Tobacco use and second-hand smoking during pregnancy doubles the risk of sudden infant death and birth defects – issues highlighted in a new policy brief on the linkages between tobacco control and children’s health, published by the World Health Organisation(WHO). The brief,  Tobacco Control To Improve Child Health and Development, notes that exposure to second-hand […] Continue reading ->
The structural barriers to a faster and more equitable COVID-19 vaccine roll-out go far beyond the issue of patents, declared two of the world’s leading vaccine researchers and pharma execs at a WHO event on Monday evening.  Sarah Gilbert, developer of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and Özlem Türeci, chief medical officer of BioNTech, the developer of […] 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 ->
Despite a groundswell of growing support, a South African and Indian proposal to the World Trade Organization to suspend patents and other intellectual property on vital COVID-19 vaccines and other health products was put on hold by WTO’s General Council in its session on Monday – with the next debate likely to occur in May.  […] Continue reading ->
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have become the first countries in the world to start vaccinating their health workers against COVID-19 with a supply of doses from the WHO co-sponsored global COVAX facility. But it is “regrettable” that this milestone has come almost three months after vaccine campaigns already began in rich countries, World Health Organisation’s […] Continue reading ->