The Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, is set to begin producing Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in September, paving the way to scale up globally available COVID vaccines.  The Sputnik V vaccine, produced by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute and marketed abroad by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), is a two-dose […] Continue reading ->
WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus slammed plans by Pfizer and Moderna, as well as a handful of rich countries, to begin offering ‘booster’ COVID vaccines to some groups of people – saying that the world has evolved a “dangerous” two-tiered system of vaccinations, driven by greed instead of enlightened self-interest. “It’s becoming a […] Continue reading ->
Human genome editing has great potential to improve health and serve as a tool for public health, according to two landmark WHO reports, the world’s first to issue global recommendations on the safe, effective, and ethical use of human genome editing.  “These new reports from WHO’s Expert Advisory Committee represent a leap forward for this […] Continue reading ->
Nearly half of the 31 European nations using the European Union’s new digital COVID travel certificate have recognized the India-made version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Covishield, alongside its European-made counterpart, Vaxzevria, an analysis by Health Policy Watch has revealed.  But other major countries, including France, Poland, and Italy, seem to be holding out, authorizing only […] Continue reading ->
Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has suspended its patent rights on the medication tocilizumab in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for the duration of the pandemic, the company announced Tuesday. This follows the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation on Monday for   interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor blockers to be given to patients hospitalised with severe or critical […] Continue reading ->