WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday issued yet another plea to leaders of rich countries to “honor their pledges” to fund COVID-19 vaccines sufficient to immunize the highest risk groups across the world. He spoke a day after South African officials raised the spectre that the world was heading towards a state […] Continue reading ->

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United States Food and Drug Agency Commissioner Stephen Hahn Friday said that the agency will “rapidly work toward the finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization” for the cutting edge Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine – following a vote by an independent FDA expert panel on Thursday recommending that the vaccine be approved. FDA Commissioner @SteveFDA […] Continue reading ->
The combined health and economic shocks triggered by COVID-19 have revealed profound weaknesses in health systems, with direct consequences on the future of healthcare, says a new World Health Organisation report on global health financing systems.  “COVID-19 has revealed [the] underlying weakness of country and global health financing systems. There needs to be a proactive […] Continue reading ->
Just hours after the UK jabbed its first citizen against the coronavirus, researchers have confirmed that Oxford’s vaccine is safe and effective in the first peer-reviewed publication of a Phase III coronavirus vaccine trial yet.  “The results for me are very compelling,” said AstraZeneca’s executive vice president Mene Pangalos on Wednesday at a press conference. […] Continue reading ->
WHO officials have expressed concern about yet another spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths across the Americas, following the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, and in the run-up to Christmas – echoing concerns already being expressed by United States health authorities. The US has reported 2 million new COVID-19 cases in the past 2 weeks: a […] Continue reading ->
South Africa is campaigning for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waiver intellectual property rights on all products related to COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. Mustaqeem De Gama, Counsellor at the South African Permanent Mission in Geneva, is leading the campaign. Kerry Cullinan and Elaine Fletcher spoke to him about the reasons why […] Continue reading ->
The vaccine zero hour is approaching. As Norway’s Minister of International Development Dag Ulstein and South Africa’s Minister of Health Zweili Mkhize made yet another urgent plea Monday for some US$4.3 billion right now and another $US23.9 billion in 2021 to massively roll out new COVID19 vaccines, drugs and tests that are now coming on […] Continue reading ->