Just 66 days after the SARS-CoV2 genetic sequence was shared by a Chinese scientist online, the first COVID-19 vaccines went into production – in record time for R&D that yielded the first approved vaccines less than a year later. But there are looming concerns that the relatively open models of data and pathogen sharing that […] Continue reading ->
Following a first-ever outbreak of deadly Marburg virus disease in Equatorial Guinea, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday called an emergency meeting of the Marburg virus vaccine consortium (MARVAC) to receive an urgent update on possible vaccine candidates for the filovirus that can have an 80% fatality rate. At the meeting, the agency received […] Continue reading ->
After three years of its “Zero COVID” policy, the Chinese government allowed a return to relative normalcy for its citizens in early December 2022. Due to the ongoing transmission of Omicron and its numerous COVID subvariants in China, the sudden policy shift was accompanied by rapid community transmission across the country and high numbers of […] Continue reading ->
A new 10-point proposal by the World Health Organization’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for improving preparedness and response to health emergencies received mixed reviews from WHO member states in Monday’s opening session of this week’s Executive Board (EB) meeting, the agency’s 34-member governing body. It was the first substantive issue to be tackled […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday released an updated list of medicines that should be stockpiled in the event of a radiological and nuclear emergency, along with new policy advice in the event of such an incident. “Preparedness for radiation emergencies is consistently reported as the weakest area of preparedness in many countries,” the […] Continue reading ->
Most Africans could not get a COVID-19 test unless they were hospitalised or could afford to pay a private laboratory for a pricey test – yet rapid tests were being dished out free in the US and Europe. High prices, slow regulatory approval, and outdated ideas about self-testing were some of the barriers that prevented […] Continue reading ->
Across disciplines and sectors, experts say it will take treating health care as ‘ecosystems’ and a greater focus on access and equity to achieve solutions to critical health challenges of tomorrow and beyond. DAVOS, Switzerland – In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, huge inequities in access to health care have been exposed that demand […] Continue reading ->
DAVOS, Switzerland – The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced plans to set up a new TB Vaccine Accelerator Council to increase momentum for the development of a vaccine to combat the world’s most deadly infectious disease. Speaking at a high-level panel at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting where the plan was launched, WHO […] Continue reading ->
British scientists have launched a new initiative to expand the sequencing of common seasonal respiratory viruses with the aim of developing an early warning system for new viral threats and help prevent future pandemics. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, labs around the world were sequencing tens of thousands of Sars-CoV-2 genomes a day. […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s Africa Region has declared the end to the recent outbreak of Sudan Ebolavirus – just a day before WHO convenes Ebola experts in a global consultation to explore a way forward on testing three candidate vaccines for the deadly Sudan strain of the virus. The oubreak was declared over after the elapse of 44 […] Continue reading ->