While the US was contending with the COVID-19 pandemic, huge wildfires that swept across the country in 2020 may have contributed to thousands of COVID cases and deaths, according to a US study on fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) air pollution from wildfires and COVID-19. The study, conducted by researchers at the Harvard Chan School […] Continue reading ->
The Kenyan government’s decision to compel its workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 has received the support of Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC). “I support policies that get citizens of Africa to go out there and get vaccinated whenever they have an opportunity to have access to vaccines. […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on China to provide it with access to raw data so that the global search for the origins of SARS-CoV2 can move forward. The WHO made the call on Thursday while asking member countries for nominations to the Scientific Advisory Group for Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO). While […] Continue reading ->
As the Delta variant continues to fuel COVID-19 cases and deaths across the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is becoming more proactive in procuring vaccines for its members. PAHO announced this week that its Revolving Fund, which provides access to vaccines at affordable prices, is now open for requests from member states for […] Continue reading ->
Three medicines currently being used to treat malaria, cancer and immune deficiencies are being tested on hospitalised patients with COVID-19 to see whether they can be repurposed to address the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday. “These therapies – artesunate, imatinib and infliximab – were selected by an independent expert panel for […] Continue reading ->
More than a year after the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, and the release of openDemocracy’s investigation into childbirth during COVID-19, we know that there have been too many violations of women’s pregnancy and childbirth rights during this crisis, including outright suspensions of services. Too often, the response of governments and health facilities to […] Continue reading ->
Much more global attention needs to be paid to developing early therapeutics to protect patients with COVID-19 from “hospitalisation, intensive care, or worse”, according to a report from Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) released on Thursday. In addition, the few innovative treatments that exist are mostly available in high-income countries, and DNDi warns that […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a moratorium on COVID-19 vaccine boosters until at least the end of September to enable a minimum of 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated. Making the appeal at the WHO’s COVID-19 media briefing on Wednesday, Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Gheybreysus said support for […] Continue reading ->
IBADAN – On Sunday 1 August, two planes carrying four million doses of the Moderna vaccine from the US touched down in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. With the arrival of the new doses, Nigeria will be able to resume its COVID-19 vaccination programme which was suspended on 22 July when the Nigeria Primary Healthcare Development […] Continue reading ->
This article is the third in a three-part series on COVID-19 booster vaccines, which is an evolving discussion as more evidence emerges about the performance of vaccines against variants. Alongside the heated policy debate over the disproportionate consumption of COVID vaccines in rich countries, a handful of senior scientists are pushing back against the scientific […] Continue reading ->