The Covid Report

Donating blood is a simple act that can save lives- people may need blood when they have surgery, cancer treatment, or transfusions for blood loss from injuries or accidents, but only 3% of age-eligible people donate blood each year, resulting in a constant demand for donated blood.

The South African National Blood Service''s Kamantha joins us to give more insight on this topic.

In today's episode we are joined by Dr Angelique Coetzee who is a private practitioner and chairperson of the South African Medical Association.

She gives us insight into the new covid-19 variant as well as how this will affect the country as we move into lockdown level 1.

Merck revealed in early October on a promising new pharmacological treatment that might be administered as a tablet in the days following the onset of COVID-19 symptoms to prevent severe disease. This development, which many are applauding as a game-changer, is already changing the debate. The tablet is called molnupiravir and will be given twice a day to vulnerable patients recently diagnosed with the disease.

To further discuss this we are joined by Dr Lize Hellstrom who is one of MERCKs principal investigators in the phase 3 clinical trials.

South Africa’s vaccination programme is in a race against time, with the fourth wave of Covid-19 infections expected to hit the country in December 2021 and into January 2022, says the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA).

In today's episode we are joined by Dr Kgongwana who will be assuming the role of the Gauteng department of health spokesperson

In this episode of the Covid Report we discuss how the pandemic has affected women and their abilty to access sexual and reproductive health services.

To give more insight on this we are joined by Psycologist, Palesa Radebe. Along with much more insightful information, she shares that women need to be aware of what is happening around them and have transparent relationships with their sexual partners.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has aligned with the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) call to not use Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19, in this stance it reflected in the SAHPRA statement, dated 28 January 2021, outlining SAHPRA’s views on Ivermectin and the Controlled Compassionate Use Programme.

To give us more insight on this we are joined by Dr Tiny Mhinga who is Medical Practitioner for many years with a special interest in Men's Health & Travel Health.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has aligned with the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) call to not use Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19, in this stance it reflected in the SAHPRA statement, dated 28 January 2021, outlining SAHPRA’s views on Ivermectin and the Controlled Compassionate Use Programme.

To give more understanding of this issue we are joined by Prof Vinny Naidoo who is the dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria.

In today's episode of the Covid Report we will be discussing the effects of the pandemic on the lives of the hearing impaired citizens.

To give us understanding on this, we are joined by Alex Reichenberg who qualified as a Speech Therapist and Audiologist at the University of the Witwatersrand and is currently enrolled for master in audiology at Witwatersrand.

We are also joined by Rafeeyah Hassim who qualified as a Speech Therapist and Audiologist at the University of the Witwatersrand and has a Master’s degree from the University of Pretoria in Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Earlier this month, the minister of Sports Arts and Culture, alongside South African Rugby Union has announced that fully vaccinated supporters will be allowed to return to live club and professional rugby matches with a maximum of 2 000 spectators that will be permitted entry to rugby venues.

Although this does not extend to school rugby matches, which fall under the auspices of the Department of Basic Education.

To further discuss this, we are joined by Mark Alexander, President of South African Rugby Union House.

In this episode of the Covid Report we are looking at the rollout of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12-17 in South Africa, as well what it means for them.

To further discuss this, we are joined by Dr Bha Ndungane-Tlakula who is the Medical Director at Pfizer SA.