News and analysis

Children have not been the drivers of COVID-19 in South Africa, but data monitored since the beginning of the pandemic shows that the likelihood of infection, disease or death among them generally increases with age.

Local tobacco companies’ market share quadrupled during the country’s temporary sales ban in 2020, overtaking Big Tobacco’s pre-ban monopoly on South Africa’s tobacco industry.

Vaccines were stolen and many urban vaccine sites had to close as Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal erupted into chaos this past week. The biggest loss however is not vaccines, but the chronic medicines that were looted leaving those with HIV, cancer and diabetes without their medication.

Biovac will become the first company in Africa to produce Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID jab — but they won't produce the vaccine from scratch. The SA manufacturer will import the drug substance (the active ingredient that makes the vaccine work) from Europe and "fill and finish" the shot in South Africa.

South Africa’s lockdown regulations are tightening in order to better curb the spread of COVID-19. This comes amid concerns that a new variant, called Delta, detected in some provinces, could drive a surge of infections during the country’s third wave.

South Africa doubled the dosing interval for the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. We take a look at what other countries have done and the evidence for the move.

Johnson & Johnson plans to replace our two million unusable jabs by July. The vaccines are unsuitable for use and must be destroyed, while the country’s vaccination programme lags behind schedule.

Which variants have been detected in South Africa and how do they differ? Each form of the virus has slight changes and therefore behaves slightly differently and could impact what the epidemic looks like. We break it down.

A team in the country’s COVID ministerial advisory committee (MAC) uses a formula to keep tabs on the rise of infections. Here’s how it works.

SA will receive 480 000 additional COVID vaccines from Johnson & Johnson — but only if they’re found to be safe. Meanwhile, we’ll only hear in the week of June 7 if we can release our first two batches of 31 million Johnson & Johnson jabs.

What does the inside of a vaccination centre look like and how do nurses administer the jab that goes into your arm? We show you the vials, syringes and vaccinators — and explain the science behind it.

What’s the likelihood of vaccinated people passing on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19? A growing body of evidence shows that COVID-19 jabs can substantially reduce the chance of transmitting the virus to others. Find out why.

New data from Pfizer confirms the lifespan of their COVID vaccine in a refrigerator is more than six times longer than initially estimated.

The only way to book an appointment for a COVID jab is to register on the government’s electronic vaccination system. But how does the system decide who gets vaccinated first and what happens if you missed an appointment? We asked the health department.

How does the government decide who gets an sms message for a vaccination appointment first and will all healthcare workers really be vaccinated this week? We break it down.

Since the start of 2020 the country has paused its roll-out twice, swopped AstraZeneca jabs for Pfizer’s and J&J’s and now, phase two will finally begin on May 17. Here’s what you can expect.