Facts in Q&A format

As of 17 November 2021, the total number of individuals vaccinated in Mpumalanga stood at just over 1 million (1,420,542). ...

No. Legally, no one can be forced or coerced into taking the vaccine. This was affirmed by President Cyril Ramaphosa when he addressed parliament on 3 September 2021: “No one should be forced to be vaccinated. Instead, we need to use the available scientific evidence to encourage — repeat encour...

According to UCT’s Faculty of Health Science, there were 254 patients hospitalised with Covid-19 on 6 September 2021. ...

As of February 2020, there were only 67 ICU ventilators and no non-invasive ventilation machines for a population of 30 million people in Ghana. This is equivalent to an estimated ventilator capacity of 0.22 ventilators per 100,000 people in Ghana. Even if operating room ventilators are used as a ba...

The Delta or B.1.617.2 variant of SARS CoV-2 (previously known as the “Indian variant”)was first detected in India in December 2020 and became the most commonly reported variant in the country from mid-April 2021. The mutations in the Delta variant’s spike protein help the virus to bette...

Although it is still too early to know, there is some evidence suggesting that the Delta variant reduces vaccine efficacy. Data from cases in England showed that the effectiveness of both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines had been lowered after one dose from 51.1% to 33.5%. But after a second shot...

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other health authorities have cautioned against the use of hydrogen peroxide to prevent or treat COVID-19 as there is no scientific evidence to support the claim. ...

Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks 180 countries based on how free journalists are as well as instances of abuse and violence against them. In 2020, Nigeria was ranked 115th out of 180 countries –five positions up from 2019. Based on its score, the country is con...

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a few pets — including cats and dogs — have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. This happened mostly after the animals were in close contact with people infected with the COVID-19 virus. Based on the limited availa...