Topline: “If we don’t do things differently, this will be the last Christmas for many South Africans,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressing the nation on Monday evening, as he announced more restrictions, some “with immediate effect”.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h4>



● South Africa is officially in its second wave, said president Ramaphosa during a live broadcast. On December 3, the country recorded over 4,400 new cases. Ten days later, South Africa recorded nearly 8,000 new cases. The cumulative number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa now stands at over 860,000.



● Ramaphosa said this figure is of “great concern” for the country.



● “Given the rate at which new cases have grown over the last two weeks, there is every possibility that if we do not act urgently and if we do not act together, the second wave will be more severe than the first wave,” he said.



● Furthermore, in a short amount of time, the daily average of coronavirus deaths has increased by nearly 50%. A figure that previously sat at 100 deaths a day is now over 150 deaths.



● The four provinces in South Africa that are leading the second wave are the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng.



● The reasons behind the increase vary from health protocols (no social distancing or masks being worn) not being followed to super-spreader events like large gatherings being held.



● “We have gotten into the Christmas spirit early and are inviting friends and family over for get-togethers,” Ramaphosa said. “Yet, it is our failure to closely adhere to all these basic precautions at all times that has brought us to this second wave.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-changes-made-by-the-south-african-government-to-contain-the-spread-of-the-virus">Key changes made by the South African government to contain the spread of the virus.</h4>



● Beaches and public parks in the Eastern Cape and the Garden Route in the Western Cape will be closed for the duration of the festive season from December 16 to January 3. In KZN, beaches and public parks will be closed for what are traditionally the busiest days of the holiday season.



● The curfew will start at 11PM and end at 4AM. Restaurants and bars will have to close at 10PM so that staff and patrons can get home before the enforcement of the curfew.



● Alcohol sales will also be restricted. Retail outlets are only permitted to sell alcohol between 10AM and 6PM from Monday to Thursday. However, registered wineries and wine farms may continue to offer tastings and wine sales to the public for off-site consumption over weekends. Alcohol consumption in all public spaces, such as beaches and parks, is strictly forbidden.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h4>



“If we do not do things differently this festive season, we will greet the new year not with joy, but with sorrow. Many of our friends, relatives, and co-workers will be infected, some will get severely ill and some, tragically, will die&#8230; It is therefore essential that we take extraordinary measures to contain the second wave and save lives while working to protect livelihoods,” Ramaphosa said.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vaccine-update">Vaccine Update</h4>



In addition to enforcing stricter nationwide enforcement of existing lockdown alert level 1 restrictions, the president also announced that South Africa had concluded all the necessary processes to participate in the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX).



“As part of this facility, it is expected that South Africa will receive initial vaccines to cover 10% of our population in the early part of next year,” Ramaphosa said.

South African President Ramaphosa visits the Mashatile family home to offer condolences

More Grave Second Wave In South Africa/Country To Receive Vaccines Early 2021

Although the world was struck by the Covid-19 Pandemic, other issues were also brought to the forefront in 2020. Here are the hashtags from Africa that caught the globe’s attention this year.



#ENDSars: Just as the country celebrated its diamond jubilee, police brutality protests started on October 7 in Nigeria calling for the disbanding of the infamous police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which had long been accused of extortion, torture, and extra-judicial killings.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49261" width="432" height="288" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229378322-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px" /><figcaption> (Photo by Maciek Musialek/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#CongoIsBleeding: Exploitation in the mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) received attention in October to highlight child slavery, deadly conflicts, and corruption spawned by the quest to feed mega-companies with minerals.



#ShutItAllDown: This was a wave of ongoing gender-based violence protests across Namibia aimed at stopping the spread of rape and the killing of women. According to CNN, the protests were in response to news of another attack, in turn, those protestors threatened to leave everything at a standstill for four days earlier in October.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49263" width="388" height="259" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1228977823-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 388px) 100vw, 388px" /><figcaption> (Photo by HILDEGARD TITUS/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#ZimbabweanLivesMatter: A predominantly online demonstration to address the human rights abuses in Zimbabwe in August. According to The Guardian, the hashtag was ‘fashioned’ after the Black Lives Matter global protests staged since the killing of George Floyd by a US police officer in May. Furthermore, the incarceration of journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and the Booker Prize long-listed author Tsitsi Dangarembga has angered more people across Africa.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49265" width="433" height="289" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227856557-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 433px) 100vw, 433px" /><figcaption>Julie Barnes holds a placard during an anti-corruption protest march along Borrowdale road, on July 31, 2020 in Harare. (Photo by ZINYANGE AUNTONY/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#RapeNationalEmergancy: On September 11, Liberian President George Weah declared rape a national emergency in the country. According to Al Jazeera, Weah introduced measures in place to address the increase in violence against women. Measures include a special prosecutor for rape in the country, as well as the set-up of a national sex offender registry and the establishment of a “national security task force” on sexual and gender-based violence.



#ChildTrafficking: This has been highlighted as a severe problem on cocoa farms in Ghana and Ivory Coast. According to a US study, the prevalence of children doing hazardous work, including using sharp tools, has also gone up in the world’s top two cocoa producers, reported Al Jazeera in October.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1024x678.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49266" width="444" height="294" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-1536x1017.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-2048x1356.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1227845071-600x397.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px" /><figcaption>(Photo by Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#Guinea: Guinea’s president, Alpha Condé, has won a “controversial third term” with 59.49% of the vote, the National Independent Electoral Commission declared on October 24. According to the Guardian, his victory came at the same time as widespread protests “violently suppressed by security forces”.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49262" width="395" height="263" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229107728-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px" /><figcaption> Alpha Conde addresses his supporters at a campaign rally in Conakry on October 16, 2020. (Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#AnglophoneCrisis: Since October 2016, Cameroon’s Anglophone minority have been protesting due to sectoral grievances that morphed into political demands. On October 24 this year, the United Nations reported that eight children were killed and dozens wounded by a group of armed men at the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy Kumba in the southwest region of Cameroon. Although the southwest region is one of two Anglophone regions, it was not clear if the attack was linked to a continuing struggle between government forces and armed groups in the English-speaking west seeking to form a breakaway state.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49268" width="418" height="278" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1154062693-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 418px) 100vw, 418px" /><figcaption> Anglophone village women pray in a church located in a hill village on May 12, 2019 a few miles outside Buea in SW Cameroon. (Photo by Giles Clarke/UNOCHA via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#PrayForEthiopia: CNN reported on November 7 that a military conflict, which has raised fears of civil war, broke out due to Tigray&#8217;s Peoples Liberation Front’s (TPLF) unilateral decision to elect a regional administration against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s wishes. “Our operation aims to end the impunity that has prevailed for far too long and hold accountable individuals and groups under the laws of the land,” Abiy said on Twitter. According to the Herald Malaysia, this resulted in heavy casualties and thousands of civilians fleeing the region.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49259" width="431" height="287" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1229977140-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 431px) 100vw, 431px" /><figcaption>TOPSHOT &#8211; An Ethiopian refugee who fled the Tigray conflict prays during Sunday Mass at an Ethiopian Orthodox church building built by former Ethiopian refugees, at the village next to Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, eastern Sudan, on December 6, 2020. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



#StopGBV: During the lockdown, gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa has become a second pandemic for the country. According to the Commission of Gender Equality, South Africa is ranked amongst the highest in Africa for domestic violence. At the end of July, Police Minister Bheki Cele released crime stats showing that sexual crimes in the country increased by 1.7%, with 53,293 cases reported. This is 873 cases more than in 2019.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1024x710.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49267" width="389" height="270" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1024x710.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-768x533.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-1536x1065.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-2048x1421.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1222580728-600x416.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px" /><figcaption>Students protest against gender based violence (GBV) at parliament on June 24, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Nardus Engelbrecht/Gallo Images via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>

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What Was Trending In Africa In 2020?

Professor Barry Schoub, a world-renowned virologist, details the Covid-19 vaccine process and the innovations being made in the field as well as the involvement of Africa in these trials.



 



Q. Given how each phase within a clinical trial has been expedited to find a Covid-19 vaccine, do you think it will have the same effectiveness or efficacy as other vaccines used to combat infectious diseases similar in nature?



A. I think up to the Pfizer release, scientists, virologists, vaccinologists thought it would be a vaccine with a 60% efficacy. So these results are in the same ballpark as the influenza vaccine because it’s got a similar kind of disease process. It is only an interim analysis of course, but it certainly has very good connotations attached to it. It is also a possibility that the corona vaccines will have a higher protection rate than the influenza vaccine for example. However, it will not have the same efficacy rate as more successful vaccines such as the measles vaccine which has an efficacy of about 95% and therefore we do need to have some reservation.



Q. There are a number of vaccine types currently in trials. Pfizer and BioNTech are developing a genetic vaccine while Johnson &amp; Johnson are trialing a viral vector vaccine model they have used for finding an Ebola vaccine previously. Do you think the type of vaccine influences the efficacy rate?



A. These vaccines are all new, this has never been done on humans, so there is no definitive way to say. We’ve never had an RNA or DNA vaccine going into human beings and we’ve never had a virus vector going into human beings. Previous use of a viral vector for HIV vaccine trials didn’t go well because of pre-existing immunity to the adenovirus being used as the vessel. All of this is new territory and really in a way, unpredictable.



Q. What do you think of the innovations then made with these vaccines?



A. It’s very exciting and just the speed with which these vaccines have come out as well. This disease has only been with us from the beginning of the year, so it’s amazing as vaccines usually take years to develop.&nbsp;



Q. These trials are also being tested throughout the world, and given that South Africa is the only site in Africa with any of these trials happening, do you think there should be more testing sites in Africa?



A. I don’t think all of Africa needs involvement in trials per se… It would just be where there is prevalence of disease, for example, endemic diseases such as HIV and TB in southern Africa and more tropical diseases so these are scenarios that do need to be looked at.



Q. Do you think these trials have accounted for all necessary factors that could play a role in how successful the vaccines could be?



A. In European and American trials, there are still key populations missing in the evaluation of these vaccinations like the elderly or people with co-morbidities, so all of these factors do need to be evaluated. All the vaccines currently in Phase III lack the optimal populations, so they all have a set age parameter and these vaccines still need testing in high-risk populations.



Q. Do you see any potential barriers that could decrease the uptake of the vaccine?



A. Well… there’s always suspicion, and polls here and abroad have shown hesitance and reluctance. First of all, things have been done at such fast speeds so there are concerns about safety and also the novelty of these vaccines and that they haven’t been used on humans before. So these factors can lead to suspicion.&nbsp;



Q. Do you think there any possible solutions to this?



A. They need to be reassured that these do undergo very rigorous safety testing and this will prove to be an educational exercise.



Q. What are your thoughts on the eventual accessibility of the vaccine within Africa?



A. In the beginning, we could possibly get a relatively small proportion of vaccines for the population, so the initial batches will have to go to priority groups. This includes frontline workers as an example, people in elderly homes and other high-risk populations.



Q. Do you think initiatives such as CEPI could also see Africa receiving the vaccine sooner than anticipated?



A. Initiatives such as CEPI and COVAX are pooled procurement mechanisms, so these aim to provide both middle and low income countries with their initial supply of the vaccine when it becomes available. So the vaccination process will need to happen in two steps; first step would be to protect vulnerable groups and then only later try to achieve herd immunity.



<div class="wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow">
[IN NUMBERS] 



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-12-billion">$12 BILLION</h2>



In an African Union (AU) meeting in November to discuss Africa’s strategy for financing Covid-19 vaccines, AU Chairperson and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa noted that about $12 billion was required, and this was expected to come from three sources: the COVAX Donor Initiative, The World Bank, direct donors, and the African Import-Export Bank, which has committed to raising up to $5 billion.
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h4>



PLEASE NOTE:&nbsp;More stories regarding the Covid-19 vaccine will be published. However, if you would like to read the full Focus piece by Simone Sribrath, click&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/product/single-digital-issue-dec-jan-2020/">here to download the digital copy of FORBES AFRICA.</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/what-goes-into-a-clinical-trial/">What Goes Into A Clinical Trial?&nbsp;(Forbes Africa)</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-vaccine/">All You Need To Know About The Vaccine (Forbes Africa)</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/10/qa-endemic-diseases-like-hiv-are-still-an-emergency/">Q&amp;A: ‘ENDEMIC DISEASES LIKE HIV ARE STILL AN EMERGENCY’ (Forbes Africa)</a>

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‘ALL OF THIS IS NEW TERRITORY AND REALLY IN A WAY, UNPREDICTABLE’

TOPLINE With optimism rising that an end to the coronavirus pandemic is in sight as shipments of Pfizer’s vaccine began Sunday, Bill Gates warned in a television interview that the U.S. was far from out of the woods yet and is facing what is likely to be the deadliest period over the winter.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



“Sadly the next four to six months could be the worst of the pandemic,” Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has committed significant resources to the quest for a vaccine, told CNN on Sunday.&nbsp;



Trucks pulled out of Pfizer’s factory in Michigan on Sunday laden with the first shipments in an initial distribution round of around 3 million doses, and Food And Drug Administration Dr. Stephen Hahn&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSotu/status/1338132165515730946?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;during a television interview Sunday he expects the first shots to be administered on Monday.&nbsp;



Healthcare workers and nursing home residents&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2020/12/01/cdc-panel-health-workers-and-nursing-homes-should-get-first-covid-vaccine-doses/">will get the vaccine first</a>, and it won’t be until the spring or summer before shots are widely available.&nbsp;&nbsp;



For that reason, health officials&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/08/covid-vaccines-fauci-says-virus-could-be-under-control-in-back-half-of-2021.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">say</a>&nbsp;the virus is not likely to be under control in the U.S. until the “back half of 2021”—as Dr. Anthony Fauci recently said—when most of the population, around 75%, is vaccinated, generating an “umbrella of herd immunity.”



“In the near term, it’s bad news,” Gates went on, citing an Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation&nbsp;<a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/global?view=resource-use&amp;tab=trend&amp;resource=all_resources" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">model</a>&nbsp;that shows the U.S. could suffer more than 200,000 additional deaths by April 1, 2021 from the virus.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



Pfizer’s vaccine will arrive at 145 distribution locations on Monday throughout all 50 states, with 425 more receiving shipments on Tuesday, and 66 on Wednesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-united-states-d4525c56fd2606f1c0dae46ac3c96405" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to the Associated Press</a>. It will take up to three weeks for the first round of doses to be shipped out to all government-identified vaccine sites. The vaccine is being apportioned by state population.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h4>



The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at 94 degrees below zero, which has posed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielreed/2020/12/09/operation-warp-speed-now-comes-the-really-hard-part-delivering-10-billion-doxes-of-liquid-gold-quickly/?sh=5e2fcabe7e58">logistical issues</a>.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



Hahn said Sunday he doesn&#8217;t think allergic reactions to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine will be a &#8220;highly frequent issue&#8221;: “We do not think that this is a highly frequent issue that will arise, but we do want to be careful because vaccine safety, medical product safety is top of mind for us,” the FDA chief said.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">“We do not think that this is a highly frequent issue that will arise, but we do want to be careful because vaccine safety, medical product safety is top of mind for us.” &#8211; FDA chief Dr. Stephen Hahn on the possibility of allergic reactions to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNSOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNSOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/SfsaJJYQsw">pic.twitter.com/SfsaJJYQsw</a>&mdash; State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNNSOTU/status/1338132703909191682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC</h4>



Asked to comment on President Trump’s executive order prioritizing Americans for vaccine shipments, Gates said: “Well, the extreme idea that everybody should die until we have the very last American vaccinated, that&#8217;s hardly the appropriate response.



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Bill Gates on Trump signing an executive order prioritizing the distribution of vaccines to Americans first: &quot;Well, the extreme idea that everybody should die until we have the very last American vaccinated, that&#39;s hardly the appropriate response.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/CcLT9uheSu">pic.twitter.com/CcLT9uheSu</a>&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1338133587066032131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h4>



$1.75 billion. That’s how much the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated to the fight against Covid-19,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2020/12/10/bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation-injects-another-250-million-into-the-battle-against-covid-19/?sh=32b5535b12d4">according to Forbes</a>.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2020/12/12/pfizer-covid-vaccine-expected-to-arrive-in-all-50-states-by-monday/?sh=4a0fd1ac467e">Pfizer Covid Vaccine Expected To Arrive In All 50 States By Monday</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2020/12/10/bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation-injects-another-250-million-into-the-battle-against-covid-19/?sh=32b5535b12d4">Bill And Melinda Gates’ Foundation Injects Another $250 Million Into The Battle Against Covid-19</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



by Jack Brewster, Forbes Staff

2019 New York Times Dealbook

Gates Says Next 4-6 Months Could Be ‘Worst Of Pandemic’ As Vaccine Shipments Roll Out

This story is part of the &#8216;<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-vaccine/">All You Need To Know About The Vaccine</a>&#8216; piece. 



Preclinical Phase



This phase within a study is most intensive and can often require the most amount of time and extensive research into possible cellular reactions between the intervention being investigated and the body’s immune response. This phase is often tested thoroughly with the use of animal test subjects before proceeding to Phase I.



Phase I&nbsp;



This initial phase is conducted on a relatively small number of participants (six-10). It allows scientists to closely study and examine any effects or interactions that the intervention being investigated has in human participants. This phase is used to determine the safety and tolerability elements that an intervention may have in treating human participants. Participants are closely watched for the possible occurrence and severity of any side-effects that may occur.



Phase II&nbsp;



The size of the participant pool could vary greatly here as the size is dependent on the type of illness being investigated (typically between 20-300 participants). In this phase, the dosage is often experimented with. This is done to successfully determine the dosage required for the intervention to be most effective and safe to administer. Different dosages of the intervention could produce different results. As such, multiple simulations of Phase II may occur for a single intervention, being tested within numerous populations of interest.



Phase III&nbsp;



As with Phase II, the sample increases substantially (300-3,000 participants). These large numbers are used to confirm the level of safety and efficacy of the medical intervention. This phase also allows for a significant comparison between the drug being tested and other similar interventions on the market. It can also be used to test the efficacy of the intervention when used as part of a treatment plan and it tests the interactions it has with other medical interventions within the treatment plan. Finally, this phase allows for the prescribed dosage to be finalized.



Phase IV



The last and final phase occurs after regulatory approval has been granted. This phase looks at the long-term administration of the medical intervention and possible side-effects that could occur as a result of prolonged use of the intervention. This phase tests the overall efficacy and safety of the intervention within larger groups and sub-groups within a population. By this phase, the occurrence of any serious medical events has been resolved and the intervention becomes available as a viable treatment option within the sub-area of the medical market. Regulatory bodies keep a close eye on the intervention as it continues to monitor the administration of the intervention to the general public. Doing this ensures that any medical intervention currently in the public domain or in the clinical trial phase is entirely safe for human use.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading </h4>



PLEASE NOTE: More stories regarding the Covid-19 vaccine will be published. However, if you would like to read the full Focus piece by Simone Sribrath, click <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/product/single-digital-issue-dec-jan-2020/">here to download the digital copy of FORBES AFRICA.</a>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/07/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-vaccine/">All You Need To Know About The Vaccine</a> (Forbes Africa)



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2020/12/10/qa-endemic-diseases-like-hiv-are-still-an-emergency/">Q&amp;A: ‘ENDEMIC DISEASES LIKE HIV ARE STILL AN EMERGENCY (Forbes Africa)</a>

Florida Volunteers Take Part In COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

What Goes Into A Clinical Trial?

TOPLINE The Food and Drug Administration Thursday <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-drug-combination-treatment-covid-19" target="_blank">issued</a> an emergency use authorization for Eli Lilly’s rheumatoid arthritis drug baricitinib and remdesivir for coronavirus treatment, the first drug combination authorized by the FDA as a therapeutic for the virus. 



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h4>



Baricitinib is an existing FDA-approved drug for rheumatoid arthritis, but it has benefits for coronavirus patients used in combination with Gilead Sciences’ remdesivir, which has already been given&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/10/22/fda-approves-remdesivir-for-covid-19-treatment/?sh=680206fe63c8">full FDA approval</a>.



The emergency authorization only applies to hospitalized patients in need of supplemental oxygen.



The drug combination was given emergency approval based on a randomized double-blind trial that found it reduced median recovery time by one day and increased the chances of survival by 35% compared to patients taking remdesivir alone.



Scientists are also interested in the combination of baricitinib and the steroid dexamethasone, the latter of which was taken by President Donald Trump when he was infected, as a potential coronavirus therapeutic.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“The FDA’s emergency authorization of this combination therapy represents an incremental step forward in the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients, and FDA’s first authorization of a drug that acts on the inflammation pathway,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



&nbsp;Eli Lilly has also earned emergency approval for bamlanivimab, a monoclonal antibody treatment for early cases of Covid-19. Other promising therapeutics, including Regeneron’s antibody cocktail and dexamethasone have yet to receive FDA approval. Hydroxychloroquine had its emergency authorization rescinded after data showed it had no benefit for Covid-19 patients.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



Eli Lilly is conducting a clinical trial for baricitinib by itself, and the company may pursue an emergency use authorization for the drug depending on the results.



-By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

Pharmaceutical research into infectious disease and pandemics, scientist pipetting a sample of a new drug formula into a vial during a clinical trial with the infectious disease on the computer screen

FDA Gives Emergency Approval To Covid-19 Treatment That Combines Eli Lilly Arthritis Drug With Remdesivir

Topline: The prevailing mood was of anxiety and fear of another hard lockdown when the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, announced that he would be addressing the nation on Wednesday evening. However, his address was more of an appeal to citizens to not “relax” just yet, as the virus has not yet been beaten. The president also made some amendments to the current Alert Level One of the lockdown. &nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts&nbsp;</h3>



<ul><li>To prevent a resurgence of the Covid-19 virus, Ramaphosa announced that the government would be extending the National State of Disaster by another month to December 15. This is to ensure that all necessary prevention measures remain in place.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Ramaphosa announced that the country would once again be opening up international travel to all countries. This, after international travel was restricted to and from countries with high infection rates and limited to only South Africa’s big main airports: King Shaka, OR Tambo, and Cape Town International Airport.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>In addition, South Africa will also be&nbsp;restoring the normal trading hours for the sale of alcohol at retail outlets as opposed to the strict rules that only allowed South Africans to buy alcohol&nbsp;from Monday to Thursday, between 9AM and 5PM. &nbsp;</li><li>The President has further called on South Africans to embark on five days of mourning from November 25 to 29 to remember the victims of both Covid-19 and gender-based violence. The national flag will fly at half-mast from 6AM to 6PM (SAST); he also requested people to wear black armbands as a&nbsp;sign of mourning.&nbsp;&nbsp; </li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Crucial Numbers&nbsp;</h3>



<ul><li>As chairperson of the African Union, Ramaphosa established the Covid-19 African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team. He said it is estimated that Africa will need around $12 billion and 750 million doses of an effective vaccine.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Ramaphosa also noted the preliminary agreement between South Africa’s biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer, Aspen Pharmacare, and US drugmaker Johnson &amp; Johnson (J&amp;J). The two companies announced on November 2 that they would be producing the candidate Covid-19 vaccine in&nbsp;Port Elizabeth, South Africa.&nbsp;</li><li>“Aspen has the capacity to manufacture 300 million doses of the candidate vaccine at its Nelson Mandela Bay plant. This is a life-saving medical product that will be needed across the world, which will be manufactured by South African workers,” Ramaphosa said.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Crucial Quote &nbsp;</h3>



Ramaphosa has once again appealed to South Africans to not stop adhering to preventative measures just because the country is at Alert Level One. He further stated that as the country moves into a hot festive season, more people will want to see their family and friends but people should not get complacent.   “Wearing a mask every time we leave home is far, far better than a second wave. It is also far better than a return to lockdown and better than having to shut down the economy. A number of outbreaks have been linked to indoor gatherings where there is poor ventilation and no social distancing,” Ramaphosa said.  



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h3>



<a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2020/11/10/not-envisaging-lockdown-level-5-south-africas-health-minister/" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2020/11/10/not-envisaging-lockdown-level-5-south-africas-health-minister/">‘Not Envisaging Lockdown Level 5’: South Africa’s Health Minister</a> (FORBES AFRICA)

SAFRICA-HEALTH-VIRUS

South African President Extends National State of Disaster By A Month And Appeals To The Country To Not Get Complacent

Topline:&nbsp;A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pepp-pt.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pan-European team</a>&nbsp;of researchers announced Wednesday their plan to release a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-europe-tech/europe-to-launch-coronavirus-contact-tracing-app-initiative-idUSKBN21J4HI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">smartphone app</a>&nbsp;that would notify users if they’ve been exposed to someone infected with coronavirus, the latest example of tech-driven coronavirus solutions that have also raised concerns about user privacy.



<ul><li>A European project called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pepp-pt.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pan-European Privacy Preserving Proximity Tracing</a>&nbsp;is working toward releasing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-europe-tech/europe-to-launch-coronavirus-contact-tracing-app-initiative-idUSKBN21J4HI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a coronavirus tracing app</a>&nbsp;in the next week that would use anonymous Bluetooth technology to track when a smartphone comes in close range with another, so if a user were to test positive for coronavirus those at risk of infection could&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-europe-tech/europe-to-launch-coronavirus-contact-tracing-app-initiative-idUSKBN21J4HI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">be notified</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.who.int/features/qa/contact-tracing/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Contact tracing</a>, or determining people who may have been exposed to someone with a virus, is an established aspect of pandemic control and was used effectively to tackle coronavirus in countries like China,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-europe-tech/europe-to-launch-coronavirus-contact-tracing-app-initiative-idUSKBN21J4HI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Singapore</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/03/13/south-korea-sees-coronavirus-slowdown-without-a-lockdown-but-with-nearly-250000-tests/">South Korea</a>&nbsp;in the form of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00740-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">smartphone tracking</a>.</li><li>University of Oxford researchers and the U.K. government are working on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/coronavirus-location-tracking.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">similar project</a>— but unlike other smartphone tracking systems, the British version in development would be based on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/coronavirus-location-tracking.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">voluntary participation</a>&nbsp;and bet on citizens inputting their information out of a sense of civic duty.</li><li>The U.S. government is in talks with companies like Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/facebook">FB</a>&nbsp;and Google&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/google">GOOGL</a>&nbsp;and other tech companies about tracking if users are social distancing using large amounts of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/17/white-house-location-data-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">anonymous, aggregated location data</a>— this information is less precise, and more likely to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/coronavirus-location-tracking.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">anticipate outbreaks</a>&nbsp;rather than pinpoint individuals who have been exposed to the virus.</li><li>1.5 million Israelis have voluntarily downloaded&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-israel-apps/1-5-million-israelis-using-voluntary-coronavirus-monitoring-app-idUSKBN21J5L5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a mobile app</a>&nbsp;that alerts users if they’ve come into contact with someone with coronavirus— but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has still ordered that potential coronavirus carriers have their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-israel-apps/1-5-million-israelis-using-voluntary-coronavirus-monitoring-app-idUSKBN21J5L5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">phones monitored</a>, a controversial move the government says is necessary, as the 17% of the population using the app is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-israel-apps/1-5-million-israelis-using-voluntary-coronavirus-monitoring-app-idUSKBN21J5L5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not enough</a>&nbsp;to fight off the pandemic.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Moscow&nbsp;﻿﻿, on a city-wide lockdown since Monday, announced Wednesday that a new phone app that will officials to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52121264" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">track the movements</a>&nbsp;of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the capital city would be launched on Thursday, saying the government will&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-russia/putin-takes-coronavirus-precautions-as-moscow-unveils-tracking-app-idUSKBN21J4W8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lend a smartphone</a>&nbsp;to anyone unable to download the app.</li></ul>



Crucial quote:&nbsp;“We’re exploring ways that aggregated anonymized location information could help in the fight against [coronavirus]. One example could be helping health authorities determine the impact of social distancing, similar to the way we show popular restaurant times and traffic patterns in Google Maps&nbsp;﻿,” Google spokesman Johnny Luu told the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/17/white-house-location-data-coronavirus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Washington Post</a>. He made sure to note it “would not involve sharing data about any individual’s location, movement, or contacts.”



Key background:&nbsp;Private and public entities alike are looking for ways to fight off coronavirus as the pandemic continues. On Wednesday, there were more than&nbsp;<a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">900,000 confirmed cases</a>&nbsp;worldwide and nearly 50,000 deaths.Officials told&nbsp;The New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/new-york-times">NYT</a>&nbsp;that The National Health Service, Britain’s centralized national health system, is trusted by citizens— and paired with the strong data privacy laws in place, said they think people would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/coronavirus-location-tracking.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">agree to join</a>&nbsp;the effort to share their private information to help trace infections. However, American tech firms are reported to still be skeptical about sharing substantial data with the U.S. government ever since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/06/10/why-nsa-it-guy-edward-snowden-leaked-top-secret-documents/#2b8d9fa56737">Edward Snowden</a>&nbsp;revealed the NSA was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/coronavirus-location-tracking.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">collecting information</a>&nbsp;from the firms clandestinely.&nbsp;



Surprising fact: The information tech companies have access to data that sheds light on Americans’ behavior in light of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/coronavirus-location-tracking.html" target="_blank">Facebook analysis</a>, restaurant visits fell about 80% in Italy and 70% in Spain— while Americans only stopped eating out at a rate of 31%.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/">Carlie Porterfield</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

Tag: Coronavirus app

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