China’s COVID-19 situation is getting worse, and strategies to control the spread of the Omicron variant are getting stricter as the country registered 20,472 daily cases on Wednesday – the highest-ever infection rate. The epicentre of the outbreak is Shanghai, which recorded 17,007 cases on Wednesday and municipal authorities are conducting mass testing in the […] Continue reading ->
Although the world is facing multiple simultaneous challenges including the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic is not over and it is essential for countries to invest in systems to address this pandemic as well as future pandemic threats. This is a key message of a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) paper, which is calling […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the scientific community to start to implement a ‘One Health’ approach – encompassing people, animals, plants and the environment – to ensure the early identification of infectious diseases and make the world a healthier place. The issues that “One Health” may tackle are diverse. They can range from curbing deforestation […] Continue reading ->
A compromise proposal on a World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) waiver on intellectual property for the production of COVID-19 vaccines is ‘problematic’, ‘largely insufficient’, and WTO members should not be politically pressured into adopting the text, several dozen civil society organisations said in an open letter published today. The letter, addressed to European Commissioners, European members […] Continue reading ->
A second booster of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine reduced mortality rates among elderly people in Israel by 78%, according to a new study by the country’s Clalilt Health Services, Sapir College and Ben-Gurion University. This is the largest study of its kind to date, and involved more than 560,000 people aged 60. “The main conclusion […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on how human health and ‘planetary health’ are inextricably linked – through deforestation, urbanization and climate change, all of which increase future disease risks. This year’s Geneva Health Forum explores these and other critical global health challenges, as well as emerging solutions, just ahead of the World Health Assembly. […] Continue reading ->
Even while other parts of the world see upticks, or in the case of Asia, huge spikes in COVID-19 cases, an increasing number of African countries are scaling back COVID-19 surveillance and quarantine measures – a trend that the World Health Organization finds worrisome in the continent that still has the lowest rates of vaccination […] Continue reading ->
A month after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, almost 10 million people have been displaced, 64 attacks on health facilities have been verified – and the situation is set to worsen. This was the grim assessment of World Health Organization (WHO) officials briefing the media on Wednesday. “Nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s population […] Continue reading ->
More than a million people could die of Omicron in China unless it takes action to boost its elderly population with a Western COVID-19 vaccine, according to a new analysis by Airfinity. The analysis shows that, although China vaccinated 80% of its population over the age of 60, Chinese people have low protection because its […] Continue reading ->
UN Environment has joined a three-way alliance with the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Animal Health Organization (OIE), and WHO to advance “One-Health” solutions to both ecosystem degradation and pandemic threats, leaders of the four agencies said on Friday. The statement followed a meeting this week of the Tripartite FAO, WHO and OIE partnership […] Continue reading ->