News in Oshiwambo
… as worries grow over AstraZeneca shot
MINISTA gwuundjolowele nonkalo nawa Kalumbi Shangula okwa ti, aantu taya si kocorona, oya pewa uuthemba okufimbikwa kaakwanezimo yawo.
Oonakusa oya pitikwa okukuthwa komahala hoka ya hulithila, yaka fumbikwe kaakwanezimo yawo, momayendo ngoka ya hala.
“Nonando uuministeli wuundjololowele otawu kala tawu thiki pomafumbiko mpoka, okukwashilipaleke oompango nomalandulathano gwoCovid-19 ngele otaga gwanithwapo, itawu kalongikidha omafumbiko,” ta ti ngaaka.
Minista ta ti, aakwanezimo ya nakusa, naya zale iikeelelitho ayihe uuna ye li pefumbiko, ihe itayi kagandjwa kuuministeli, ngaashi sha kala hashi ningwa.
Shangula ta ti, shoka otashi kapitikwa ashike una, naku sa talongekidhilwa efumbiko kehangano lyokufumbika, ndyoka lya pewa uuthemba kepangelo okulonga iilonga yatya ngaaka.
“Aakwanezimo otaya kumagidhwa ya kale oomita ndatu ko kule noshilambo. Oshilambo nashi kale shina oomita mbali okuya mevi. Akwanezimo oya pitikwa okuzaleka egumbo lya naku sa niimboloma, ihe napu kale pena omita 1.5 ko kule noshilambo,” Shangula ayelitha.
Minista ta ti, aantu taya kathika pefumbiko, naya kale yathikama oomita omulongo ko kule noshilambo.
Ta gwedhapo ta ti, omuNamibia kehe ta sile kondje yoshilongo, olutu lwe ina lupitkwa okutumwa koNamibia.
Shangula ta ti, otaya pitike ashike omutoko gwolutu lwa naku sa, uuna lwafikwapo.
Ta ti, olutu nando ota li ku kutikwa, natango italu ka pitikwa okutumwa koNamibia.
Umininisteli wuundjolowele, owalopota omaso ge li 375, gwoCovid-19 konima yomasiku gaali.
Shangula okwa ti, omalalandulathano ga tulwa po okukeelela etandelo lyomukithi gwoCovid-19, oga kwathela noonkondo, onkene naga tsikile okusimanekwa nokulandulwa.
“Natu tsikileni oku zala uumasika ethimbo kehe, unene mokati kaantu. Natu gwanithepo omalandulathano agehe ngaashi ga kalapo,” ta kumagidha.
Minista okwa ti, ookangendjo kuusiku, otaka ningi haka tameke okuza 22h00 yuusiku sigo ontano yongula.
“Oongeshefa nadhi tsikile okulanditha shaikolelelakoowilidhomangeshefelogawo, ihe nadhi gwanithepo omalandulathano agehe, okukeelela omukithi ngoka,” Minista ta ti ngaaka.
Ta ti, omahala gwomanwino, otaga tsikile okuhuulila po 08h00 yuusiku.
Shangula okwa ti, omalandulathano ngoka otaga ka hula uusiku womasiku 24 yaFebeluali nuumvo.
SOUTH AFRICA okwa tula mo ombiliki manga ngele tashi ya komuti gwetuntilo gwa ndulukwa koshiputudhilo shopomabnda shoOxford, omuti nguka gwedhina AstraZeneca ogwa ulika iizemo ya nkundipala ngele tashi ya komukithi gwocovid-19 ngoka gu li moSouth Africa. Aanongononi otaya ti oludhi nduka olupe olwa kalela po oopelesenda 90 dhomukithi gwoCovid moSouth Africa. Omapekaapeko ngoka ga kwatela mo konyala aantu 2000, oga mono kutya omuti ngoka ohagu gandja egameno eshona noonkondo.
South Africa okwa pewa omata gomuti nguka gwoAstraZeneca nokwa li kwa tegelelwa etuntilo lyi tameke oshiwike tashi ya. Ta popi pegandjo lyuuyelele kiikundaneki mOsoondaha, ominista lyuuhaku yaSouth Africa Zweli Mkhize okwa ti epangelo otali ka tegelela okukumagidhwa ngele tashi ya koAstra Zeneca konima yiizemo mbika. Omalolelo oga li ga ningwa kounivesiti yaWitwatersarand. Ngashiingeyi, okwa ti, epangelo otali gandja omatuntilo ngaka gomuti gwa longwa koJohnson & Johnson miiwike tayi ya.
“Omupya omunene, omuti gwoAstraZeneca ihagu longo nawa,” osho omuprofesa Shabir Madhi, ngoka a li kwatela komeho omakonaakono ngaka osho a ti ngaaka.
Omuprofesa Sarah Gilbert gwokOxford, okwa ti omuti nguka otagu gamene aantu komukithi. -BBC
GENEVA - South Africa suspended the start of its AstraZeneca inoculation programme over concerns the shot does not work on a new variant, with WHO experts were due to meet yesterday to discuss the vaccine already facing questions about its efficacy for over-65s.
A trial showed the vaccine provides only “minimal” protection against mild to moderate Covid-19 caused by the variant first detected in South Africa, a setback to the global fight against the pandemic as many poorer nations are relying on the logistical advantages offered by the AstraZeneca shot.
Africa’s hardest-hit nation was due to start its campaign in the coming days with a million AstraZeneca doses but the government decided to hold off in light of the results from the trial conducted by the University of Witatersrand in Johannesburg.
“It’s a temporary issue that we have to hold on AstraZeneca until we figure out these issues,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize told reporters on Sunday.
The 1.5 million AstraZeneca vaccines obtained by South Africa, which will expire in April, will be kept until scientists give clear indications on their use, he added.
AstraZeneca, which developed the shot with the University of Oxford, told AFP: “We do believe our vaccine will still protect against severe disease.”
A company spokesperson said researchers were already working to update the vaccine to deal with the South African variant, which has been spreading rapidly around the world.
A World Health Organization panel was due to meet yesterday in Geneva to examine the shot, which is a major component of the initial Covax global vaccine rollout that covers some 145 countries - mostly lower- and lower-middle income economies.
Out of the initial 337.2 million Covax doses, 240 million are AstraZeneca shots, which do not require the supercold storage needed for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
There were already concerns about the efficacy of the AstraZeneca shot among over-65s, with a number of European nations not authorising it yet for that demographic.
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 2.3 million lives globally out of nearly 106 million known infections, and despite the AstraZeneca setback, vaccine rollouts in other countries are gathering pace.
Hungarian authorities said Sunday they have approved Russia’s Sputnik V shot, while
Cambodia became the latest nation to receive delivery of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, taking on 600 000 doses of the jab.
Efforts are under way in the United States, the hardest-hit nation, to accelerate its mass vaccination programme, which has been plagued by supply and logistics issues.
President Joe Biden, who took office last month, said his predecessor Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic “was even more dire than we thought”.
“We thought they had indicated there was a lot more vaccine available, and it didn’t turn out to be the case,” he told CBS News on Sunday. “So that’s why we’ve ramped up every way we can.”
Biden also asked American football fans to “be careful”, with health experts worried about the virus spreading at parties expected during and after the Super Bowl, the country’s biggest sporting event.
There was some good news out of Israel, which began emerging out of its third lockdown on Sunday. Israel’s vaccination programme is considered the fastest per-capita in the world.
In neighbouring Jordan, hundreds of thousands of students returned to classrooms on Sunday after almost a year.
“I am very happy to see my friends and teacher again,” said seven-year-old Mecca at a school in Jabal Amman, in the centre of the Jordanian capital.
“I was bored at home.”
Schools were also expected to reopen on Monday in Romania, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria. Museums and shops were also due to reopen in Austria.
And there was both gloom and optimism in Venice, where the annual Carnival kicked off with much smaller celebrations.
“Venice is strange this year. It is shocking to see it so empty,” said Armando Bala, a costume salesman.
“We are here today to say that Venice can live and be reborn, as it has several times in its history.”