Monkey Pox, Lassa Fever, Yellow Fever, Cerebrospinal Meningitis, and COVID-19 are some of the epidemics that Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu has addressed as head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Now, however, Ihekweazu’s repertoire of disease experience is about to expand exponentially, following his appointment as the head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) […] Continue reading ->
US Health officials confirmed on Wednesday that the country will begin to offer a third COVID ‘booster’ vaccine, beginning the week of September 20, to Americans who were vaccinated earliest in the vaccination rollout. It’s now “very clear” that immunity starts to fall after the initial two doses, and with the dominance of the Delta […] Continue reading ->
A “preponderance of evidence” proves that the SARS-CoV2 virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the Chinese research institute studying bat coronaviruses, concluded a report by US Congressional Republicans, released on Monday.  “As we continue to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe it’s time to completely dismiss the wet market […] Continue reading ->
The war against COVID-19 has changed with the emergence of the highly transmissible and deadly Delta variant, said an internal US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) slide presentation. The document, which has not yet been released, was obtained by the Washington Post and calls for a new and more aggressive masking and vaccination […] Continue reading ->
The long-delayed 2020 edition of the Tokyo summer Olympics opened Friday against the sober backdrop of soaring COVID infection rates, but with plenty of pomp and ceremony nonetheless –  including a massive fireworks display and an aerial show of drones resembling planet earth hovering above Olympic Stadium, while John Lennon’s “Imagine” echoed across the night […] Continue reading ->
Without urgent action to boost supply and ensure equitable access to vaccines across every country, COVID-19 vaccine inequity will profoundly impact and impede socio-economic recovery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This is according to the Global Dashboard for COVID-19 Vaccine Equity, a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health […] Continue reading ->
Biodiversity sits at the heart of the simultaneous fight against both COVID-19 and the climate crisis, said experts during a Wednesday event hosted by the Society for International Development (SID).  At the event, ‘The Vaccine for Biodiversity’, panelists discussed re-focusing attention on the current health and climate crisis, and how new pandemics should and can […] Continue reading ->
Africa experienced a 43% week-on-week increase in COVID-19 deaths, as the Delta variant accelerated infections for the eighth week in a row, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported at its weekly Africa press briefing. Hospital admissions increase rapidly and countries face shortages in oxygen and intensive care beds, as the Africa hit six million cumulative […] Continue reading ->