Mount Kenya University has become the first university in the country to purchase a Real-Time PCR machine that will be used for detecting COVID-19.
The machine, acquired at Ksh15 million, is set to arrive in days from China through TBC biotechnology corporation. “Ours is a commitment to the student population and the society at large that we want to ensure we can test all our students for the virus, at any time,” said MKU’s new Vice-Chancellor Prof. Deogratious Jaganyi. “We not only want to have the ability to test, but also impart skills to our medical students on how this is done since COVID-19 will be with us for a long time.”
Prof. Jaganyi further added that the institution is considering extending the service to the community at a reasonable rate, this being part of their corporate social responsibility.
MKU Council Chair, Prof. David Serem (right) hands over the University’s Mace to the new VC Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi during his installation ceremony on 29th January 2021. Photo courtesy of KCB.
Real-Time RT-PCR is one of the most widely used laboratory methods for detecting COVID-19. Many countries use it to diagnose other diseases such as Ebola and Zika virus. Currently, there are 34 medical institutions in Kenya which have approved PCR machines and some charge as high as Ksh10,000 for Covid-19 test
In 2020, MKU Medical School was ranked the best in Kenya with a score of 82 out of 100 points in an inspection conducted by a team of technical health experts from East African Community Partner States National Medical and Dental Practitioners Regulatory Councils.
Daystar University campuses have improved on Covid-19 protocols previously set up in the school, in preparation for physical classes of the January 2021 semester.
Measures taken include setting up isolation rooms in both campuses, remarking classrooms and public places for social distancing, setting up temperature checks, handwashing and sanitization stations.
Handwashing stations at Athi River Campus. Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Laguma.
“We have isolation rooms in both campuses and we have doctors and medical personnel. We are ready and prepared, and we have done our best as a University,” said Pius Muia, Senior Human Resource Manager.
Masks will also be provided in the campuses for those unable to obtain. With the protocols in place, the main campus in Athi River can accommodate 1,500 students while the Valley Road campus can take 600 students.
“We had many of them saying the preferred face to face, and we wondered about the reasons and we agreed on who will be face to face,” said Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. Faith Nguru, during the freshmen parents’ welcome on Monday.
Social distancing in lecture rooms. Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Laguma.
Currently, the University is offering blended learning whereby both physical and online classes will be ongoing. A survey that was conducted by the school revealed that more students preferred face to face learning over online learning.
Students from the school of communication can also make arrangements in groups to use the studios in the campuses. Those undertaking online classes have the privilege of choosing their units from both the Athi River and Nairobi campuses, which include day and evening classes.
Sanitizer station in Athi River campus. Photo courtesy of Emmanuel Laguma.
Students set to resume for physical classes this January include those taking nursing and science-based courses. The rest will study online but have access to the facilities in both campuses such as the libraries and labs.
Both physical and online classes are set to begin on January 11, 2021. Orientation of new students was conducted physically with strict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved by the UK medicines regulator, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). This makes it the second vaccine to be approved in the UK after Pfizer.
The approval by the body of the came after weeks of examining trial data by experts and it was concluded that the vaccine met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. The vaccination programme will start on Monday and will aim to reach millions of people in at-risk categories as quickly as possible.
The new variant of the virus causing high rates of infection has made vaccination much more urgent. The government’s joint committee on vaccination and immunization (JCVI) has advised that priority should be to give as many at-risk groups their first dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccine, other than providing two doses in four weeks.
AstraZeneca PLC company. Photo courtesy of EPA.
“Everyone will still receive their second dose and this will be within 12 weeks of their first. The second dose completes the course and is important for long term protection,” said a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
AstraZeneca said its vaccine would be made available to some of the poorest regions of the world at low cost and not being manufactured for profit. CEO of the company, Pascal Soriot, said AstraZeneca could provide the UK with up to 2 million doses a week and would start shipping the first doses “today or tomorrow”.
“The good news with this is we are going to be able to inject a lot of people with one dose very quickly, provide them with a reasonably good dose of protection until they get their second dose two to three months later. That will enable us to protect more people because we can wait two to three months for the second dose,” added Soriot.
Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca CEO. Photo courtesy of EPA.
The UK has ordered 100m doses of the vaccine and eventually, all adults will be offered, according to Matt Hancock, the UK health secretary. “Because we’ve got enough of this vaccine on order to vaccine the whole population – we’ve got 100m doses on order- add that to the 30m doses of Pfizer and that’s enough for two doses for the entire population,” he said in an interview on BBC Breakfast. “So I can now say with confidence that we can vaccinate everyone except of course for children because this vaccine has not been trialled on children and anyway children are much less likely to have symptoms from the disease,” he added.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, celebrated the news as “truly fantastic news and a triumph for British science”. “We will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible.” he tweeted.
The Food and drug Administration (FDA) authorized the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna, which joins the Pfizer-BioNTech as the second vaccine available for use in the US.
The announcement on Friday came a day after a committee of outside experts endorsed the use of the Moderna vaccine across the US, saying the benefits outweigh the risks.
“With the availability of two vaccines now for the prevention of COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing vast numbers of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States each day,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, in a press release.
Moderna experiemental COVID-19 vaccine. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
The vaccine which was 94% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 in clinical trials can now be given to adults 18 years and older. Data presented by Moderna also hints that the vaccine could prevent asymptomatic infection as well.
Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine will be available under Emergency Use Authorization, a designation that lets the FDA sign off on products faster than the normal review process during an emergency like a pandemic.
The Moderna vaccine can be easily stored compared to the Pfizer vaccine, which requires to be kept at ultra-cold temperatures.
Moderna can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 30 days, making it easier to distribute to places without the infrastructure to maintain extremely low temperatures.
“We remain focused on scaling up manufacturing to help us protect as many people as we can from this terrible disease,” Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna said in a press release.
The United States ordered 200 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, enough to vaccinate 100 million people.
Patient receiving a dose of the Moderna vaccine. Photo courtesy of the New York Times.
The first doses will be given to health care workers and residents in long-term care facilities within days.
Moderna has about 5.9 million doses ready for shipment set to begin during the weekend, according to operation Warp Speed, the US government’s vaccine development program. The first Moderna vaccines are expected to be administered on Monday.
Moderna has said it plans to deliver approximately 20 million doses to the US government this year, and will provide the 200 million doses by end of June 2021.
Kenya has joined other countries in securing Covid-19 vaccines and has ordered 24 million doses from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This is enough to cover 20% of the country’s population. Acting director-general of health, Dr Patrick Amoth said that each dose will be about $3 (Sh320) and cost the country a total of Sh10 billion.
The amount is already heavily discounted by Gavi through donations from several developed countries, the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. “The first to be vaccinated will be frontline workers, then the vulnerable and the elderly,” said Amoth. He, however, did not specify a timeframe but vaccines are expected early next year.
Amoth said that Gavi has signed agreements with manufacturers of about nine vaccine candidates. Kenya therefore did not dictate which vaccine to receive, but the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be ideal for the country because it fits within its cold chain supply system.
Acting Health DG Dr Patrick Amoth during a past COVID-19 press briefing. Photo courtesy of Citizen TV.
Kenya also launched clinical trials for the AstraZeneca vaccine in Kilifi in October. An emergency use approval is yet to be granted by the Health Ministry. “Once they get approval from the European Medicines Agency and in the UK, then we will also consider granting such authorization in Kenya,” said Amoth.
The announcement means Kenya has applied for the largest number of doses in East Africa. Last week on Thursday, Uganda’s Health Ministry, said it ordered 9 million doses to cover 20% of the country’s population. “Plans are underway to secure additional doses of the vaccine to cover more people,” said the Ugandan Ministry in a statement.
Rwanda’s Minister of Health Daniel Ngamije on Sunday also announced they had applied for either the AstraZeneca or the Moderna vaccine. He, however, did not say how many doses they had applied for but hoped they would be the among the first African countries to receive them.
VA medical syringe and a vial in front of the AstraZeneca Vaccine. Photo courtesy of Times
Egypt applied for 20 million doses from Gavi and expected to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. Gavi is supplying Covid-19 vaccines to 92 developing countries including Kenya through a facility called Covax. Covax was created by Gavi, UNICEF and the WHO to deliver two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2021. The facility says it has already secured millions of ready-made doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate, ready for distribution to the 92 developing countries.
Experts say although there won’t be enough vaccines for every Kenyan, getting the shots to the right people could help tame the pandemic.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say that Moderna’s vaccine is safe and 95% effective, clearing the way for US emergency authorization.
This comes one day after Americans across the country began receiving doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Once approved by the FDA vaccine panel, Moderna will become the second coronavirus vaccine to be allowed in the US and shipments could begin within 24 hours.
A patient receiving a dose of the Moderna Vaccine. Photo courtesy of New York Times
Moderna’s data was released by the FDA on Tuesday, ahead of the vaccine panel’s meeting to discuss the drug on Friday. The 54-page document said there were “no specific safety concerns” and that serious adverse reactions were rare. The data also suggests that its vaccine begins to prevent asymptomatic infections after the first dose. This is highly effective because this helps significantly slow the spread of the coronavirus. FDA analysts found that the Moderna vaccine was effective “across age groups, gender, racial and ethnic groups, and participants with underlying conditions”. In addition, the research “suggested benefit of the vaccine in preventing severe Covid-19.”
The issues of effectiveness against severe disease have been raised about the studies of vaccines for Covid. The Moderna study found 30 cases of severe disease in the control group, versus zero in the vaccine group.
The FDA found no specific safety concerns that would preclude its authorization of the vaccine. Most common side effects included injection-site pain, fatigue, headache and chills. Severe adverse reactions were rare but occurred more frequently after the second dose of the vaccine than after the first.
For instance, about 9.1% of vaccine recipients had an injection site reaction that was classified as “grade 3,”. This the FDA defines as severe of medically significant, but not immediately life-threatening. In comparison, fewer than 1% of the control group had grade 3 injection-site reactions. Some 16.5% of vaccine recipients had systemic adverse reactions – such as fever and fatigue- with the severity of at least grade 3 and 3.7% among the control group. Severe fatigue was more common after the second dose after the first. The FDA last week authorized emergency use of the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, which began distribution this week.
Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, Moderna’s does not require ultra-cold storage during shipping. Instead, it requires temperatures of around -20C for shipping – similar to a regular freezer. The Pfizer vaccine requires temperatures closer to -70C, making transport logistics much more difficult.
A shipment of the Pfizer vaccine delivered to US on Monday. Photo courtesy of Wall Street Journal.
The primary goal of the studies of both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines was to measure whether they prevented symptomatic COVID-19 disease, including severe disease. However, people can still become infected affected and transmit the virus without showing any symptoms.
A Pfizer executive said last week that the company was studying whether its vaccine protects against asymptomatic Covid-19 and hope to complete the analysis early next year.
The beginning of the end of the pandemic has begun as the first person in the world has been vaccinated outside a clinical trial.
Margaret Keenan, 90, received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at University Hospital in Coventry, as the NHS launched its biggest ever vaccine campaign on Tuesday. Mrs Keenan, who will turn 91 next week, said being the first was a “privilege” and the “best early birthday present one can wish for”. According to her, having the vaccine meant she could spend time with family and friends in the New Year after being alone for most of 2020.
“My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it – if I can have it at 90, then you can have it too!” She added.
Mrs Keenan will receive a booster shot in 21 days to ensure she has the best chance of being protected against the virus.
Mrs Keenan receives COVID-19 vaccine at the hospital. Photo courtesy of Sky News.
The UK became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer vaccine last week. The government has secured 40 million doses of the vaccine which studies have shown is 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections in all age groups.
During the weekend, the vaccine began arriving in batches at a hospital in South London, ahead of the country-wide rollout. At least 800,000 doses enough for 400,000 people were received in the first batch. Vaccinations will be given at dozens of hospital hubs from today called “V-Day” by Health Secretary Matt Hancock. People aged 80 and over together with home care workers will be among the first to receive the vaccines.
Mrs Keenan getting applauded back to her ward by nurses. Photo courtesy of Mirror UK
Mr Hancock told Sky News he felt “quite emotional” watching Mrs Keenan have the vaccination. “It has been such a tough year for so many people and finally we have our way through it – our light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “And just watching Margaret there- it seems so simple having a jab in your arm, but that will protect Margaret and it will protect the people around her,” he added.
Mrs Parson, the nurse who gave Mrs Keenan the vaccine, said it was a “huge honour” to be the first in the country to deliver the vaccine to a patient. “The last few months have been tough for all of us working in the NHS, but now it feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel,” added Mrs Parson.
Margaret Keenan walks with nurse Mary Parsons. Photo courtesy of Mirror UK.
First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said she “got a lump in her throat” watching the video of the first COVID-19 vaccination being administered. “Feels like a milestone moment after a tough year for everyone. The first vaccines in Scotland will be administered today too.” She tweeted.
NHS England medical director Stephen Powis said on Sunday that beginning COVID vaccinations “feels like the beginning of the end”, but warned the campaign will be a “marathon, not a sprint”.
The Daystar Compassion and Care Centre (DCCC) Health Awareness week which took place this October as from 7th to the 10th saw many students and staff show up to get tested for free.
The Health Awareness week is a norm that takes place every once a semester for a week at Athi River and Nairobi campus. They take place around the same time in both campuses.
For the Athi River campus, DCCC outsourced health practitioners from The Nairobi Women’s Hospital, Kitengela branch. Students showed up in numbers to get tested and know their health status.
There were different stalls for different health departments including; optical, dental, general physician, height and weight, BMI, pressure and sugar/ diabetes. HIV/AIDS testing and counseling was also available for students.
A law in Kenya was passed to make testing and counselling for HIV a private matter and a personal decision. Therefore the stall for HIV testing had to be secluded in a private space where nobody could eavesdrop or see the counselor or the patient. It took place in the DCCC offices.
Students turned up in large numbers to test for HIV after the seclusion on the testing center. This is due to the fact that the testing center was secluded and therefore the privacy encouraged students to get tested.
This was a strategic move by DCCC since over the years the HIV testing has always been done in the open and most of the time students did not show up due to fear and embarrassment.
Breast Cancer month is here. From 1st October to 31st October every year. It is symbolized with a pink ribbon. This movement is really effective with people learning how to make breast cancer known everywhere.
There are easy methods which are taught during this time on how to check whether there are lumps in your breasts. There are also many cancer centres put up country wide that provide free screening of cancer. This not only increases awareness of breast cancer but also allows people to learn about the symptoms, preventions and treatment.
One thing people fail to know is that breast cancer can also affect men. According to statistics by the National Breast Cancer Development Inc. only one percent of all breast cancer diagnosed is men. About 245,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women and 2,200 in men each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It said 41,000 women and 460 men die from breast cancer in the US annually.
In most cases the breast cancer is diagnosed late. One factor in diagnosis delay is a lack of awareness. While many women know how to look out for changes that could indicate breast cancer, there is less awareness among men, which means they may be less likely to seek help in the early stages.
The fact that both men and women are born with some breast cells and tissue. Even though males do not develop milk-producing breasts, a man’s breast cells and tissue can still develop cancer.
The likely symptoms of the breast cancer in men are the same with the ones in females:
• A lump in one breast, which is usually painless • Nipple retraction, ulceration, and discharge • Skin puckering or dimpling on the breast • Redness or scaling of the skin on the breast or nipple
If the cancer spreads, there are advanced symptoms like:
• Swelling in the lymph glands, in or near the underarm area • Breast pain • Bone pain
The treatment for Male breast cancer is the same as the women’s so there are really high rates of survival are cure and solutions.
Just last week, Singer Beyoncé Knowles’ father, Mathew Knowles revealed his fight with breast cancer. This should be a push to all men and a good reason to spread awareness.
As we spread the Breast cancer awareness, let us not forget the men and make them aware it also affects them. Men get Breast cancer too.
Daystar Compassion and Care Center (DCCC) successfully organized yet another health week in the Athi River campus from the 10th to the 14th of March 2014.
A schedule was made to enable the smooth flow of activities during the week. HIV testing and counseling, conduction of the Tuesday chapel service, cancer screening and community outreach program.
