Immunosuppressed individuals living in the United States and Israel have been among the first to receive a novel new “vaccine” that preventively boosts their defenses against COVID-19 infection with a cocktail of long-acting antibodies. The vaccine by AstraZeneca, branded as Evusheld, works on the principle of “passive immunization”, and contains two long-acting monoclonal antibodies (tixagevimab […] Continue reading ->
From barriers to treatment for people with hearing disabilities to preconceptions about albinism and inaccessible COVID testing for wheelchair users, participants in the Global Disability Summit took a fresh look at the wide range of discriminatory practices that an estimated 1 billion people – 15% of the world’s population – living with disabilities have to […] Continue reading ->
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa Friday called on Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, and COVAX, the global COVID vaccine consortium to begin procuring African-made versions of vaccines for COVID and other diseases, as soon as a network of new African manufacturing facilities, now in the making, are in full production. He spoke in Brussels at an […] Continue reading ->
Individuals who recovered from COVID-19 and then received at least one shot of the Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine had a significantly lower risk of reinfection, according to a new study published Wednesday’s New England Journal of Medicine,. The study was conducted by researchers at Israel’s Clalit Health Services, in collaboration with Ben-Gurion University and Sapir […] Continue reading ->
Urban noise pollution, wildfires, and disruptions of life cycles in natural systems are all growing environmental problems with ecological consequences that require greater attention, according to the new Frontier Report published Thursday by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The fourth edition of the report, ‘Noises, Blazes and Mismatches: Emerging Issues of Environmental Concern’, was released […] Continue reading ->
European Union President Charles Michel congratulated African countries for their efforts to stimulate more vaccine manufacturing capacity on the continent, in a upbeat opening address at the European Union-African Union Summit, which began Thursday. But in a more sobering note Wednesday, Stella Kyriakides, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, called on global health […] Continue reading ->
The European Investment Bank said Thursday that it would commit €500 million to improving African health systems, as part of a new initiative with the World Health Organization and the European Union. The joint EIB-WHO-EU statement coincided with the start of an EU-African Union Summit, which is set to talk about how to improve health systems in […] Continue reading ->
The German-based BioNTech, which co-developed with Pfizer an mRNA COVID vaccine, said on Wednesday that it will set up modular “turnkey” mRNA vaccine facilities to produce the vaccine in Rwanda and Senegal in 2022 – with a fill-and-finish collaboration in Ghana as well. South Africa, which is the new hub for the WHO-supported mRNA vaccine […] Continue reading ->
With about half of people suffering from depression in high income countries untreated or undiagnosed, with this number rising to 80-90% in low- and middle-income countries, a Lancet and World Psychiatric Association Commission have called for a unified response against this global crisis to reduce the burden of depression. Depression is estimated to impact 5% […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – The US and Africa intend to use the well-established community networks supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to improve the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa. The initaitive would build upon the infrastructure developed since PEPFAR entered as a major player on the African AIDS scene in 2003. […] Continue reading ->