Overcrowding in refugee camps, mistrust of authorities including vaccination registration processes, and lack of access to vaccines are some of the most pressing problems preventing migrants, refugees and other “uprooted people” from getting COVID-19 vaccines. A diverse, but also common set of issues are faced in refugee camps, informal settlements that house an estimated 79.5 […] Continue reading ->
A Canadian pharmaceutical company, Biolyse, has agreed to provide Bolivia with 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine – as long as the Canadian government gives it a compulsory license to manufacture the vaccine. In March, Johnson & Johnson rejected an application by Biolyse for a voluntary license to make a generic […] Continue reading ->
The draft of a landmark resolution to establish a global “Pandemic Treaty” will be put to World Health Organization (WHO) member states this week in preparation for the World Health Assembly beginning 24 May, Jaouad Mahjour, WHO Assistant Director-General Emergency Preparedness, told a panel in Geneva Monday. The proposal for the Pandemic Treaty – […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to classify the B1.617 variant first identified in India as a “variant of concern”, according to Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO lead on COVID-19. “There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of B1.617,” Van Kerkhove explained to the WHO’s biweekly media briefing on Monday. In addition, a […] Continue reading ->
In a far-reaching statement, WHO and the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA) called on the pharma industry to provide much wider access to clinical data for all new medicines and vaccines approved, or under review, and even those that had been rejected. “Clinical trial reports should be published without redaction of confidential information […] Continue reading ->
Pfizer on Friday became the first pharma company to apply for full approval of its COVID-19 vaccine from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA. The announcement also followed the publication of two studies which found that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is highly effective against two major SARS-CoV2 variants of concern. Moderna plans to follow suit […] Continue reading ->
Almost seven million people are estimated to have died of COVID-19 globally based on “excess mortality” statistics, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which announced on Friday that it would now be using these statistics rather than official death rates. This “major change in how we think about the number of […] Continue reading ->
The Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine became the latest COVID-19 vaccine to receive an Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday; experts said the vaccine showed an overall efficacy rate of 79% in preventing symptomatic and serious disease. The WHO approval positions Sinopharm to become a major player in the COVAX global facility. […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – The city is planning a vaccine outreach campaign aimed at encouraging an estimated 530,000 homeless people and migrants to get vaccinated. Cape Town is one of 18 cities that has been chosen by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ ‘Healthy Cities’ initiative for a grant of up to $50,000 to support vaccine distribution to reach high-risk […] Continue reading ->
The United States has swung its weight behind a hotly-debated proposal by India and South Africa to suspend intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines for the duration of the pandemic. The dramatic turnabout in the US position, announced Wednesday evening by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, signals a sea change in the balance of powers […] Continue reading ->