As the 75th United Nations General Assembly opened in an unprecedented virtual session on 15 September, WHO issued a plea to the world’s leaders for funding to fight the COVID-19 pandemic – saying that US$ 35 billion is needed to fast-track development, procurement and distribution of 2 billion vaccine doses, treatments and tests over the […] Continue reading ->
The United Nations General Assembly adopted an omnibus resolution urging Member States to mount a coordinated global coronavirus response on 11 September. The resolution (Document A/74/L.92), submitted by the President of the Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, was almost passed unanimously, with only two countries voting against and two abstaining. United States & Israel Vote Against the […] Continue reading ->
AstraZeneca on Tuesday night suspended the Phase 3 trial of their experimental COVID-19 vaccine in order to investigate a a suspected severe adverse reaction in a volunteer reported in the United Kingdom. The trial suspension follows just on the heels of AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer’s pledge to seek regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine only […] Continue reading ->
Countries would be better off waiting until Phase 3 clinical trials, which test the safety and efficacy of an experimental vaccine in tens of thousands of people, are completed before rolling out the vaccine for wider use, World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Monday. Although some countries, including China, Russia and the […] Continue reading ->
As global stocks of remdesivir, one of the few promising therapeutics for COVID-19, run low, the drug’s maker Gilead Sciences says that voluntary licensing to enable more manufacturers to produce the drug will not help expand access, countering advocates’ calls.  Rather, the lack of a “coordinated global supply chain” is to blame for worldwide shortages […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization will establish a new high level review of the Organization’s capacity to respond todisease outbreaks in the framework of the International Health Regulations (IHR) that govern emergency response.  The aim is to ensure that WHO is “as effective as possible in operations as they unfold,” announced Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus […] Continue reading ->