Vaccine equity and booster debates are shadowing the lead-up to US President Joe Biden’s planned COVID-19 Summit on Wednesday, with the US reportedly poised to donate another half a billion Pfizer vaccines to the world.  Israeli scientists reported that people over age 60 who received a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine were five times […] Continue reading ->
Pressure is mounting on US President Joe Biden to provide global leadership to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines in the face of the European Commission’s refusal to support a waiver on intellectual property rights. Biden is expected to host a global leaders’ summit on COVID-19 alongside the United Nations General Assembly next week, and […] Continue reading ->
After months of frustrated efforts to unlock global vaccine supplies for the African continent, WHO and African Union leaders are now pinning their hopes on US President Joe Biden’s reported plan to call heads of state to a “Global Pandemic Summit” on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, which opened today, as a […] Continue reading ->
Without urgent action to boost supply and ensure equitable access to vaccines across every country, COVID-19 vaccine inequity will profoundly impact and impede socio-economic recovery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This is according to the Global Dashboard for COVID-19 Vaccine Equity, a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health […] Continue reading ->
Mayors from three capital cities in the global south have appealed for speedy “technology transfer” to enable them to produce their own COVID-19 vaccines at Friday’s World Health Organization (WHO) bi-weekly COVID-19 media briefing. The mayors’ appeal comes on the eve of a meeting next week between WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and […] Continue reading ->
“The future generations are not going to excuse this,” pleaded Kawaldip Sehmi, CEO of the International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO). “They will be looking at us and will say, ‘What the hell were they doing procrastinating on their neighbors during a pandemic?” Sehmi was one of seven speakers from across Africa who convened at […] Continue reading ->
The WHO-convened international investigation into the origin of the SARS-CoV2 virus is too politically limited by China and lacks the mandate to yield fully independent conclusions about how the novel coronavirus emerged and infected humans, according to a group of prominent international scientists – who have called for a new, independent and “unrestricted” probe into […] Continue reading ->
MOMBASA, KENYA – Africa’s ports are vulnerable to crime and corruption. Now they’re set to be the main thoroughfare for COVID vaccines entering the continent. Here’s why we need a better strategy to curb potential counterfeits coming through. Black-green tears of moss streak the facades of once-white buildings. The city is a maze of narrow […] Continue reading ->