WHO has issued stiff, dual warnings over a surging global rate of COVID infections alongside a still-expanding outbreak of Monkeypox. The latter is set to be the focus of a discussion by a WHO Emergency Committee meeting Thursday, as the committee reconvenes to decide if a public health emergency should be declared over the virus […] Continue reading ->
New Pandemic Treaty Could Contain a Mix of Binding and Non-Binding Measures, Says Senior US Official
The United States is open to drafting a pandemic accord that contains both legally binding and voluntary elements, according to Loyce Pace, assistant secretary for global affairs at the US Department of Health & Human Services. Pace also told a small group of journalists Wednesday at the US Mission to the UN in Geneva that […] Continue reading ->
Dr Waheed Araian spent the first five years of his life hiding with his family in a cellar in Kabul from rockets and bombs. “I came to the UK as a 15-year-old child refugee with no family support, hardly any education and about $100 in my pocket,” said Arian, now an emergency doctor in the […] Continue reading ->
Should the corporate sector be allowed to engage in negotiations around the new binding instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response that is being developed by World Health Organization member states? This week’s closed-door debate by WHO member states to decide who should get a seat around the table risks opening a Pandora’s box of […] Continue reading ->
The question of whether pathogens’ genomic sequences should be shared freely – or in exchange for a clear benefit – as well as the role ‘One Health’ should play in any new Pandemic Convention or legal accord were key points of emerging dispute among member states on Day 2 of the Intergovernmental Board Meeting (INB). […] Continue reading ->
The first day of WHO member state talks on a proposed new Pandemic Convention or Treaty opened with broad agreement that the new legal instrument should complement – but not repeat – provisions of the existing International Health Regulations – while respecting national sovereignty in terms of public health responses. But the hours of debate […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization and UNICEF have sounded the alarm on the largest sustained decline in global childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years, with 25 million infants missing out on lifesaving routine vaccines. The percentage of children who received three doses of vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) – a marker for immunization coverage […] Continue reading ->
Vaccine manufacturers are in a race to develop or tweak COVID-19 vaccines to address the Omicron variants that are sweeping through the globe – and get them ready for use as boosters when the weather cools in the northern hemisphere. More infectious Omicron strains BA.4 and BA.5 have become dominant in many parts of the […] Continue reading ->
Two leading researchers who have raised questions about the reliability of Sputnik V’s vaccine efficacy ratings across age groups shared their concerns with Health Policy Watch. One called the results “impossible” and “very concerning”. More than 70 countries have approved the use of Sputnik V, Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, based on the reported 91.6% efficacy across […] Continue reading ->
With a surge in cases and the rapid rise of new subvariants, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a global health emergency posing significant risks to public health, a WHO committee of public health experts has concluded. The statement by the COVID-19 Emergency Committee, was published Tuesday, four days after experts gathered for their 12th […] Continue reading ->