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Karim and SAHPRA warn against Ivermectin to treat COVID-19
South African epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist Professor Salim Abdool Karim has warned against the administering of Ivermectin in the treatment of patients, reports...
Report into claims of racial profiling by medical schemes 'indefinitely delayed'
The release of the report into whether medical schemes and medical administrators use racial profiling when investigating fraud by professionals has been indefinitely delayed,...
Ramaphosa: 'Private individuals' not govt that donated medical supplies to Cuba
President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed suggestions that the government has made a donation of "medical material supplies" to the Cuban government, reports IoL. Ramaphosa...
Pressure on SA regulator to authorise Ivermectin for immediate use
The South African Health Products Authority (SAHPRA) is facing pressure, including the threat of a court challenge, to authorise for immediate use the antiparasitic...
Big business 'seriously considering' government request to fund vaccines
South Africa’s biggest businesses said they are “seriously considering” a request by the government to help fund the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines as the...
Experts slate SA public health sector's lack of readiness for second wave
With death and infection rates climbing, MedicalBrief notes that health experts have slated the government's readiness for the second wave of COVID-19.
The SA Medical...
CMS orders a stop to prepaid, low-cost GP vouchers
Barely a week after Discovery Health joined Netcare in selling a novel prepaid voucher product for GP consultations, the medical aid regulator, the Council...
A new COVID-avoiding dashboard to inform travel decisions
The South African Covid-19 Modelling Consortium (SACMC), together with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases/strong>, has launched the SACMC Epidemic Explorer dashboard. It will...
Cape Town paramedic shot while under SAPS escort
A Cape Town paramedic has now escaped death twice while on call-out, thanks to wearing a bulletproof vest.
News24 reports that "the shooter did not...
Strong warning from SAMA on criminalisation of medical decisions
The SA Medical Association has warned of "immense knock-on effects" to society if doctors fear that their medical judgements may be criminalised, despite them...
Private hospitals face hotspot surge in COVID-19 patients
Following Netcare’s deployment of volunteer nurses, paramedics and medical equipment to the Eastern Cape to cope with the COVID-19 resurgence there, Mediclinic and Life...
SAMA to act against 'unethical' med students paying for choice internships
The SA Medical Association is to probe reports that some medical students are negotiating to pay up to R100,000 to secure their preferred internships.
Sama...
Netcare offers to assist struggling Eastern Cape
To counter the worsening COVID-19 situation in the Eastern Cape, Netcare has deployed extra nurses, paramedics and medical equipment to its hospitals in the...
SA commits to getting initial 10% of its vaccine needs from COVAX
South Africa is going with the COVAX global COVID-19 vaccine distribution scheme, with a committed purchase for 10% of its population of 58 million,...
Mkhize ponders alcohol restrictions as pandemic surges in EC
During an oversight visit to Nelson Mandela Bay to assess the deteriorating pandemic situation in the Eastern Cape, Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize warned...
Hospital 'pulmonologist' with two surgeries among 18 bogus doctor arrests
A “pulmonologist” with two private surgeries and a specialist appointment at the Far East Rand Hospital is among 18 arrests by the Health Professions Council...
'Almost all' 62,000 excess SA deaths this year due to COVID-19
South African hospitals likely under-reported the number of patients with the coronavirus and the death toll probably much higher than the official figure, with...
SA unlikely to get Pfizer vaccine before mid-2021 — Madhi
The chances of SA getting a significant volume of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine before end June 2021 are “extremely unlikely”, said Wits University professor of...
Discovery ordered to stop low-cost primary health care products
The Council of Medical Schemes Appeal Board has upheld an appeal by the Board of Healthcare Funders and revoked Discovery's earlier permission from the...
Business lashes Ramaphosa over lockdown uncertainty
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s silence on the possible return to lockdown level two regulations is upsetting the business community, Die Burger reports.
Business for SA...
Health Minister Mkhize denies claims of cash siphoned to ANC
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has again denied allegations about donations to the ANC made during his tenure as the party’s treasurer-general, as claimed by...
Madhi: SA's contact tracing app is just 'wishful thinking'
Contact tracing has failed and government app is little more than “wishful thinking”, says Wits University’s professor Shabir Madhi, in a Sunday Times report.
Science...
Pandemic's 'severe' financial impact on medical profession
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe financial impact on South African practitioners with some GPs, cardiothoracic surgeons and neurosurgeons losing up to 80%...
Cellphone of murdered anaesthetist was being tracked
The geographical position of the cellphone carried murdered Johannesburg anaesthetist Dr Abdulhay Munshi was being constantly tracked by the man now accused of the...
Mboweni's MTBS document reveals deep cuts to NHI projects
A document tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni reveals cuts to public health spending that were not elaborated upon in the Medium-Term...
Human Rights Watch backs SA move to waive vaccine IP rights
Human Rights Watch has called on governments around the world to support South Africa’s and India’s proposal to waive aspects of global intellectual property...
SANDF spends R200m on unapproved Cuban COVID drug
The SA National Defence Force is secretly spending more than R200m on a Cuban COVID-19 treatment that the health regulator has not registered for...
Accountants uncover 'parallel' PPE procurement system in Eastern Cape
As oversight bodies examining the plundering of COVID-19 emergency funds have uncovered a sophisticated 'parallel procurement system' in the Eastern Cape, while in KwaZulu-Natal,...
Second wave inevitable if SA doesn't change behaviour – Abdool Karim
December holiday travel should be limited to avoid a surge in pandemic infections, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, co-chair of the COVID-19 Ministerial Advisory Committee...
SA hospitals warn of high cost of health neglect
The Hospital Association of South Africa, which represents most private hospitals, has warned that – as elsewhere in the world – many people have...
Mkhize seeks Covid-style powers on any disease outbreak
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has flighted far-reaching proposals to change the National Health Act’s regulations on notifiable diseases, which would give him the power...
Mystery doctor on MAC allegedly has bogus qualifications
A doctor who President Cyril Ramaphosa is claimed to have recommended Health Minister Zweli Mkhize appoint to the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 is...
Mkhize: Cubans a 'saving' compared to SA specialists
Health minister Zweli Mkhize says the remuneration of the Cuban doctors is actually a “saving” and that he may extend their deployment.
Business Day reports...
Only 28% of emergency PPE suppliers registered with Sahpra
An analysis shows that only 28% of personal protective equipment (PPE) suppliers that benefited from R2,5bn in emergency pandemic expenditure were licensed by the...
SIU: Corruption is 'part of health sector's DNA'
Corruption is rife within South African health sector institutions such as the state laboratory service, the health professions council and the product oversight authority,...
Munshi murder: Doctor groups call for government action
South African doctor groups have called for government intervention to ensure the safety of healthcare workers, followed the allegedly targeted recent murder of Johannesburg...
Gang wearing PPE shoots patient dead in Kimberley hospital
An armed gang dressed in personal protective equipment (PPE) walked into a hospital in Kimberley in the Northern Cape and shot a patient dead...
Healthcare corruption trends laid bare in ACT report
“Deeply troubling” trends of corruption within the healthcare sector are revealed in the latest edition of the Analysis of Corruption Trends (ACT) report released...
SIU Tribunal: Health MEC must answer over scooter saga
Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba blamed apartheid for the murky acquisition of 100 scooters with side-cars to use as mobile clinics has been...
Mkhize: Changes in pandemic bring changes to MACs
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has announced substantial changes to the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19, pulling in social and behavioural scientists because of...