical Microbiologist at the University of Nairobi told journalists attending a virtual East Africa Regional Science Café that scientists established this in an analysis to determine efficacy estimates of various COVID-19. He says…
Uganda on 13 November received 1,904,140 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, donated by the Canadian Government and shipped via the COVAX facility, —the world’s facility for universal access to COVID-19 vaccines. The arrival marks an important step towards the goal to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally. Uganda is targeting the vaccination of…
Message from WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti On 14 November, the international community commemorates World Diabetes Day to raise awareness of the growing burden of this disease, and strategies to prevent and treat it. The theme this year, and until 2023, is “Access to diabetes care” because too many people still do…
By World Health Organisation Africa is expected to experience the highest increase in diabetes globally. The number of people suffering from the disease is predicted to rise to 55 million by 2045—a 134% spike compared with 2021. At 70%, the continent also has the world’s highest number of people who do not know they have…