Viruses mutate all the time but only some mutations affect their ability to spread or evade prior immunity from vaccination or infection, or the severity of disease they cause. The World Health Organization said on Monday it is tracking a few dozen cases of two new sub-variants of the highly …
Read More »Well-vaccinated countries should prioritise COVAX over booster shots – WHO’s Tedros
The World Health Organisation recommends against using spare doses of COVID-19 vaccine to give booster shots to countries’ fully-vaccinated populations since the priority is to ensure the global population is vaccinated, the agency’s head said. Speaking in Berlin at the opening of a new epidemic intelligence hub, Director-General Tedros Adhanom …
Read More »India COVID-19 cases rise by 50,040 amid concern about Delta variant
India’s daily COVID-19 infections rose by 50,040 on Sunday, official data showed, as concerns grew about the detection of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus in some states.
Read More »‘Vaccine or jail?’: Duterte warns as COVID’s Delta variant surges
The philippine president also threatens to use ‘shots for pigs’ on Filipinos who refuse to get inoculated amid reports of low turnouts in some vaccine sites.
Read More »COVID Variant First Detected in India Spreads to Nearly 50 Countries
A day after declaring the COVID-19 variant first detected in India as one of global concern, the World Health Organization announced Wednesday that the variant has spread to 49 countries. The U.N. health agency’s new concern about the B.1.617 variant comes as India recorded 4,205 COVID-19 deaths, a new one-day …
Read More »WHO authorizes China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use
The World Health Organization on Friday authorized China’s Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. “This afternoon, WHO gave emergency use listing to Sinopharm Beijing’s Covid-19 vaccine, making it the sixth vaccine to receive WHO validation for safety, efficacy, and quality,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a news briefing …
Read More »Germany and France quit WHO reform talks amid tension with Washington – sources
France and Germany have quit talks on reforming the World Health Organization in frustration at attempts by the United States to lead the negotiations, despite its decision to leave the WHO, three officials told Reuters. The move is a setback for President Donald Trump as Washington, which holds the rotating …
Read More »Coronavirus pandemic will be ‘lengthy’, World Health Organisation warns
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to be “lengthy,” the World Health Organisation has warned after its emergency committee met to evaluate the crisis six months after first declaring an international emergency. A “nuanced” approach to tackling Covid-19 is needed to reduce the risk of “response fatigue” as the diseases places …
Read More »There is no ‘zero risk’ in easing travel restrictions, WHO says
There is no “zero risk” strategy for countries easing international travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and essential travel for emergencies should remain the priority, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. In a long-awaited update to its guidance on travel, the United Nations global health agency said cross-border trips for …
Read More »WHO urges countries to support ‘COVAX’ vaccine scheme
The World Health Organization’s chief scientist said on Thursday that any country that supports the COVAX financing initiative has a better chance of getting a successful COVID-19 vaccine. Soumya Swaminathan told a news briefing in Geneva that the more countries that joined COVAX, a scheme designed to guarantee fast and …
Read More »Russia Coronavirus Vaccine Is Ready and Safe, Ministry of Defense Says
Russia’s novel coronavirus vaccine trials were successfully completed on Monday and the results indicated long-term immunity could be established, Russia’s ministry of defense said. “The Russian Defence Ministry together with the Gamaleya [Gamalei] Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology has successfully completed clinical trials of the vaccine against COVID-19 …
Read More »Russia Coronavirus Vaccine Could Be Distributed Next Month, and recent vaccine developments
As the race to find a novel coronavirus vaccine continues across the globe, Russia has reportedly become the first country to complete clinical trials of a vaccine candidate, with the potential to be distributed from around mid-August. A vaccine could be rolled out across the U.K. by the first half …
Read More »239 Experts With 1 Big Claim: The Coronavirus Is Airborne
The coronavirus is finding new victims worldwide, in bars and restaurants, offices, markets and casinos, giving rise to frightening clusters of infection that increasingly confirm what many scientists have been saying for months: The virus lingers in the air indoors, infecting those nearby. If airborne transmission is a significant factor …
Read More »Vaccine against COVID-19 not certain, maybe in a year: WHO
It is not certain that scientists will be able to create an effective vaccine against the coronavirus that has caused the COVID-19 pandemic, but it could take a year before one were to be invented, the head of the World Health Organisation said. Speaking by video-conference to deputies from the …
Read More »WHO moves to update COVID-19 guidance after ‘great news’ in drug study
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was moving to update its guidelines on treating people stricken with COVID-19 to reflect results of a clinical trial that showed a cheap, common steroid can help save critically ill patients. Trial results announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, used since the 1960s to …
Read More »Global coronavirus cases exceed 7 million mark
The total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 7 million early Monday, according to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University. The university’s data showed that the global tally of fatalities had reached 402,730, while the number of recoveries topped 3.14 million. The US remains the worst-hit …
Read More »WHO warns of pressure on Latin American health systems
With nearly 30,000 dead in Brazil and more than 10,000 dead in Mexico, the novel coronavirus epidemic threatens to shatter hospital systems across Latin America – while France, which is emerging from a similar nightmare scenario, begins on Tuesday a gradual return to normalcy. Four of the 10 countries showing …
Read More »China supports inquiry ‘after pandemic brought under control’: Xi
China supports a “comprehensive evaluation” of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic after it “has been brought under control”, President Xi Jinping told the World Health Assembly on Monday. Mr. Xi told the virtual meeting via video that China has “always had an open, transparent and responsible attitude”, and …
Read More »Trump to restore partial WHO funding after halt over pandemic handling – report
US President Donald Trump will partially restore funding to the World Health Organization, a month after he ordered a freeze as he accused the Geneva-based body of “mismanaging” the coronavirus pandemic, Fox News reported Friday. The outlet said a draft letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the US …
Read More »Chinese envoy says U.S. undermining global economy, virus fight
A Chinese envoy has accused the United States of undermining the global economy by building trade barriers and artificially prolonging the global coronavirus pandemic by halting funding to the World Health Organization. China’s ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, Wang Qun, made the unusually harsh remarks at a meeting …
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