Tuberculosis care is quintessentially colonial, even in 2021. While many countries have been emancipated from their colonizers, the heritage of the colonial mindset, culture and even entire economies is deeply embedded within high burden TB countries in the post-colonial era.   A disease of poverty, TB has historically been terribly neglected. Although the number one infectious […] Continue reading ->
In a decisive act of global solidarity, Norway has offered almost a third of its allocation of COVAX vaccines to poorer countries, according to Dag-Inge Ulstein, Norway’s Minister of International Development. Norway has only fully vaccinated about 5% of its population – 260,000 people – and unlike many other European countries, it has not stockpiled […] Continue reading ->
British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from their COVID-19 vaccine trial, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said in a statement released Tuesday.  The NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health, urged AstraZeneca to work with the US  Data Safety and Monitoring Board (DSMB) to review the […] Continue reading ->
In news that should be reassuring for skeptics, the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was found to be 79% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalization in results of a late-stage clinical trial, published today by the pharma company. What’s more, analysis of safety results by an independent board found no […] Continue reading ->
Developers of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine have entered into a partnership with Stelis Biopharma, an India-based drugmaker, to produce 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Stelis is now the latest addition to the global production network for Sputnik V.  The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the company responsible for marketing the Sputnik vaccine abroad, […] 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 ->
IBADAN – African countries are hosting a large conference in April to discuss the local production of vaccines, as key players in Africa’s public health sector try to address the continent’s vaccine shortages. Circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution had necessitated this conversation, William Kwabena Ampofo, Chairperson of African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative, said […] Continue reading ->
The European Medicines Agency’s safety committee (PRAC) on Thursday gave a resounding endorsement of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19, concluding that the vaccine’s benefits vaccine “far outweigh” any risks  –  despite a possible link between some vaccinations and rare cases of blood clotting associated with low levels of blood platelets. The EMA statement followed two […] Continue reading ->
The European Commission has released a proposal establishing a framework for a “Digital Green Certificate”, clearing the way for a vaccine certificate system to be set up by the summer.  The proposal comes as many European countries are witnessing a third wave of infections and as the region’s vaccination campaign is lagging from vaccine shortages […] Continue reading ->