This article is the second in a three-part series on COVID-19 booster vaccines, which is an evolving discussion as more evidence emerges about the performance of vaccines against variants. Despite heated debates about doling out booster jabs in healthy people who are already fully vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, there seems to be consensus that at least […] 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 ->
Chinese officials have rejected WHO’s proposal for a more rigorous Phase II investigation of the origins of the SARS-CoV2 virus, including renewed consideration that the virus may have escaped from a laboratory, describing the new plan as “impossible” at a press conference.    “We will not accept such an origin-tracing plan as it, in some aspects, […] 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 ->
The World Food Program (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO) launched a health emergencies project, INITIATE2, on Monday. The joint INITIATE2 project will gather health emergency actors, research and academic institutions, and international and national partners to facilitate knowledge sharing and skills transfer to improve emergency health responses.  The project will develop innovative solutions to […] Continue reading ->
Though new COVID-19 cases are down nearly 20% from last week in the Americas, many countries are experiencing a resurgence in infections, officials from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced at a press briefing on Wednesday.  Over 962,280 new cases were reported in the region in the past week, according to data from the […] Continue reading ->