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 ->
As Africa recorded its worst pandemic week, the COVAX Facility announced on Thursday that it has taken steps to quickly resume the delivery of vaccines to African countries including diversifying its portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines.  Aurélia Nguyen, Managing Director of the COVAX Facility based at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said the COVAX portfolio now consists […] Continue reading ->
Despite the emergence of new WHO concerns over quality control at Sputnik V’s domestic production facilities, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is pushing ahead with a massive international “open-license” manufacturing effort for its Sputnik V vaccine – which breaks the traditional model of vaccine production and leverages existing capacity in poorer countries, desperate for […] Continue reading ->
Travellers who are fully vaccinated with vaccines authorised in the European Union (EU) “should” be allowed entry for non-essential travel – even if these vaccines were not “produced in facilities covered by the marketing authorisation in the EU”, a European Commission spokesperson for health, food safety and transport told Health Policy Watch on Wednesday.   At […] Continue reading ->
The much-trumpeted European Union COVID Digital Green Pass, which launches 1 July and is meant to vastly ease travel to Europe for vaccinated and recovered passengers is being rolled out with one important hitch. Anyone vaccinated with an AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India would not be qualified to get the pass […] Continue reading ->
Africa could start producing its own cutting-edge COVID-19 vaccines within a year via an mRNA technology transfer hub that is being set up in South Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday. But the speed at which the new hub may be able to swing into full-scale vaccine production depends on whether pharmaceutical […] Continue reading ->
Proponents of a sweeping World Trade Organization ‘waiver’ on intellectual property rights for all COVID-19 treatments, tests and vaccines face an uphill battle to reach consensus on a text ahead of a WTO General Council meeting scheduled for 27-28 July.  This is despite the recent agreement of the initiative’s opponents, including the European Union, Korea, […] Continue reading ->
Before the G7 leaders sat down on Friday afternoon in Cornwall to discuss how to “build back better” a world devastated by COVID-19, UK Prime Minister and summit host Boris Johnson challenged the Group to accept a target of providing one billion doses to developing countries. But the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a network of over […] Continue reading ->