Thirteen African countries and an international network of research institutions have joined forces to launch a multi-country clinical trial of COVID-19 drug treatments in Africa for people who are mild to moderately ill. The new ANTICOV trial, led by the Geneva-based Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) aims to respond to the urgent need to […] 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 ->
AstraZeneca, the pharma firm developing a COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with researchers at Oxford University, announced that its Phase 3 clinical trials had resulted in a 90% efficacy rate for one dosing regime, in interim results released on Monday. The AstraZeneca breakthrough is significant because the vaccine, based on a known vaccine delivery technology, is […] Continue reading ->
In a bid to step up a battle against other emerging and untreatable pathogens that could wreak havoc on the world in ways similar to COVID-19, WHO on Friday announced the launch of a One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The group, led by the prime ministers of Bangladesh and Barbados, aims […] Continue reading ->
This week is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, marking the fight against the silent and rising global threat of antimicrobial-resistant superbugs. Can patients be part of the solution? This week is the World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) when we turn the world’s attention to the growing problem of drug resistant diseases – caused by bacteria, viruses […] Continue reading ->
WHO on Friday issued formal guidelines recommending against the use of remdesivir for COVID-19 patients, based on a lack of evidence that the antiviral drug, developed by Gilead, significantly improves patient outcomes. The recommendation followed publication of trial results on the drug in the The BMJ involving more than 7,000 patients who had been hospitalized […] Continue reading ->
The tobacco industry has been exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting health sector resource shortages to gain a stronger foothold in the policy corridors of many national governments – making huge donations of PPE and other desperately needed goods, new research has shown. The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2020, released by STOP (Stopping Tobacco […] Continue reading ->
A tier system to assess transmission and public health responses may be able to avoid the economic fallout from long term COVID-19 lockdowns, while combatting transmission of the disease, WHO has said. The European region has recorded over 15.7 million total COVID-19 cases, over 4 million of which occurred in November alone. Europe now accounts […] Continue reading ->
Nearly 100 World Trade Organization member countries and entities could potentially swing behind a proposal by India and South Africa to enact a wide-ranging waiver of complex World Trade Organization requirements on the use of patented products, trade secrets and copyrights on health products during the pandemic, asserted the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access […] Continue reading ->
The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the need to dramatically step up the combat against drug-resistant bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. The world can’t afford to be caught again by surprise with the spread of a dangerous infectious disease for which there is no cure, a growing chorus of global health leaders are warning as the […] Continue reading ->