As the COVID-19 pandemic spawns increased antibiotic use all over the world, more drug-resistant microbes are bound to bite us back , said Dr. Tedros at a WHO press conference on Monday. The repercussions on disease treatment and deaths will be severe, given that the world is running out of effective ways to treat antimicrobial […] Continue reading ->
China stalled for ‘at least’ two weeks in providing the World Health Organization with detailed data on COVID-19 cases, frustrating WHO’s top echelons – even as they tried to put on a positive public face, according to an investigative report by the Associated Press of exchanges that occured in January. China also withheld the genome […] Continue reading ->
“I can’t breathe” could have been a slogan for those suffering the worst effects of COVID-19. But now it has become the battle cry of Americans angered over the police killing by strangulation of a Minneapolis man, George Floyd, last week. While this is the latest in a years-long series of violent events involving African […] Continue reading ->
A new survey by WHO has found that the COVID-19 pandemic has ‘severely’ disrupted the delivery of services to prevent and treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in almost 80% of countries surveyed – or 122 out of 150 countries. This is of “significant concern” WHO said on Monday in a statement, because people with NCDs also […] Continue reading ->
Aerosol transmission of COVID-19 is looking to be more significant, and it is ‘essential’ to introduce widespread mask use to reduce COVID-19 transmission by that route – aerosol chemists and infectious disease researchers wrote in a commentary published in Science. The authors refer to a growing body of evidence on aerosols and masks that runs […] Continue reading ->
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday he was terminating the US’ relationship with the World Health Organization. Trump’s declaration came hours after WHO’s celebratory launch of a new ‘Solidarity Call to Action ,’ urging countries to make patents and data for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines freely available as ‘global public goods.’ Some 37 countries […] Continue reading ->
In light of millions of smokers attempting to quit the vice during the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry has employed ‘very mean’, ‘very subtle’ and ‘very targeted’ tactics to hook young populations to “deadly’ tobacco products, according to WHO experts. “The tobacco industry understands what they’re doing, they’re targeting these children and adolescents. And that’s deliberate. […] Continue reading ->
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, hope has been pinned on the development and roll-out of an effective vaccine. But in a global crisis where demand for the vaccine will be everywhere, how can fair and equitable distribution be ensured? Panelists from the World Health Organization; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations […] Continue reading ->
The UK-based Pharma firm AstraZeneca and US-based Pfizer announced they are planning to start Phase III trials as early as July for an experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the United States and the United Kingdom. The massive trials would enroll over 30,000 people, and AstraZeneca’s hope is to have an effective vaccine by the end of […] Continue reading ->
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus unveiled a bold new WHO Healthy Recovery Manifesto – including an unprecedented call to governments to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry to the tune of US$ 400 bilion annually – driving both climate change, air pollution, and an epidemic of chronic diseases that also sharply increased mortality risks […] Continue reading ->