Latest news with #ZweliMkhize
TimesLIVE
04-07-2025
- Health
- TimesLIVE
Don't panic about new SARS-CoV-2 variant, experts say
Covid-19 has largely dropped out of the headlines, but the virus that causes it is still circulating. We ask what we should know about a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the state of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2025 and the lack of access to updated vaccines in South Africa. In the leafy Johannesburg suburb of Sandringham, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) bears a deceptive façade. Do not be fooled by its sleepy campus, clustered face brick buildings and shade cloth parking; this government facility is home to state-of-the-art biosafety laboratories and some of South Africa's top virologists, microbiologists and epidemiologists. Here, 71 scientists are tasked daily with laboratory-based disease surveillance to protect the country from pathogen outbreak events. On March 5 2020, then health minister Zweli Mkhize announced South Africa's first Covid‑19 infection at an NICD press briefing. At the time, the NICD was an obscure acronym for many, but that quickly changed as the institution became central to the country's pandemic response. While the Covid-19 pandemic may have waned, the NICD hasn't stopped monitoring. That is because there remains a global public health risk associated with Covid-19. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states: 'There has been evidence of decreasing impact on human health throughout 2023 and 2024 compared with 2020-2023, driven mainly by: high levels of population immunity, achieved through infection, vaccination or both; similar virulence of currently circulating JN.1 sublineages of the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared with previously circulating Omicron sublineages; and the availability of diagnostic tests and improved clinical case management. SARS-CoV-2 circulation nevertheless continues at considerable levels in many areas, as indicated in regional trends, without any established seasonality and with unpredictable evolutionary patterns.' Thus, while SARS-CoV-2 is still circulating, it is clearly not making remotely as many people ill or claiming nearly as many lives as it did four years ago. Asked about this, Foster Mohale, spokesperson for the national health department, said 'there are no reports of people getting severely sick and dying due to Covid-19 in South Africa now'. Variant under monitoring As SARS-CoV-2 circulates, it continues to mutate. The WHO recently designated variant NB.1.8.1 as a new variant under monitoring. There is however no reason for alarm.
Daily Maverick
01-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Don't panic about new SARS-CoV-2 variant, experts say
Covid has largely dropped out of the headlines, but the virus that causes it is still circulating. We ask what we should know about a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the state of the Covid pandemic in 2025, and the lack of access to updated vaccines in South Africa. In the leafy Johannesburg suburb of Sandringham, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) bears a deceptive facade. Do not be fooled by its sleepy campus, clustered face brick buildings and shade-cloth parking, this government facility is home to state-of-the-art biosafety laboratories and some of South Africa's top virologists, microbiologists and epidemiologists. Here, 71 scientists are tasked daily with laboratory-based disease surveillance to protect the country from pathogen outbreak events. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads On 5 March 2020, then health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced South Africa's first Covid infection at an NICD press briefing. At the time, the NICD was an obscure acronym for many, but that quickly changed as the institution became central to the country's pandemic response. While the Covid pandemic may have waned, the NICD hasn't stopped monitoring. That is because there remains a global public health risk associated with Covid. The World Health Organization (WHO) states: 'There has been evidence of decreasing impact on human health throughout 2023 and 2024 compared to 2020-2023, driven mainly by: High levels of population immunity, achieved through infection, vaccination, or both; Similar virulence of currently circulating JN.1 sublineages of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as compared with previously circulating Omicron sublineages; and The availability of diagnostic tests and improved clinical case management. SARS-CoV-2 circulation nevertheless continues at considerable levels in many areas, as indicated in regional trends, without any established seasonality and with unpredictable evolutionary patterns.' Thus, while SARS-CoV-2 is still circulating, it is clearly not making remotely as many people ill or claiming nearly as many lives as it did four years ago. Asked about this, Foster Mohale, spokesperson for the National Department of Health, says, 'There are no reports of people getting severely sick and dying due to Covid in South Africa at the current moment.' advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads 'Variant under monitoring' As SARS-CoV-2 circulates, it continues to mutate. The WHO recently designated variant NB.1.8.1 as a new variant under monitoring. There is, however, no reason for alarm. Professor Anne von Gottberg, laboratory head at the NICD's Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis, tells Spotlight that NB.1.8.1 is not a cause for panic, particularly not in South Africa. Von Gottberg says no cases of the new variant have been detected in South Africa. She refers to her unit's latest surveillance of respiratory pathogens report for the week of 2 to 8 June 2025. It states that out of 189 samples tested, 41 (21.7%) cases were influenza, another 41 (21.7%) cases were respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and three (1.6%) cases were earlier strains of SARS-CoV-2. These figures suggest much greater circulation of influenza and RSV in South Africa than SARS-CoV-2. Over the past six months, 3,258 samples were tested, revealing 349 (10.7%) cases of influenza, 530 (16.3%) cases of RSV, and 106 (3.3%) cases of SARS-CoV-2. Since most people who become sick because of these viruses are not tested, these figures do not paint the whole picture of what is happening in the country. As of 23 May 2025, the WHO considered the public health risk of NB.1.8.1 to be 'low at the global level', with 518 iterations of the variant submitted from 22 countries, mainly around Asia and the Pacific islands. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads The WHO report states: 'NB.1.8.1 exhibits only marginal additional immune evasion over LP.8.1 [first detected in July 2024]. While there are reported increases in cases and hospitalisations in some of the WPR [Western Pacific Region] countries, which has the highest proportion of NB.1.8.1, there are no reports to suggest that the associated disease severity is higher as compared to other circulating variants. The available evidence on NB.1.8.1 does not suggest additional public health risks relative to the other currently circulating Omicron descendent lineages.' advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Combating misinformation Von Gottberg says that the NICD plays a critical public health communication role in combating misinformation and warns against alarmist and inaccurate online depictions of NB.1.8.1, the Omicron-descendent lineage dubbed 'Nimbus' by some commentators. 'There's fake news about NB.1.8.1 going around on social media,' she says. 'For example, supposed symptoms. I have been trying to look for articles and have not seen anything from [reliable sources],' she says. 'In fact, there is no information about whether there are any differences in symptoms, because there are so few cases and it is not causing more severe disease.' Von Gottberg implores members of the public to check information sources. 'We try hard – and the Department of Health does the same – to put media releases out so that accurate information is shared. What we ask is that all our clients, the public, verify information before they start retweeting or resending.' advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Covid vaccines in South Africa The WHO recommends that countries ensure continued equitable access to and uptake of Covid vaccines. They also note that the currently approved Covid vaccines are expected to remain effective against the new variant. But contrary to WHO advice, newer Covid vaccines are not available in South Africa and continued access to older vaccinations seems to have ceased. When Spotlight called two branches of two major pharmacy retailers in Cape Town, asking for available Covid vaccines, the answer at both was that they had none. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Several recently approved Covid vaccines are being used in other countries but are not available in South Africa. These include Moderna's updated mRNA boosters, approved in the United States and parts of Europe, Novavax's Nuvaxovid vaccine, approved in the United States, and Arcturus Therapeutics's self-amplifying mRNA vaccine Zapomeran, approved in Europe. Self-amplifying mRNA vaccines have the additional capacity to induce longer-lasting immune responses by replicating the spike-proteins of SARS-CoV-2. None of these vaccines are under review for registration in South Africa, according to the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra). Vaccines may not be made available in the country without the green light from Sahpra. 'It may be advisable to contact the owners of the vaccines to obtain clarity on whether they intend to submit for registration,' says Sahpra spokesperson Yuven Gounden. advertisement Don't want to see this? Remove ads Spotlight on Friday sent questions to Moderna, Novavax and Arcturus, asking whether they planned to submit their vaccines for registration with Sahpra, and if not, why not. None of the companies responded by the time of publication. Von Gottberg explains that vaccines can become available in South Africa only if their manufacturers submit them to Sahpra for approval. 'So, if a vaccine provider, a vaccine manufacturer, does not want to sell in our country because they do not see it as a lucrative market, they may not even put it forward for regulation so that it can be made available.' Professor of Vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Shabir Madhi, says the major concern with the lack of licensed SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in South Africa is that 'high-risk individuals remain susceptible to severe Covid, as there is waning of immunity'. 'High-risk individuals should receive a booster dose every 6-12 months, preferably with the vaccine that is updated against current or most recent variants,' he says. Von Gottberg has similar concerns. 'My hope as a public health professional is that these vaccine manufacturers take us seriously as a market in South Africa and in Africa, very importantly, and put these vaccines and products through our regulatory authorities so that they can be made available both in the public and in the private sector for all individuals who are at risk and should be receiving these vaccines,' she says. Gounden notes that should a public health need arise, 'Sahpra is ready to respond in terms of emergency use approval.' Concerns over vaccine expert dismissals in the United States Earlier this month in the United States, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) – an expert body responsible for recommending vaccines for 60 years. He then appointed eight new members, some known for vaccine scepticism. Commenting on this, Von Gottberg says: 'I am hoping there will be those who will think about what he [Kennedy] is doing and question it. It is an unusual situation in the United States, you cannot call it business as usual.' In an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, former ACIP members voice grave concerns over the dismissals. 'Vaccines are one of the greatest global public health achievements. Vaccine recommendations have been critical to the global eradication of smallpox and the elimination of polio, measles, rubella, and congenital rubella syndrome in the US. 'They have also dramatically decreased cases of hepatitis, meningitis, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), pneumonia, tetanus, and varicella (chickenpox), and prevented cancers caused by hepatitis B virus and human papilloma viruses. Recent scientific advancements enabled the accelerated development, production and evaluation of Covid vaccines…' they write. The article also questioned the announcement by Kennedy Jr on X that he had signed a directive to withdraw the recommendation for Covid vaccination in healthy children and healthy pregnant people. '[R]ecent changes to Covid vaccine policy, made directly by the HHS secretary and released on social media, appear to have bypassed the standard, transparent and evidence-based review process. Such actions reflect a troubling disregard for the scientific integrity that has historically guided US immunisation strategy,' the authors warn. Von Gottberg adds: 'We hope that this anti-vax, the denialism of vaccines and the good they do, won't come to South Africa.' In addition, she cautions public healthcare professionals to take heed of this discourse. 'We must take seriously that people have questions, and that they want to see us doing things correctly, transparently, always telling people of our conflicts of interest, being very upfront when things are controversial, when it's difficult to make decisions,' she says 'So I think what this teaches us is not to be complacent in the way we talk and write about vaccines, discuss vaccines, and we must take our clients, the public out there, seriously and hear their voices, listen to their questions.' DM This article was first published by Spotlight – health journalism in the public interest. Sign up to the Spotlight newsletter.
Eyewitness News
10-06-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
'Governance crisis in our municipalities is deepening'
JOHANNESBURG - Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Zweli Mkhize, has warned of a deepening crisis in local government due to financial ill-discipline and poor governance. He also said that the latest audit outcomes confirm what the committee has witnessed during its oversight and will have a serious impact on service delivery. Mkhize gave an update in Parliament on Monday as part of the governance cluster. He said that the office of the Auditor-General (AG) tabled a report that shows that 59 percent of financial statements submitted for auditing by municipalities contained material misstatements This despite municipalities having spent more than R1.4 billion on consultants to do the work. "The latest audit outcomes presented to the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs by the Auditor-General for the 2023/24 financial year confirm what has long been evident from our oversight, that the financial and governance crisis in our municipalities is deepening, with profound consequences for service delivery and public trust."
Eyewitness News
09-06-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Consultants bungling municipal audits despite receiving over R1 billion: COGTA committee chair
JOHANNESBURG - Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs committee chairperson, Dr Zweli Mkhize, says consultants are bungling municipal audits despite being paid over R1 billion to ensure the books balance. Mkhize has also noted what he calls a deepening crisis in the local government sector, saying there's a lack of accountability and leadership. He made the remarks while addressing a governance cluster briefing in Parliament on Monday.. Mkhize says the latest audit outcomes show how the financial and governance crisis in the country's municipalities is deepening. He says this has profound consequences for service delivery and public trust. Mkhize says the audits also show that 59% of financial statements submitted for auditing contained material misstatements despite being prepared by private sector consultants. 'This, despite municipalities having spent over R1.4 billion on consultants to prepare these very statements. It is unacceptable that such exorbitant spending yields so little value.' Mkhize says what is even more 'troubling' is that many of these municipalities across the country already have permanent staff tasked with performing this work and have called for the wastage to end.
Zawya
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Committee Commends Cultural, Religious and Linguistics (CRL) Rights Commission for Efforts to Safeguard Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights
The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on Friday reaffirmed its support for the Cultural, Religious and Linguistics (CRL) Rights Commission's efforts to safeguard these rights. The committee received briefings from the CRL Rights Commission and the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) on their strategic and annual performance plans. The MDB's mandate includes, among other things, the delimitation of municipal wards after consulting the Independent Electoral Commission. Committee Chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize acknowledged the commission's role in addressing harmful practices performed under the guise of religion. He also encouraged the commission in its ongoing efforts to confront psychological, physical and sexual abuse linked to such cases. 'While we respect religious freedom in South Africa, these rights must be exercised in line with constitutional protections and human dignity,' he said. The commission's briefing follows the recent Eastern Cape High Court judgement, which cleared Nigerian pastor Timothy Omotoso of all charges, including sexual assault and human trafficking. Welcoming the commission's presentation, the Chairperson reaffirmed the importance of the commission's work in protecting the rights of cultural, religious and linguistic communities and the crucial role this plays in nation-building and social cohesion. The committee noted the challenges impacting the commission's work, particularly budget constraints. It was encouraged by ongoing efforts to recognise and develop historically marginalised languages, such as SePulana (a language spoken by the Mapulana people in Limpopo and Mpumalanga) and isiMpondo (spoken by the AmaMphondo people in the Eastern Cape). The committee also welcomed the continued focus on customary initiation practices and ensuring they conform to constitutional principles. The Chairperson stressed that there should be zero tolerance for illegal schools, mutilation, or loss of life in exercising this traditional custom. 'There can be no acceptable number when it comes to mutilations or fatalities. Our goal must be zero in all respects. There is no acceptable threshold for such harms,' he said, stressing the need for stronger oversight, awareness and community education. The committee also welcomed the shift in focus of the commission's referral and oversight systems that now ensure matters brought before it are addressed, even when other departments are involved. Previously, the commission would refer matters to relevant departments. Meanwhile, while welcoming the MDB's presentation, the committee expressed concerns about the practicalities and impact municipal boundary determinations may have on communities. Highlighting that communities are often built on relationships and shared access to services, the Chairperson cautioned the Board against only relying on legal frameworks when making boundary determinations that may split communities and social networks. 'The MDB must be sensitive to avoid dividing a settled cohesive community into different wards, municipalities, districts, and sometimes provinces as this practice may disrupt social stability and access to social amenities and centres for service delivery.' Moreover, the committee sought concrete evidence of public consultation during demarcation. Members also called on the MDB to be more responsive to dissatisfaction in affected communities and asked for evidence that public education initiatives helped build public trust in the demarcation process. Noting the budget constraints, the committee urged the MDB to build its institutional capacity and not solely rely on municipalities to do its work at the local level. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
