The question of whether pathogens’ genomic sequences should be shared freely – or in exchange for a clear benefit – as well as the role ‘One Health’ should play in any new Pandemic Convention or legal accord were key points of emerging dispute among member states on Day 2 of the Intergovernmental Board Meeting (INB).  […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and UNICEF have sounded the alarm on the largest sustained decline in global childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years, with 25 million infants missing out on lifesaving routine vaccines.  The percentage of children who received three doses of vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) – a marker for immunization coverage […] Continue reading ->
A World Health Organization emergency committee met Thursday to determine if the monkeypox outbreak spreading in non-endemic countries constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The closed door meeting, including 16 committee members and eight advisors, will make a recommendation to WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who will decide whether to designate […] Continue reading ->
A new $100 million initiative to identify and reach zero-dose children – those who have not received a single routine vaccine shot – has been launched today by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and World Vision (WV).  The Zero-Dose Immunization Programme (ZIP) will be led by the International […] Continue reading ->
One year since the establishment of the mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer Hub, a collaboration between two leading biotech companies – Afrigen Biologics and the Univercells group – was announced on Tuesday, paving the way for the development of the first-ever African-owned COVID-19 vaccine through open-access intellectual property.  Using intellectual property from partners, the collaboration between […] Continue reading ->
A new app for mobile phones that provides localized information on ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels has been created by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Labour Organization (ILO).  The app is available free of charge on both the Apple App and Google Play […] Continue reading ->
A new sublicense agreement for a COVID-19 antibody test has been announced Thursday by the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) on behalf of the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) and South African company Biotech Africa.  The new agreement builds on the first non-exclusive licensing agreement announced by WHO and MPP last year with […] Continue reading ->