JOHANNESBURG – Violent unrest in South Africa has had a disastrous impact on the country’s healthcare and emergency services and has brought the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out to a near standstill in at least two provinces, as the country continues to battle with a third wave of the pandemic. On Tuesday, the national health department temporarily […] Continue reading ->
The single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine could lead to an increased risk of a rare neurological condition, warned the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday, adding it to the list of possible side effects. This comes along with a series of new reports on the side effects associated with the leading COVID-19 […] Continue reading ->
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has signed advanced purchase agreements (APAs) with Sinopharm and Sinovac, Chinese biotech firms, to immediately begin supplying the global COVAX Facility with 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the agency announced on Monday. The agreements come as the Delta variant, first identified in India and classified as a WHO variant of […] Continue reading ->
The Lambda variant has now been found in 29 different countries, seven of them in Latin America and it is the dominant strain in Peru. The Lambda variant, or the C.37 strain, designated a variant of interest by the WHO on 15 June 2021, was first identified in Peru in August 2020. It is widespread […] Continue reading ->
Though the Americas is the only World Health Organization (WHO) region that is reporting a slight decline in new COVID-19 cases this week, countries in Central and South America, Canada and Mexico are still experiencing rising rates of infection. Over 1.1 million new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Americas over the last week, officials […] Continue reading ->
WHO urged high income countries in Europe and elsewhere to reconsider the reopening of mass events, and keep strict social distancing rules in place – in the wake of a surge in COVID cases almost everywhere but Latin America. They spoke at a press briefing on the day that the world passed the tragic milestone […] Continue reading ->
Levels of neutralizing antibodies in vaccinated individuals is a strong indicator of COVID-19 vaccine success- and this knowledge could be used to jump-start vaccine approvals and mass administration – even before large Phase 3 clinical trials are completed, suggests a new study by the University of Oxford Vaccine Group, Public Health England, and AstraZeneca. Knowledge […] Continue reading ->
As many high-income countries are relaxing restrictions for the summer months, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are witnessing rises in cases, deaths, and overwhelmed hospitals. Countries in Europe and the United States are increasingly allowing in travellers, ending mask mandates, and allowing large gatherings including football matches and concerts. At the same time, the third […] Continue reading ->
Small island states need more help to deal with the effects of climate change as well as the new challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the first World Health Organization (WHO) Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Summit concluded this week. Following a two day virtual SIDS Summit: For a healthy and resilient future in […] Continue reading ->
Despite the emergence of new WHO concerns over quality control at Sputnik V’s domestic production facilities, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is pushing ahead with a massive international “open-license” manufacturing effort for its Sputnik V vaccine – which breaks the traditional model of vaccine production and leverages existing capacity in poorer countries, desperate for […] Continue reading ->