Driven by Omicron, Africa is facing a steep wave of new COVID infections – last week reporting the fourth highest number of cases ever recorded in a single week, said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday.  He was speaking at an exclusive media briefing in Geneva behind closed doors to a handful […] Continue reading ->
In what should be reassuring news for health systems the world over,  preliminary lab results suggest that Moderna’s authorised COVID booster dose of 50 µg offers 37-fold more protection against Omicron than the first two vaccine jabs after 29 days. And a 100 µg booster -comparable to the dose received in the first two shots […] Continue reading ->
As more vaccine supplies finally become available to the world’s low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), the latent challenges that should have been addressed long before have emerged. Those include vaccine hesitancy and the ability of weak health systems to mount mass vaccination campaigns amidst other pressing health needs. Global policymakers need to shift their attention from […] Continue reading ->
A recent WHO estimate that there could be a 3 billion shortfall in COVID vaccine doses needed to vaccinate the world in the first quarter of 2022 – if high-income countries “aggressively” booster adults with third shots as well as immunizing children is not based on “valid, solid” data, charged pharma leader, Thomas Cueni on […] Continue reading ->
An overwhelming majority of people in Africa – 78% of people surveyed across 19 countries in the African Union – are willing to get vaccinated, according to new research from the Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC). PERC – a public-private partnership consisting of organizations and institutions such as the African Union, Africa Centres […] Continue reading ->
In a historic first, World Trade Organization (WTO) members launched three high-level ministerial statements calling for the global trade body to support fossil fuel subsidy reforms and measures to reduce plastics pollution of land and seas. The pivotal new statements call for a “phase out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”, a key driver of climate […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a “wake-up call” to African countries to build resilient health systems, boost local manufacturing of medicines, and improve the skills of health workers, according to Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. Opening the continent’s first-ever Conference on Public Health in Africa this week, Kagame – chairperson of the African Union Commission – […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – The mRNA vaccine ‘hub’ being set up in South Africa aims to have a COVID-19 vaccine candidate ready for clinical trials by 2023. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) – which initiated the South Africa hub to address regional inequity – is setting up a “biomanufacturing workforce training centre” to address the […] Continue reading ->