Government action against the threat of “superbugs” in most of the world’s leading economies gets a score of less than 50%, according to a new AMR Preparedness Index, released today by a global coalition committed to fighting current trends. Great Britain, the United States, Germany and France rated highest on a score of 1-100 in […] Continue reading ->
As the board of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance is set to meet this Wednesday and Thursday, the COVAX global vaccine facility – a cornerstone of the global health sector response on vaccine access – is coming under increased fire for its shortcomings. A bitter opinion piece by Médecins Sans Frontières, published today, has called for […] Continue reading ->
Proposals to incorporate some 40 new medications in WHO’s Essential Medicines List – from complex cancer treatments to new medicines for hepatitis C and rabies – will be examined over the coming two weeks by the EML Expert Committee. The Committee, which kicked off its deliberations on Monday with a public hearing, also will consider […] Continue reading ->
Africa could start producing its own cutting-edge COVID-19 vaccines within a year via an mRNA technology transfer hub that is being set up in South Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday. But the speed at which the new hub may be able to swing into full-scale vaccine production depends on whether pharmaceutical […] Continue reading ->
Proponents of a sweeping World Trade Organization ‘waiver’ on intellectual property rights for all COVID-19 treatments, tests and vaccines face an uphill battle to reach consensus on a text ahead of a WTO General Council meeting scheduled for 27-28 July. This is despite the recent agreement of the initiative’s opponents, including the European Union, Korea, […] Continue reading ->
From Indonesia and the Seychelles, to Chile and China itself, there are some worrisome indications that the Chinese Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID vaccines sold by the hundreds of millions to vaccine-strapped low- and middle-income countries may not be performing as well as expected – particularly against rapidly spreading variants of SARS-CoV-2. At the same time, […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday that the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa was expected to get worse, as 22 countries are facing surges and less than 1% of the continent’s population is vaccinated against the virus. “Cases have increased by 52% just in the past week, and deaths have increased by 32%, and […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO) is planning to study the public health and social measures that countries have used to keep COVID-19 at bay successfully – in case there is no quick vaccine for the next pandemic. A special working group has been set up with the support of Norway to study these measures, WHO […] Continue reading ->
Chinese researchers have this week published two papers that shed new light into the likely bat origins of SARS-CoV2 and related foodborne risks – even as pressures from the United States and the European Union grow for a more complete investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV2. The US and EU are expected to issue a […] Continue reading ->
UNAIDS hailed a new political roadmap to end HIV/AIDS by 2030 as a “major feat”, but admitted that its implementation would remain a challenge – along with devising ways to measure how inequalities in access to prevention and treatment are reduced for people and groups most at risk. Addressing a UN press briefing on Thursday, […] Continue reading ->