In commemoration of World Chagas Disease Day, Unitaid and the Brazilian Ministry of Health launched a $19 million initiative to expand access to affordable diagnostics and treatments for women and newborns in four Latin American countries where Chagas disease is endemic – Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, and Paraguay. Transmitted by the blood-sucking triatomine bug called Trypanosoma […] Continue reading ->
In a vital step forward that will help accelerate global access to COVID-19 vaccines, Gavi, the vaccine alliance raised some $400 million in donations at a high-level event on Thursday, just a week after the global COVAX facility reached 100 countries with almost 40 million vaccine doses. The event was hosted by US Secretary of […] Continue reading ->
Two studies published by The Lancet Infectious Disease and The Lancet Public Health report that the United Kingdom’s dominant strain of the virus is not linked to more severe disease or death, and that there was no apparent increase in reinfection rate from the variant. The variant of SARS-CoV-2 2, B.1.1.7, emerged as the dominant […] Continue reading ->
In an unusually bold step for the cautious global health agency, the World Health Organization has called upon countries to suspend the sale of captured live wild mammals in food markets as an emergency measure. The appeal follows on the publication of a report by a WHO-convened international team examining the origins of the SARS-CoV2 […] Continue reading ->
The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recommended a “pause” in administration of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) single-dose COVID-19 vaccine out of an “abundance of caution” following six cases of a rare type of blood clotting among the 6.8 million US recipients of the […] Continue reading ->
The European Medicines Agency is reviewing the cases of four people who developed blood clots after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine, the regulator announced on Friday. “Four serious cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets have been reported post-vaccination with COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen. One case occurred in a clinical trial and […] Continue reading ->
A recent trial of ivermectin, a mainstay treatment for the parasitic disease onchocerciasis for the past three decades, has failed to show significant impacts against COVID-19, a new study, published in JAMA, reports. The study by a group of researchers in Cali, Colombia found that the use of the antiparitic drug, typically used to treat onchocersiasis […] Continue reading ->
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is safe and protective in children as young as 12 with no serious side effects in adolescents who received the vaccination, the company said on Wednesday. Interim results of a recent clinical trial of some 2,260 adolescents ages 12-15 years old was published by the pharma company – although it has […] Continue reading ->
European countries are experiencing soaring COVID-19 infection and death rates. With a third wave sweeping across Europe, hospitals are at risk of becoming overwhelmed and governments are facing increasing public opposition to continued lockdowns and social distancing restrictions. The WHO European Region, which includes 53 member states, has recorded an upward trend in cases for […] Continue reading ->
A new study published by a consortium of UK-based airline industry interests suggested that administration to travelers of a rapid antigen test upon arrival at their destination, may be just as effective as quarantine requirements, to stop imports of COVID-19 cases. The study, which reviewed case studies of airport testing procedures elsewhere, claims that a […] Continue reading ->