While India’s COVID-19 pandemic continues to burn through that country’s health system, concerns are mounting that Latin America may become the next global pandemic flashpoint — issues that the World Health Organization (WHO) is rightly trying to highlight to its broad global constituency of policymakers, influencers, and the general public. All the more reason why […] Continue reading ->
Several African countries struggling with vaccine rollout programs are forced to donate COVID-19 vaccine doses to other countries before the lifesaving drugs expire, the Africa CDC revealed on Thursday. Details of the “donations” are sketchy, but Africa CDC director John Nkengasong, during a media briefing, disclosed how one African country, the Democratic Republic of Congo […] Continue reading ->
While aid is rushed to India, WHO’s Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has called out rich countries to donate more “desperately needed” coronavirus vaccines to Latin America and the Caribbean – in the face of persistently high levels of COVID-19 infections in that region, which has consistently been one of the hardest hit by the […] Continue reading ->
A handful of five countries that forcefully acted to eliminate COVID-19 transmission fared better over the duration of the pandemic than others – experiencing far fewer deaths, faster economic recovery, and the preservation of a greater range of personal liberties, according to a sweeping review, published in The Lancet on Thursday. The review of policies […] Continue reading ->
JOHANNESBURG – A new agreement to slash the price of HIV self-tests in half could ultimately assist eight million people estimated to be unaware of their HIV status to know they are infected – and get them on treatment. The agreement announced on Wednesday between the Geneva-based international health agency, Unitaid, and the US-based global […] Continue reading ->
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – Pakistan and its three estranged neighbouring countries – India, Iran and Afghanistan – are all struggling to restrain their large populations from attending deeply rooted and centuries-old cultural, religious festivals – so as to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the region. The cultural, political, and religious gatherings in all four developing […] Continue reading ->
As India restricts COVID-19 vaccine exports to address its domestic surge, the World Health Organization (WHO) is poised to give the Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm, emergency use listing (EUL) this week – potentially catapulting China into becoming the biggest global supplier of COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, Sinopharm is reported to be […] Continue reading ->
Nearly 400 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and of national parliaments from across the European Union issued a joint appeal Tuesday calling for the European Commission to drop its opposition to a proposed WTO waiver on IP related to COVID-19 health technologies for the duration of the pandemic, being co-sponsored by India and South […] Continue reading ->
NAIROBI – A new drug combination therapy to fight COVID-19, unveiled on Tuesday, will be tested in a multi-country clinical trial that is already ongoing in Africa. The drugs nitazoxanide and ciclesonide will be used in the ANTICOV clinical trials testing treatments for mild to moderate COVID cases across groups in 13 African countries. A […] Continue reading ->
The European Union (EU) is suing coronavirus vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca over an alleged breach of its vaccine supply contract and for not having a “reliable” plan to ensure timely deliveries. The European Commission – the EU’s executive branch – said the legal action emanates from a longstanding dispute over shortfall in vaccine deliveries. The 27 […] Continue reading ->