The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) will offer certain government-funded coronavirus technologies to WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), top US officials said on Thursday. The announcement by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra at a virtual meeting Thursday with other ministers of health, could help bolster support for the […] Continue reading ->
Molnupiravir, an oral COVID-19 antiviral medication, has just been added as a conditional recommendation to the World Health Organization’s living guidelines on COVID-19 therapeutics. The pill, created by Merck, had already been approved by the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) in January to be distributed and supplied in 105 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In comparison […] Continue reading ->
Within one year, Africa has gone from waiting for its first COVID-19 vaccine shipment from the WHO-supported global COVAX facility to having excess doses available that some countries are struggling roll out efficiently. Reflections on the first anniversary of the massive COVAX vaccine rollout. On 24 February 2021, Health Policy Watch reported the global COVAX […] Continue reading ->
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is seeking $18-billion for its next three-year funding cycle – a $4billion increase over the previous period – in part to offset the impact of COVID-19. “In the face of the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on the fight against HIV, TB and malaria, the choice is […] Continue reading ->
On the eve of the first anniversary of the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa via COVAX, the continent’s leading vaccine advocates have pledged not to accept anything less vaccinating 70% of Africans against the virus by mid-year – a tall order given that only around 10% have been vaccinated. However, to assist in reaching […] Continue reading ->
GUWAHATI – Amid sharply falling COVID-19 cases, the streets in the largest city in north eastern India have started to resemble pre-pandemic days, crowded with pedestrians, vehicles, roadside vendors and hawkers jostling for space with scarcely anyone wearing masks. This follows the decision by Assam state to lift all restrictions from 15 February, removing curfews […] Continue reading ->
Individuals who recovered from COVID-19 and then received at least one shot of the Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine had a significantly lower risk of reinfection, according to a new study published Wednesday’s New England Journal of Medicine,. The study was conducted by researchers at Israel’s Clalit Health Services, in collaboration with Ben-Gurion University and Sapir […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – The US and Africa intend to use the well-established community networks supported by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to improve the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa. The initaitive would build upon the infrastructure developed since PEPFAR entered as a major player on the African AIDS scene in 2003. […] Continue reading ->
The WHO co-sponsored Act Accelerator Initiative, which aims to get 70% vaccine coverage to all countries by mid-2022, as well as more equal distribution of tests and treatments, tabled its latest ask to donors – for some $16.8 billion in new funds – out of what it says would be a total cost of $48 […] Continue reading ->
CAPE TOWN – The COVID-19 mRNA candidate vaccine, developed in two months flat by South African scientists based on Moderna’s “recipe”, might be too late for this pandemic, officials leading the project told Health Policy Watch, on the eve of a high-level WHO visit to the Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines facility where the vaccine formula […] Continue reading ->