In a far-reaching statement, WHO and the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA) called on the pharma industry to provide much wider access to clinical data for all new medicines and vaccines approved, or under review, and even those that had been rejected.  “Clinical trial reports should be published without redaction of confidential information […] Continue reading ->
The Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine became the latest COVID-19 vaccine to receive an Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday; experts said the vaccine showed an overall efficacy rate of 79% in preventing symptomatic and serious disease.  The WHO approval positions Sinopharm to become a major player in the COVAX global facility. […] Continue reading ->
Low-and-middle-income countries have made significantly less progress than high-income countries in implementing hand hygiene and infection prevention programmes that can stop deadly diseases, from diarrhoea to COVID-19, according to a recent A World Health Organization survey of 88 countries.  And one in four health care facilities in poorer countries do not have basic water services […] Continue reading ->
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a “silent pandemic” of drug resistance to mutated bacteria, viruses and parasites is gaining ground and requires major government investments in antibiotic research and development (R&D), a group of experts has warned. “People are dying across the world from drug-resistant infections. This is a problem of today, and […] Continue reading ->
A handful of five countries that forcefully acted to eliminate COVID-19 transmission fared better over the duration of the pandemic than others – experiencing far fewer deaths, faster economic recovery, and the preservation of a greater range of personal liberties, according to a sweeping review, published in The Lancet on Thursday.  The review of policies […] Continue reading ->
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – Pakistan and its three estranged neighbouring countries – India, Iran and Afghanistan – are all struggling to restrain their large populations from attending deeply rooted and centuries-old cultural, religious festivals – so as to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the region.  The cultural, political, and religious gatherings in all four developing […] Continue reading ->
PUNE – Indian twitter for days has been a desperate space. There are appeals for oxygen cylinders, cries for funding to meet healthcare costs, and panic-stricken relatives scouting for hospital beds for their loved ones. Hospitals are now approaching the courts for help as they run out of oxygen. And even prominent lawyers and influencers […] Continue reading ->