Cape Town – A total of 1 294 new Covid-19-related cases have been identified in South Africa.
As of Thursday, the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases for South Africa is 1 549 451, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement. A total of 1 422 new Covid-19 cases were reported yesterday, and 756 and 548 the previous two days.
The Covid-19 death toll has increased by 51: Limpopo 25, Gauteng 13, Western Cape 6, Eastern Cape 3, KwaZulu-Natal 3 and Mpumalanga 1. This brings the total number of deaths to 52 897.
The cumulative recoveries today stand at 1 474 826, representing a recovery rate of 95%. The number of tests conducted is 9 912 073, with 32 725 tests completed since the last report.
The number of healthcare workers vaccinated under the Sisonke Protocol is 269 102 as at 6.30pm today.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech said on Thursday their Covid-19 vaccine is around 91% effective at preventing the disease, citing updated trial data that included participants inoculated for up to six months.
The shot was also 100% effective in preventing illness among trial participants in SA, where a new variant called B1351 is dominant, although the number of those participants was relatively small at 800.
While the new overall efficacy rate of 91.3% is lower than the 95% originally reported in November 2020 for its 44 000-person trial, a number of variants have become more prevalent around the world since then.
Russia has registered the world’s first vaccine against Covid-19 for animals, the country’s agriculture safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said after tests showed it generated antibodies against the virus in dogs, cats, foxes and mink.
Mass production of the vaccine, called Carnivac-Cov, will start in April.
The World Health Organisation has expressed concern over the transmission of the virus between humans and animals. The regulator said the vaccine would be able to protect vulnerable species and thwart viral mutations.
IOL