BREAKING – World Health Organization Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has proposed the creation of a Swiss-based global repository for sharing pathogen materials and clinical samples related to potential outbreak threats – allowing for the more rapid development of medical interventions.  The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the urgent need for this kind of system, said […] Continue reading ->
A series of new COVID-19 drug and vaccine funding commitments worth just over US$300 million were announced on Thursday by the Gates Foundation, France and the European Commission – amidst a quickening pace of anticipation that at least one, if not two, COVID-19 vaccines may soon become available.  Appearing at the Paris Peace Forum, Melinda […] Continue reading ->
World Health Assembly members set aside the contentious issue of restoring Taiwan’s observer status at the member state forum – to focus on the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and linked to that WHO reform.  That was despite a growing push by the United States, backed by Europe and their western Pacific allies for […] Continue reading ->
There is so far no evidence that the outbreak of mutant SARS-CoV-2 virus strains exploding in Danish mink farms threaten the development of a successful COVID-19 vaccine, said top World Health Organization (WHO) officials on Friday. More than 200 mink farms in Denmark have reported cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections, prompting Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, […] Continue reading ->
New COVID-19 cases reached record worldwide peaks in the United States over the weekend,  hitting 98,583 new cases on Friday – as debates over management of the pandemic also fueled intense political duels in the last, heated days of campaigning between US President Donald Trump and his Democratic Party contender, Joseph Biden.  Hospitalizations were also […] Continue reading ->
Third in a series – Cities are major drivers of public health and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought increasing and urgent necessity for effective, innovative leadership and collaboration within and between cities. “The COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives around the globe and nowhere has the impact of this virus been more evident than in urban areas, […] Continue reading ->
It is “imperative” that governments recognize the long-term effects of COVID-19 and ensure that affected people can access health services, including primary health care as well as rehabilitation, emphasized the World Health Organization on Friday. “Although we are still learning about this virus, what’s clear is that this is not just a virus that kills […] Continue reading ->
University of Basel. Researchers from Basel and Spain have identified a novel SARS-CoV-2 variant that has spread widely across Europe in recent months, according to an un-peer-reviewed preprint released this week in medRixv. While there is no evidence of this variant being more dangerous, its spread may give insights into the efficacy of travel policies […] Continue reading ->