The World Health Organization’s (WHO) response to COVID-19 was too slow, hampered by an antiquated pandemic alert system, lack of resources and a lack of authority with member states, according to an interim report by the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, presented to the WHO’s Executive Board meeting on Tuesday. It took the […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 vaccine access platform, COVAX, is geared up to deliver vaccines to “far more” than 20% of member states’ populations beyond 2021, Dr Kate O’Brien, the body’s director of vaccines, told its Executive Board meeting on Tuesday. She was responding to concerns and criticisms expressed by member states at the […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has “outsourced” its role in vaccine access and sidelined member states by leaving the running of the COVAX vaccine procurement facility to GAVI, The Vaccine Alliance and CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Initiative), Third World Network’s Sangeeta Shashikant told a civil society forum on Tuesday. “Disparity in access is the […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) research investigation in China to study the origin of the SARS-CoV2 virus that triggered a worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 is not intended to apportion blame, Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme Michael Ryan stressed in a press briefing on Monday. The statement was made hours after WHO Executive Director […] Continue reading ->
Cape Town – As South Africa records over 930,000 COVID-19 cases and its scientists race to understand whether a new variant is driving the country’s second wave of infections, countries across the African continent are reporting an increase in cases. But there is widespread anecdotal evidence that many African countries are massively  under-reporting their COVID-19 […] Continue reading ->