World Health Assembly Appears Set to Move Ahead on Pandemic Treaty Negotiations – With Very Different Views About Outcomes

29/11/2021 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

In a first face-to-face meeting in Geneva since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization’s 194 member states appeared set to adopt a landmark decision to negotiate a new treaty or framework convention governing pandemic response, dubbed “Our World Together”, and with over 100 countries now declaring co-sponsorship. But from the start […] Continue reading ->

Millions of AIDS-related Deaths in Years to Come if Global Inequalities Remain Unaddressed, UNAIDS Warns Ahead of World AIDS Day

29/11/2021 Raisa Santos

Ahead of World AIDS Day, 1 December, UNAIDS has warned that the world could face 7.7 million AIDS-related deaths over the next 10 years if leaders fail to tackle inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19. If transformative measures needed to end HIV/AIDS are not taken, the world will also remain dangerously unprepared for pandemics to come, said […] Continue reading ->

Milestone Moment for Pandemic Treaty in Geneva – US and Other Treaty Skeptics Swinging Behind Call to Negotiate a New Convention

26/11/2021 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

As pandemic treaty negotiations kick off again at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva this week, countries face a stark choice. Will they decide to move ahead on a new system that vests an independent entity with greater powers to monitor their own national alert and responses – in the name of faster pandemic […] Continue reading ->

Activists Threaten Legal Action Against Countries Blocking TRIPS Waiver

25/11/2021 Aishwarya Tendolkar

Human rights lawyers have threatened legal action against the governments of Canada, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom if they fail to support a waiver of the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement in relation to COVID-19 healthcare products. The waiver will be discussed at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) […] Continue reading ->

‘Omicron’: New COVID-19 Variant With Multiple Concerning Mutations Identified in Southern Africa – USA & Europe Respond With Flurry of Travel Restrictions

25/11/2021 Kerry Cullinan

CAPE TOWN – A new COVID-19 variant with a “very unusual constellation of mutations” – currently referred to as B.1.1.529 – has been identified in southern Africa, South Africa’s Health Ministry announced on Thursday. On Friday, WHO dubbed the variant “Omicron”, adding it to its list of variants of concern – even as the European […] Continue reading ->

‘Broad Consensus’ on Binding Pandemic Pact, Says Tedros

24/11/2021 Kerry Cullinan & Elaine Ruth Fletcher

There is “broad consensus” on the need for a “binding pact” to address the threat of pandemics, said World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General on Wednesday – a few days before the World Health Assembly special session devoted exclusively to discussing what many refer to as a pandemic treaty. “The ongoing chaos of this pandemic only […] Continue reading ->

Russia Says Sputnik COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Better Efficacy Than mRNA Vaccines

24/11/2021 Raisa Santos

Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine demonstrates an 80% efficacy six to eight months after the second dose – a higher efficacy than officially published mRNA vaccines, announced the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) in a press briefing on Wednesday. The efficacy data is based on “real-world data from the Ministry of Health of the Republic […] Continue reading ->

‘Vaccinated, Recovered or Dead’: Grim Warning as Europe Weighs Options Amid COVID-19 Surge

23/11/2021 Kerry Cullinan

Other European countries may follow the example of Austria, which entered a nationwide lockdown on Monday, as COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the region. New COVID-19 cases increased by over 3,5 million in a single week, and deaths by over 50,000, according to the latest report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and […] Continue reading ->

C-TAP and Medicines Patent Pool Announce Global License for Spanish COVID-19 Test

23/11/2021 Raisa Santos

The first non-exclusive license for a COVID-19 health tool – a serological antibody test that checks for the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies – has been finalised by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). The license, announced on Tuesday in partnership with the Spanish National Research […] Continue reading ->

Independent Panel Co-Chairs Blast Slow Pace of Pandemic Reforms – Call for UN Summit After Next Week’s Special World Health Assembly

22/11/2021 Elaine Ruth Fletcher

Six months after publication of their landmark report, Make it the Last Pandemic, the co-chairs of Independent Panel have re-entered the political fray over the slow pace of urgently needed reforms to vaccine equity, pandemic finance and countries’ legal obligations – that they say are required to end the COVID-19 pandemic and head off the […] Continue reading ->