Inside Covid-19

Can South African employers impose mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies as a pre-requisite to return to work or as a precondition for employment? What happens if an employee refuses to wear a mask. We’ve got the answers to these questions and more on how Covid-19 has changed employment law in South Africa, with specialist Imraan Mahomed of law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. And, with mass vaccination the big focus for governments around the world as the spread of Covid-19 remains out-of-control, we hear from our partners at Bloomberg why some healthcare workers in the United States are refusing to be vaccinated. First, the week’s Covid-19 news highlights.

The South African variant of Covid-19 has changed the outlook for the way the coronavirus pandemic is likely to unfold - in South Africa as well as elsewhere. Scientists in South Africa say there is a "reasonable concern" that the new variant of Covid-19 sweeping across the country might prove to be more resistant to current vaccines being rolled out in the UK and elsewhere, and warn that it makes the need for a global roll-out of vaccines "even more critical”. In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we have a special interview with one of South Africa’s leading scientists in the fight against Sars-CoV-2 - Professor Shabir Madhi, who has been leading trials for the vaccine in South Africa. He shares the details of the work going on behind the scenes to understand the mutations and what this means for vaccine development, the impact of the disease on people and how governments can respond to the changing threat from the disease.

In this episode, we examine changes to the Covid-19 virus that has altered the world over the past year. Dr Richard Lessells, infectious diseases specialist at Krisp, the KwaZulu-Natal Research and Innovation Sequencing Platform, part of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, helps us make sense of the latest developments in the spread of Covid-19 in South Africa. He provides an update on genomic surveillance of the disease and warns that the pandemic is still at an early stage. In this episode, we also hear insights from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Public School of Health Vice Dean Josh Sharfstein about the evolution of the virus. Also coming up, an update from Dr Keith Cloete, head of the Western Cape health department, who cautions that hospitals are buckling under the pressure of a rapidly rising rate of Covid-19 in the province that attracts huge numbers of holidaymakers at this time of the year.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced tighter restrictions aimed at halting the rising rate of Covid-19 cases in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. This includes the possibility of stiff fines and even time in jail for employers who do not insist that employees wear masks at all times. In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we pick up on some of the details of changes as South Africans sign off work for their festive season breaks. We speak to Discovery Health’s Dr Ronald Whelan, Chief Commercial Officer of Discovery Health and head of Discovery’s Covid-19 response team for an assessment of how SA has been managing the pandemic. Dr Whelan also provides an update on the importance of masks - as well as the roll-out of the vaccine in SA, particularly in the light of news that the Covid-19 virus has been mutating. He provides a fascinating glimpse of what Discovery’s data is telling us about the spread and severity of Covid-19. Dr Whelan warns us to expect at least another six months, and probably more, of navigating this disease. Also coming up: our partners at Bloomberg explore vaccine roll-out in the hemisphere.

A week ago, Bloomberg reported that SA was only likely to get Covid-19 vaccines rolled out in earnest by mid-2021 and even then only for a select few. That created an outcry from the medical fraternity. In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we speak to Professor Francois Venter, a professor of medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand, who has been pushing the government to share detailed plans for who will get vaccines. A former advisor on the government advisory panel, Professor Venter warns that the vaccine may not be administered en masse next year at all. We hear from one of the founders of the Great Barrington Declaration how we should manage Covid-19 until vaccines arrive. Dr Jay Battacharya spoke to BizNews in November, who is opposed to strict lockdown but is in favour of focused protection.He says lockdown is the single-biggest mistake in health policy in his life time but we should take protective measures - and this can include wearing masks, particularly if we are in vulnerable groups. And, we hear from Discovery Health Executive Associate Maria Makhabane-Leke about an innovation in the provision of private medical care. You will now be able to pay-as-you-go for GPs, with the offering set to be rolled out to dentists and specialists soon.

In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we look at two SA success stories as the world fights the biggest global health crisis in living memory. BizNews journalist Linda van Tilburg looks at an entrepreneurial Cape company that has developed a rapid Covid-19 test from a cousin of the tobacco plant. The company is one of five companies attracting investment from the University Technology Fund, a South African fund aimed at commercialising technologies and innovations developed n the country. We speak to Cape Bio Pharms founder, Belinda Shaw. Also coming up on this programme, we hear from Ruth Lewin, Discovery’s head of Corporate Sustainability. Ruth has been appointed to lead the International Association of Volunteer Effort, a global organisation based in the US. We speak to her about this prestigious role and what it means for volunteer work in SA and Africa. Also coming up, we hear about the Covid Resilience Ranking - an index that puts SA at 35 on a list of 53.

Born into a philanthropic family, Ruth Lewin fondly remembers collecting money for the blind - one of her parents many charitable endeavours. It would come as no surprise that Discovery's Head of Corporate Sustainability was recently appointed to the respected position of world president of the global volunteerism body, at the International Association of Volunteer Effort (IAVE). Lewin told BizNews editor Jackie Cameron about this exciting new role, what it means for Discovery and how her significant career of helping others - which included a stint as regional manager for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission - led her to her latest challenge.

With billions of dollars a day disappearing as much of the northern hemisphere is shutdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, it is critical for vaccines to be rolled out as soon as possible. In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we focus on vaccine roll out in Africa and elsewhere. Coming up: We hear from Professor Shabir Madhi, vaccines expert at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca Pascal Soriot who says supply partners are getting ready to produce hundreds of millions of doses of their vaccine. Also in the programme, Nobel Laureate, Michael Kremer, shares insights with the International Monetary Fund on his research into how to expedite the production and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines. We also share some highlights from the first BizNews Great Debate, which featured Panda's Nick Hudson and healthy policy expert Professor Alan Whiteside exploring the pros and cons of lockdowns to curb the spread of Covid-19. First, the Covid-19 news making world headlines.

In this episode of Inside Covid-19, we look at whether pharmaceutical companies can make enough Covid vaccines. We also pick up with actuary Nick Hudson, who shares how SA-grown Panda has transformed into a global organisation, with the experts behind the Great Barrington Declaration on their advisory board. Panda is fiercely opposed to strict lockdowns. Also signalling the alarm about lockdowns is US psychology professor Leonard Jason, who has co-authored a paper on long Covid - and shares how depression is a significant feature of a pandemic, for those living through it as well as people who contract the disease. Plus, the latest Covid-19 developments making world headlines.

Discovery Health's head of Clinical Policy, Dr Noluthando Nematswerani tells BizNews how Discovery is helping it's members prepare for the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine in South Africa. Nematswerani says experts expect the vaccine to arrive by at least mid 2021.