WHO officials have expressed concern about yet another spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths across the Americas, following the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, and in the run-up to Christmas – echoing concerns already being expressed by United States health authorities. The US has reported 2 million new COVID-19 cases in the past 2 weeks: a […] Continue reading ->
New York City. The pandemic has been exacerbated by recent hurricanes in Central America, as a result of outbreaks in overcrowded emergency shelters, as well as travel during the American Thanksgiving season, health leaders said at a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) press conference. Last week, saw an increase of 1.5 million cases reported in […] Continue reading ->
The vaccine zero hour is approaching. As Norway’s Minister of International Development Dag Ulstein and South Africa’s Minister of Health Zweili Mkhize made yet another urgent plea Monday for some US$4.3 billion right now and another $US23.9 billion in 2021 to massively roll out new COVID19 vaccines, drugs and tests that are now coming on […] Continue reading ->
Many Geneva-based health agencies have worked together for years to improve global access to diagnostics and treatment, but the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated much closer collaboration and speedier decision-making. This is according to experts from the WHO co-sponsored “ACT Accelerator” medicine access partnership – including UNITAID, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), and the […] Continue reading ->
While President Donald Trump’s mismanagement of Covid-19 may help Democratic contender Joe Biden turn the final corner in a tight US election, identity politics and the economy have loomed as bigger factors than health in voter choices. Voters in key battleground states, like Michigan and Nevada, explain why. The United States election came just as […] Continue reading ->
With the winner of the presidency and party control of the Senate still unclear the morning after Election Day, the future of the nation’s health system remains uncertain. At stake is whether the federal government will play a stronger role in financing and setting the ground rules for health care coverage or cede more authority […] Continue reading ->
New COVID-19 cases reached record worldwide peaks in the United States over the weekend, hitting 98,583 new cases on Friday – as debates over management of the pandemic also fueled intense political duels in the last, heated days of campaigning between US President Donald Trump and his Democratic Party contender, Joseph Biden. Hospitalizations were also […] Continue reading ->
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, board chair of Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, on Wednesday was named as the favored candidate to be the next World Trade Organization director-general – after a months-long WTO campaign process and in a decisive moment of the COVID-19 pandemic. But as the United States came out in favor of the Republic of Korea’s […] Continue reading ->
America’s most-respected public health guru, Dr Anthony Fauci, said Wednesday that he is “cautiously optimistic’ that at least one COVID-19 vaccine will prove to be safe and effective later this month or next. While warning that “one can never guarantee a safe and effective vaccine… we are cautiously optimistic that we will have one based […] Continue reading ->
A significant surge in COVID-19 cases is currently taking place across Europe, something that Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, described as the “fall/winter surge” in a press briefing Thursday. Europe has reported its highest weekly number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with nearly 700,000 cases. Even though mortality rates […] Continue reading ->