African governments, the private sector, and development partners need to invest more in health and health systems to intensify the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and any future disease outbreaks, according to health experts speaking at the African Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) on Tuesday. The experts agreed that a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach is needed […] Continue reading ->
The Chinese-developed “CoronaVac” vaccine against COVID-19 vaccine triggers a sixfold reduction in neutralizing antibody response against the P.1 variant first identified in Brazil, according to a pre-print study published last week, while the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is likely effective against the variant of concern.  These findings come as hospitals in northern Brazil are increasingly overwhelmed and […] Continue reading ->
A senior official at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has cautioned EU member states to wait until the agency has reviewed the safety and efficacy data of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine  before granting the vaccine emergency use authorization at national level, and beginning mass rollouts. Last week, the EMA formally began a rolling review of […] Continue reading ->
The WHO-convened international investigation into the origin of the SARS-CoV2 virus is too politically limited by China and lacks the mandate to yield fully independent conclusions about how the novel coronavirus emerged and infected humans, according to a group of prominent international scientists – who have called for a new, independent and “unrestricted” probe into […] Continue reading ->
LYON, France – Chinese police have successfully identified a network selling counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines as far away as Africa, raiding the manufacturing premises, arresting some 80 suspects, and seizing more than 3,000 fake vaccines on the scene, according to  the global INTERPOL agency [International Criminal Police Organization]. The investigation was supported and facilitated by INTERPOL’s […] Continue reading ->
NEW YORK CITY – Although North America is experiencing an overall decline in new COVID-19 cases and deaths, Brazil and other localized hotspots in South America are experiencing a dramatic spike in infection and hospitalization rates, said WHO officials in the region’s Washington DC-based Americas office.  In a Wednesday briefing, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) […] Continue reading ->
IBADAN – Nigeria has received the largest single shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from the WHO global COVAX initiative to date – with initial delivery of some 3.92 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines out of a total of 16 million doses that have been allocated to the country through the platform for the first phase […] Continue reading ->
JERUSALEM – A three-way collaboration between Israel, Austria and Denmark to expand COVID vaccine manufacturing capacity may be taking shape – just as Moderna gears up for a major global manufacturing expansion and the Israeli-based firm, Teva Pharmaceuticals, negotiates with vaccine manufacturers about ways to support more vaccine production and distribution.   Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz […] Continue reading ->
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorization on Saturday, clearing the way for it to become the third COVID vaccine to be administered in the US starting on Tuesday.  Initial supplies to the US market, however, are likely to be limited for at least […] Continue reading ->