There is insufficient evidence that treating people hospitalized for COVID-19 with blood plasma from recovered patients is safe and effective – and more randomized clinical trials are thus needed, warned the World Health Organization on Monday.  Evidence overall remains “inconclusive,” said WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan at a WHO press conference on Monday.  She spoke […] Continue reading ->
A new US $200 million program, financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), aims to strengthen health data systems in developing countries. USAID is currently developing the scope of this project, including country participation, according to a spokesperson from global health NGO and partner on the project, Vital Strategies. Strengthening health information systems […] Continue reading ->
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) requires “critical” support to fend off a growing Ebola outbreak in the western Province of Équateur, warned WHO’s Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti on Friday. Her warnings came as Équateur’s Ebola cases have almost doubled to one hundred in the past five weeks, of which 96 are confirmed […] Continue reading ->
Funding for research into sexual and reproductive health issues, ranging from HIV/AIDs to pregnancy prevention, comes from only three major donors, and the global recession caused by COVID-19 may shrink the funding landscape further. “There’s a clear gap in investment to research and develop new products to meet people’s needs in low-resource settings. With a […] Continue reading ->
Russia’s speedy approval of a COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday has drawn widespread criticism from Health Ministers, researchers, and even a Russian pharma industry group.  However, it has also spurred interest and offers to collaborate on testing the new vaccine in other countries, including from quarters as farflung as Israel and the Philippines. The Russian COVID-19 […] Continue reading ->
More than US $100 billion will be required just to scale-up manufacturing and ensure worldwide distribution of a coronavirus vaccine, said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in prepared remarks at a WHO press conference on Monday. He said that the World Health Organization’s ACT Accelerator consortium has received only 10% of the funding that […] Continue reading ->
To facilitate equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines, WHO launched the COVID-19 Access Accelerator (ACT) in April. COVAX is the vaccine component of this initiative. It is led by WHO, the Oslo-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Geneva-based Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI). Heidi.news spoke with Gavi’s Executive Director, Seth […] Continue reading ->