Older adults vaccinated with Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine were 15% less likely to be infected with COVID-19 than those vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech’s, according to a peer-reviewed study, published in JAMA Network on Wednesday. The study was based on observational data from 6.3 million adults, almost 60% women and 86.5% White, with an average age of 76 […] Continue reading ->
Viral hepatitis could become a more lethal killer than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV combined by 2040, if current trends in undetected infection and treatment continue, warned the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday, World Hepatitis Day. In observance of the day, WHO launched a call, under the title “One life, one liver”, to scale up […] Continue reading ->
The cases of drug-resistant gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted disease, are on the rise in many parts of the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. The agency added that it considers Neisseria gonorrhoea a “priority microorganism” to be monitored for antimicrobial resistance. The new WHO guidance on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) requires countries to […] Continue reading ->
Thirty-seven countries have received grants worth $338 million from the Pandemic Fund to boost their resilience to pandemics in the first round of the fund’s disbursements. Three disbursements involve multi-country grants: to 12 Caribbean countries to strengthen their early warning surveillance, build laboratory systems and workforce development; to seven Latin American countries to engage communities […] Continue reading ->
Firearms were the leading causes of death amongst children and teenagers aged 1-17 in the US in 2020 and 2021, according to a new study published by KFF, a US-based policy think tank. The number of children dying in firearm-related incidents in the US has doubled since 2013, and now ranks higher than other causes […] Continue reading ->
After three days of climate talks with Chinese officials, US Climate Envoy John Kerry acknowledged political differences were obstructing cooperation between his country and China, the world’s biggest climate polluters. Kerry concluded his Chinese visit by appealing for the climate crisis to be addressed as a stand-alone issue separate from politics if progress is to […] Continue reading ->
With the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) meeting to develop a pandemic accord currently underway in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief minced no words when he slammed “groups with vested interests” for trying to sabotage the negotiations. “Twenty years ago, the tobacco industry tried to undermine negotiations on the WHO […] Continue reading ->
Routine childhood immuniaztions rebounded in 2022 from the set-backs of the COVID pandemic. But coverage still fell short of pre-COVID numbers in 2019, with 20.5 million children missing out on one or more routine vaccines last year as compared to 18.4 million in 2019. The new data is contained in a report published jointly Tuesday […] Continue reading ->
Women Deliver, one of the world’s largest gatherings on gender equity and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), opened in Kigali in Rwanda on Monday amid a global backlash against abortion. “We’re facing enormous headwinds against gender equality, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and a growing anti-rights movement worldwide,” said Maliha Khan, […] Continue reading ->
The licensing agreement reached between Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and the Stop TB Partnership on Thursday to allow the generic production of the tuberculosis drug, bedaquiline, is simply a “stop-gap” measure that applies to a limited number of countries, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). At least nine countries in the Eastern Europe and Central […] Continue reading ->