Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, will be publicly vaccinated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca SARS-CoV2 vaccine on 2 March, signifying the start of the West African country’s vaccine rollout. On Wednesday, Ghana became the first country in the world to receive vaccines via the global vaccine access platform, COVAX, according to Health Policy Watch. The Ivory Coast is expected […] Continue reading ->
The largest peer reviewed study to date of some 1.193 million Israelis – half of whom received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine – confirms the vaccine’s efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 as well as serious cases and deaths – even after the first dose is administered. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, […] Continue reading ->
A new COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce has been created in response to the dearth of sustainable oxygen supplies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) – and its critical importance for treatment of COVID-19.  Co-created by Unitaid and Wellcome Trust in partnership with the WHO and a range of other global public health agencies, the taskforce, […] Continue reading ->
Under cloudy skies, Ghana’s first precious doses of Covid-19 vaccines arrived Wednesday morning at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport. They are also the first supplies to be distributed by the WHO co-sponsored COVAX facility on the African continent. The arrival of some 600,000 vaccines marks a milestone in months of effort by WHO, UNICEF, GAVI and […] Continue reading ->
The United Kingdom, Switzerland, Israel and Turkey are cautiously reopening businesses and relaxing limits on gatherings and travel as COVID-19 cases declined both globally and within these countries.   However, parts of France, the Czech Republic, and Sweden are preparing for harder lockdown measures as their cases surge in contrast to worldwide trends. As of 23 […] Continue reading ->
EXCLUSIVE – A series of recent leaks of emails and documents surrounding the EMA’s approval of the first COVID-19 vaccine by Pfizer/BioNTech  highlight the  intense political pressures regulatory agencies are under during the pandemic – as well as an oft-forgotten aspect of vaccine approvals – the quality control of vaccines during the leap from clinical […] Continue reading ->
Rapid response platforms, particularly the messenger RNA (mRNA) platform, have changed the landscape of vaccine development, enabling the rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) on Monday. Fauci, speaking at the opening of the Global Vaccine and Immunization Research Forum (GVIRF), […] Continue reading ->
More than a year into the world’s largest global health emergency, health diplomats have fought hard to ensure that every country across the globe secures access to lifesaving coronavirus health products, including vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.   That has not happened yet, given that 80% of countries that are now rolling out vaccines are either high-income […] Continue reading ->