Ethiopia’s Tigray region suffers from “the worst catastrophe on Earth” due to a devastating mix of factors such as government neglect, drought, and racism, World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press briefing Wednesday. Tedros grew emotional at the end of the briefing as he described the humanitarian crisis facing […] Continue reading ->
As the first monkeypox case involving a human-to-dog transmission reported, the World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 35,000 recently confirmed cases of monkeypox were accompanied by 12 deaths in 92 nations and territories, including almost 7,500 from last week alone. That made for the second consecutive week with a 20% increase, WHO Director-General Dr […] Continue reading ->
While the process of renaming monkeypox is still underway, a group of global experts convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) has agreed that the virus’s variants will be renamed with Roman numerals. This follows a meeting convened by the WHO this week to enable virologists and public health experts to reach consensus on new […] Continue reading ->
Top executives at Bavarian Nordic, which makes the world’s only monkeypox vaccine, avoided news media in the face of a worldwide shortage of their product. But SIGA, the company behind the antiviral treatment Tecovirimat (TPOXX™), has not been so shy. In an exclusive interview, SIGA’s CEO, Phillip Gomez, says the small, speciality firm is  prepared […] Continue reading ->
Recent reforms to the World Health Organization “prequalification” program that certifies the safety and efficacy of health products procured in bulk by donors for low and middle-income countries have speeded up the process and thus accelerated access to lifesaving medicines and diagnostic tools in low- and middle-income countries. However, long lead times for product approvals, […] Continue reading ->
In the aftermath of a national health emergency declaration for Monkeypox, the United States has now decided to split the approved MVA-BN vaccine into five doses in an effort to stretch supply.  Some experts, however, have warned that the plan may backfire if health workers are not sufficiently trained in the intradermal skin-based jab technique […] Continue reading ->