defenceWeb
Written by defenceWeb -
Heberon.
It appears the senior command structure of the national defence force is not an active participant into an ongoing Public Protector (PP) investigation of how and why an unregistered Cuban drug was acquired by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The investigation by Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s office is one of three. The others are a task team appointed by Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and a SA Police Service (SAPS) one initiated by Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentarian Kobus Marais.
Last week Marais told defenceWeb the PP advocate leading the Cuban drug investigation received feedback from the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) with no response from the SANDF, probably in the form of its military health service. A deadline of Friday, 30 April, came and went without any PP/SANDF contact. This, according to Johannesburg daily The Citizen, will see the Chapter Nine institution
defenceWeb
Written by defenceWeb -
A vial of Heberon.
Feedback from one of three investigations underway into the acquisition, from Cuba, of an unregistered drug to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the national defence force indicates at present no response from the SA National Defence Force (SANDF).
A senior investigator at the Office of the Public Protector, responding to Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentarian Kobus Marais on the investigation’s progress, said the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) answered an enquiry letter from the Chapter Nine institution as regards its involvement in the acquisition of Heberon.
The shadow defence and military veterans minister was further informed the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), still under the leadership of General Solly Shoke, had not replied to the Public Protector enquiry.
Alexander Winning > By Alexander Winning - 26 April 2021 - 11:19 There will be intensified pre-vaccination assessment and post-vaccination monitoring when the J&J study resumes, says the health ministry. Image: 123RF/S SILVER
A research study in SA further evaluating Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) Covid-19 vaccine in the field will resume on Wednesday, the health ministry said, after the study was paused over rare cases of blood clots in people who received the vaccine.
During the pause, it was established there is a one in a million chance of getting a clot after receiving the vaccine so regulators across the world have recommended the continued use of J&J’s shot, the ministry said.
J&J jabs expected to resume this week Claire Keeton > By Claire Keeton - 19 April 2021 - 10:34 The pause in the rollout of Johnson & Johnson s Covid-19 vaccine to investigate a very rare blood clotting disorder is likely to be lifted soon. File photo. Image: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
Prof Glenda Gray, co-principal investigator of the Sisonke implementation study, which is providing health-care workers with Covid-19 J&J vaccines, said on Monday morning the suspension of the inoculations is expected to be lifted soon.
The vaccinations were paused by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) on Tuesday night last week, the same day the US Food and Drug Administration paused its J&J rollout because of extremely rare and severe blood clots detected in six out of 6.8 million Americans vaccinated.
Stalled J&J vaccine rollout poised to resume this week Enough inventory to resume quickly, says B4SA BL PREMIUM 18 April 2021 - 23:11 Warren Thompson
The resumption of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine programme awaits approval of its updated protocol by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) and a group of university research ethics committees before the stalled programme can restart.
“Once we have received the formal documentation, we will be able to critically evaluate it and turn it around very quickly,” said Prof Marc Blockman, chair of the human research ethics committee at the University of Cape Town’s faculty of health.