Experts are divided on whether or not Omicron could offer a COVID-19 reprieve. As the Omicron wave hits its peak in parts of the world, leaving more people infected than in any previous outbreak, some scientists believe that respite is on the way, while others argue another variant could emerge that will be even more […] Continue reading ->
As the WHO Executive Board resumes talks this week on a much-discussed Pandemic Accord, and other preparedness measures, three noted infectious disease experts chart a course for “eliminating” SARS-COV2 – warning that will take more sustained global coordination and determination than what has been seen so far. At the outbreak of World War 1 in […] Continue reading ->
A World Health Organization Emergencies Expert Committee has once again re-asserted a recommendation to abolish vaccine requirements for international travel – going well against the grain of current trends – particularly in light of the brouhaha seen over Sunday’s deportation of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic from Australia. The WHO expert group, made of some […] Continue reading ->
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) said Thursday that it had already signed agreements with 27 generic manufacturing companies for the manufacturing of the oral COVID-19 antiviral medication molnupiravir and supply in 105 low- and-middle-income countries (LMICs). The sublicense agreements are the result of the voluntary licensing agreement signed by MPP and MSD in October 2021 […] Continue reading ->
World Health Organization (WHO) researchers and partners are “constantly looking at” animals’ susceptibility to COVID-19, and transmission both from humans to animals and vice versa, WHO’s Dr Maria van Kerkhove told the global body’s weekly briefing on Tuesday. “We understand there are a number of species that can be infected with SARS-CoV2 and then there’s […] Continue reading ->
The inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is the result of the “complete collapse of global co-operation and solidarity”, Dr John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), told a panel on vaccine equity at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday. “The moral failures that we witnessed over the last […] Continue reading ->
A fourth COVID-19 booster mRNA vaccine has proven ineffective against Omicron infection, according to preliminary research from Israel released on Monday. “Despite a significant increase in antibodies after the fourth vaccine, this protection is only partially effective against the Omicron strain, which is relatively resistant to the vaccine,” lead researcher Prof Gili Regev-Yochay, told a […] Continue reading ->
France’s newest measure to tackle COVID-19 – requiring a certificate of vaccination at public places such as restaurants, cafes, cinemas, and long-distance trains – was approved by its parliament on Sunday. With lawmakers in the lower house of parliament voting 215 to 58 in favour, the law is set to be enforced in coming days. […] Continue reading ->
Rwanda became the recipient of the one-billionth COVID-19 vaccine delivered by COVAX, the global platform set up to ensure equitable access to the vaccines,announced last Friday. After numerous supply problems – most seriously when its key supplier, the Serum Insitute of India, was banned from exporting its vaccines by the Indian government – COVAX was […] Continue reading ->
Two new treatments for COVID-19 were recommended on Thursday by the World Health Organization’s Guideline Development Group of international experts – one for severely ill patients and the other for those patients who are not severely ill but most likely to develop severe disease. The recommendations were announced Friday morning in the BMJ. Both drugs, […] Continue reading ->