Category: Health Care

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged global leaders to come together to fully fund the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator’s new Strategic Plan to continue saving lives and end the pandemic.

The President was addressing the eighth meeting of the ACT Accelerator Facilitation Council, along with Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, on Thursday.

Since its formation, the ACT Accelerator has made remarkable progress in fulfilling its mandate to make available, to the most vulnerable countries the tools they need to fight the pandemic.

President Ramaphosa said the initiative exists to fulfil the most vital purpose of all, which is to save lives.

“It is therefore necessary that global leaders come together to fully fund the ACT-Accelerator’s new Strategic Plan so that we can continue to save lives, and so that we can end this pandemic, not just for some, but for everyone, especially in the most vulnerable communities,” he said.

President Ramaphosa said that they have repeatedly said that no-one will be safe “unless we protect vulnerable populations everywhere.”

“We do have a part of the solution: The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, which, if fully funded, would provide low middle-income countries and low-income countries with vaccines, treatments, testing and PPE [personal protective equipment] for frontline health care workers.”

Vaccine inequality

He said that vaccine inequality is dangerous but it also completely avoidable.

“A year into the world’s most ambitious vaccination drive, no country should lack sufficient access to vaccines. Yet, of the nearly 7.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered globally by mid-November, 71 percent had been administered in high-income and upper-middle-income countries,” he said.

He added that only 0.6 percent had been administered in low-income countries, which makes Africa the hardest hit by inequitable access to these life-saving vaccines.

President Ramaphosa said that even before the emergence of the new Omicron variant, many countries were experiencing rising infections, increasing hospitalisations and deaths.

“As the events of the past few days have shown, we live with the threat from mutating variants, which have the potential to unleash further devastation in communities globally.

“We do not yet know whether the Omicron variant is transmitted more efficiently, whether the variant increases the risk of reinfection, whether the variant causes more severe disease, or how effective the current vaccines are against the variant,” he said.

He added that yet, several countries have decided to isolate a number of countries on the African continent.

“We should be concerned that some decisions are no longer informed by science and are not taken on the basis of exercising solidarity. This pandemic has shown how we respond to a truly global crisis; it has shown several shortcomings and weaknesses. But we can and must improve how we respond to crises,” he said.

Responding to the pandemic

President Ramaphosa said that we need to invest in all aspects of the pandemic response.

Alongside vaccination, testing and genomic surveillance are needed to identify disease hotspots and track the emergence of new variants.

“Treatments, including medical oxygen, are needed for those severely affected by COVID-19. Exciting potential treatments are being developed. We need to ensure that once they are proven to be safe and effective, they should be equally available to all countries.”

For this reason, President Ramaphosa said that they still insist on a Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver, even in its various forms where it can be negotiated.

He has called for the investment in strengthening health systems because health systems are what turn vaccines into vaccinations and tests into testing.

“We need research and development to adapt our tools and stay ahead of this mutating virus. We need the full suite of countermeasures – they being vaccines, treatments, tests, functioning health systems, and personal protective equipment – to fight COVID-19 and save lives,” he said.

“And the world needs the ACT Accelerator to make this happen. This initiative exists to fulfil the most vital purpose of all: to save lives. We cannot falter and I would like to say that this is an area we dare not fail,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Health said the rolling out of the second dose of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine to children got off to a good start on Thursday.

This is after the department opened the Electronic Vaccination Data system (EVDS) for the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine for the 12 to 17 age group yesterday morning.

Addressing the media on Friday, department’s Deputy Director-General, Dr Nicholas Crisp, said this comes after the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved Pfizer to be used in vaccinating children aged 12 to 17 against COVID-19.

However, children used to get only one dose of the vaccine, while adults get two doses.

“The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Vaccines (VMAC) felt that we had time to be a bit cautious about the way we implemented it because at that stage two months ago, we were seeing reports in the international space of myocarditis or inflammation of the heart, mostly in boys who were getting their second doses.”

However, according to Crisp, a large amount of data and reports studied by specialists in the committee has established that myocarditis after vaccination is much the same in the general population.

“So, there’s no increase. However, what they did show us is that there’s a massive increase in myocarditis or inflammation in young adolescents who get COVID infection. So, vaccinating and protecting adolescents against myocarditis is done by vaccinating them.”

The VMAC has since given the department the green light to proceed with administering second doses for the adolescents.

“This solves a lot of problems for those who were 17 when they started are now 18 and they wanted to get a second dose of vaccination as some are travelling abroad for studies and so forth.”

Crisp was pleased that the vaccination of adolescents under the age of 18 has picked up quite quickly.

“Towards the end of exams when adolescents were able to move around more and go to the vaccination sites, we’ve seen a very stark uptick in vaccination of children or adolescents in this age group.”

So far, the data shows that over 700 000 children have now received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

“So, that programme [of administering the second dose] will now run across the population,” he said adding that those aged 12 and above will now receive two doses of the Pfizer vaccine 42-days apart.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) efforts to increase and expand the use of data to improve the integrity of outcomes and enhance its capability to detect instances of non-compliance is beginning to bear fruit.

This much was evident in the agency’s recent notable successes in this regard, the revenue collector said on Thursday.

In a statement, it said: “Using the data from various domestic and international sources, as input into machine learning models, risk profiling and case selection, a number of trends have already been observed with positive outcomes in a number of instances, some of which were previously reported”.

SARS said examples of domestic third-party sources includes banks, retirement funds, medical insurance providers, the properties deeds office and the companies register. Other sources included the national register of motor vehicles, the National Treasury’s Central Supplier Database (CSD), as well as the national population register. International data sources includes the automatic exchange of information on South Africans with off-shore financial assets from about 100 foreign jurisdictions, as well as several mutual administrative agreements with sister organisations.

Progress in respect of this strategic work included SARS in the current year having already collected R115 billion from compliance activities. This was an upward trend after the revenue collected over R172 billion revenue from compliance efforts in the previous financial year.

“Of this amount, about 33% results from the automatic risk profiling of taxpayers using data and machine learning,” said SARS.

Of the previously reported 26 000 individuals with economic activity and/or assets exceeding R1 million, almost 1000 have been identified as being involved in money laundering and other serious crimes.

Of the initial batch of 275 individuals with assets abroad detected using the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) prorgamme, SARS said the the first 50 individuals had been selected for further scrutiny in relation to assets in tax havens, with more to follow.

“We are working with the IRS in the US, utilising the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which has assisted in connecting a number of South Africans with links to the Pandora disclosures, and investments into a number of states,” reads the statement.

On the government procurement of PPE, the revenue collector said its analysis of the CSD had highlighted large numbers of vendors who supply services to government who are not tax complaint.

“Specifically, we identified approximately 1900 entities, each earning more than R1-million (between March 2020 – May 2021), from contracts with government, totalling R6.3 billion, yet are not registered as VAT vendors; a further 2380 VAT registered vendors have filed nil returns, despite having earned collectively over R9 billion from government contracts.

“The work of regularising the affairs of these taxpayers is well underway. An initial R220 million additional assessments have been raised; almost R75 million fraudulent refunds prevented; with debt collection efforts in progess. In each instance, SARS also considers whether criminal prosecutions are applicable.”

Using whistle-blower reports as well as third-party data sources, SARS said it had recently deployed over 90 employees to execute one of the largest search and seizure operations following extensive investigative work.

“This operation has identified 11 entities at 4 different sites, and 27 taxpayers for potential fraudulent disclosures in respect of a number of years. All assets have been preserved whilst the investigations proceed,” it said, adding that results from its Criminal Investigations efforts had yielded over 70 convictions in 2021 alone.

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter acknowledges that the revenue collector still had “a long way to go”.

“But [we] are encouraged that our strategic approach is beginning to show early impact,” he said.

He added that SARS proceeds from the premise that “most taxpayers are honest and want to fulfil their legal obligations”.

To these taxpayers, he said SARS would work hard to assist them by providing clarity and easing the burden of compliance.

“Those, however who continue to defraud the tax system, must know that they do so at their own peril, as we make progress on the rebuilding and modernisation of the institution. As we observe Anti-Corruption Day, SARS remains committed to build on its capability to enforce the law and pursue those who wilfully or criminally seek to break it,” he said.

Kieswetter advised non-compliant taxpayers to engage with SARS via the voluntary disclosure program (VDP) to determine if their disclosure would qualify for the relief provided in the VDP.

Where the disclosure does not qualify for the relief, it is strongly recommended that the taxpayer concerned regularise their tax affairs via the various mechanisms that are currently available. The VDP programme has processed in excess of 1000 applications that has resulted in R2.5 billion in revenue for the current year.

“Our vision to build a smart modern SARS with unquestionable integrity is beginning to bear fruit,” said he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Seventy percent of those who have been admitted to hospital are those who are unvaccinated, revealed Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, on Friday.

According to the Minister, while scientists are still conducting more studies if vaccines work against the Omicron variant, early signs indicate they are still effective.

“So as things stand the vaccines are showing to be still very strong in protecting against severe disease as it did with previous variants,” he said during a media briefing, adding that figures are showing those who are vaccinated are better protected.

In addition, current treatments used over the last 20 months are still very relevant and very effective. These include steroid, corticosteroid oxygen therapy, antivirals, and anticoagulants.

Children admissions

Phaahla told the media that between 14 November and 4 December 2021, there has been an increase in admission of children under five years, especially in Tshwane metro hospitals where early resurgence occurred. For the under-18s, hospital admissions comprised 21% of admissions.

However, according to the Minister, the patterns has since changed, with the proportion of admissions in children less than five years decreasing from 21% to 14% in the previous week to 8% this week.

“But it has now changed to more adults getting infected,” he added.

The provincial and national pictures is indicating a peak in both cases and admissions among children of all age groups. However, there is no change in the proportion of children getting seriously ill or dying.

“Early data from hospital surveillance also reports from public and private hospitals indicate that admissions are largely in children admitted for other reasons, and then testing positive and for very short durations.”

Despite making up 30% of the population, the younger people comprise only 12% of cases and 5% of hospital admissions.

“However, the children who are at risk of severe disease are those under one year and other people with other comorbidities for children who are premature and who have diabetes, cancer and those with HIV and TB.”

The Minister said he was unclear what is driving the apparent increase in children. “But what we want to say is that there is no need for alarm.”

In addition, he said while the other aspects of the transmissibility are showing, there are signs that the Omicron is less severe.

“We know that the vaccines as emphasised, it remains the bulwark of protection against all these variants.”

Gauteng

In Gauteng, the Minister said the weekly infections increased by more than 400% since last week and hospital admissions jumped by more than 200%.

According to the Minister, Omicron was the dominant variant among samples sequenced during November 2021.

“That is, as far as of yesterday, 70% of the tests done are showing Omicron as a dominant variant, which is most likely the variant driving the increase in cases in Gauteng.

“Omicron is quickly displacing the Delta variant in Gauteng and is also spreading in other provinces.”

The Minister has urged people to get the vaccine, as the country races to reach the 27 million mark of administered jabs before the end of the day.

He has called on the younger aged between 18 and 35, which is sitting below 30% in terms of vaccine coverage, to get the shot.

Source: South African Government News Agency