British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from their COVID-19 vaccine trial, the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said in a statement released Tuesday.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 ->
One of the unquantified side effects (or health impacts) of the pandemic has been in a place few people cared to look very deeply – that is our mouths. For significant parts of the past year, dentists’ chairs in many offices around the world sat empty – as COVID-19 disrupted routine dental treatments. During the early […] 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 ->
Delayed Delivery Of Vaccines Procured By Africa CDC Threatens Timeline For Achieving ‘Herd Immunity’
Africa’s goal of achieving herd immunity against COVID-19 hangs in the balance as 270 million doses of vaccines are yet to arrive in the continent despite being secured three months ago by the African Union (AU) and African Centres for Diseae Control (ACDC). Mid-January 2021, Health Policy Watch reported that the Africa CDC had […] Continue reading ->
South Africa’s vaccination programme for health workers is inching forward, fuelled by small deliveries of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine every two weeks. However, overall supplies remain far short of the needs – even for the health sector. The country has an estimated 1.25 million health workers in public and private health to serve its […] Continue reading ->