Pharmaceutical giant Janssen/Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and generic manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) charged the South African government more than the European Union for COVID-19 vaccines – and South Africa assumed all the risk in ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ contracts with Pfizer, J&J and SII. This is according to an analysis of the contracts led by Health […] Continue reading ->
Three years after the launch of its COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) initiative, the World Health Organization (WHO) has secured its first COVID-19 vaccine license from a private pharmaceutical company, the UN health body announced on Tuesday. The agreement with Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp., a private vaccine manufacturer based in Taiwan, is a welcome but underwhelming […] Continue reading ->
Dr Hans Kluge, regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe,  has warned member countries to maintain their COVID-19 infrastructure and genomic surveillance amid a “gradual increase in cases, including hospitalizations, in some European countries”.  “COVID has not gone away. While its impact currently isn’t as severe as earlier, millions, especially the most […] Continue reading ->
Mayors and other municipal officials should develop “urban heat maps” to identify and protect those most vulnerable to high temperatures, World Health Organization (WHO) official Maria Neira urged on Wednesday. Many people in urban areas stifling under heat waves cannot afford cooling systems while conditions for outdoor workers not protected by legislation have become dangerous, […] Continue reading ->
Merely months after securing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, British pharma giant GSK has taken Pfizer to court for patent violations.  GSK filed the lawsuit in a US federal court in Delaware on Wednesday alleging that Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, Abrysvo, violates four patents surrounding the antigen […] Continue reading ->