None of the hypotheses about the origins of the SARS-CoV2 virus have been discarded and the World Health Organization (WHO) origins mission might be expanded to include other experts to take forward new areas of research, WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the body’s bi-weekly media briefing on Friday. “I wish to confirm […] Continue reading ->
In the next two weeks, distribution of millions of doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca SARS-COV2 to health workers across Africa will get underway, said the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control in a joint press briefing with the WHO Regional Office for Africa on Thursday. CDC Director John Nkengasong told Health Policy Watch that […] Continue reading ->
Weak medicine regulators in Africa mean the continent is vulnerable to falsified COVID vaccines being circulated. Sources at international anti-crime agencies argue that Africa’s strong trade routes with China and India are going to allow criminals to introduce shipments of falsified vaccines into supply chains. The World Health Organisation says the global market for substandard […] Continue reading ->
New York City – Echoing a message issued by WHO’s Geneva office today, WHO officials in the Agency’s Americas Regional Office stressed that stronger public health measures are desperately needed, alongside vaccines, to reduce transmission and the risk of even more variants emerging. “The vaccine is not a silver bullet. The vaccine will not stop […] Continue reading ->
The United States Centers for Disease Control has issued new guidance for “tight fit” or “double masks” that it says can filter out over 90% of SARS-CoV2 viruses – much higher averages than if either mask were worn loosely or on its own. The guidance, issued as the US along with other countries face an […] Continue reading ->
A World Health Organization expert group has recommended the use of the AstraZeneca two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for use in countries worldwide – and among groups including people over the age of 65. The sweeping recommendation by WHO “Strategic Advisory Group of Experts” (SAGE) marks what WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan described as an “important milestone” […] Continue reading ->
In her first major public statement since the United States signaled that it would approve her candidacy for Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the need for rich countries to step up their financial contributions to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 tools. Okonjo-Iweala was the keynote speaker on Tuesday at the […] Continue reading ->
The most likely way that the SARS-CoV2 virus spread in Wuhan was from an animal intermediary that transmitted the virus from bats to humans, while the least likely was that it resulted from a laboratory “incident”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) team on the origin of the virus, which completed a month-long investigation […] Continue reading ->
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) recorded its first case of Ebola on Sunday in Butembo – a city that was one of the epicenters of the last Ebola outbreak – since its last outbreak ended in June 2020. A woman with Ebola-like symptoms was detected in Butembo, a city in North Kivu Province, […] Continue reading ->
The World Health Organization (WHO)’s expert group on immunisations remains confident in the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine’s efficacy against severe SARS-CoV2 disease – despite the enormous worldwide concerns triggered by a small South African study that showed it had little effect in stemming mild disease from the B.1.351 variant first identified in that country. “It is very […] Continue reading ->