Geneva, Switzerland | XINHUA | “Initially, when supply of COVID-19 vaccine is limited, priority must be given to vaccinating essential workers and those most at risk, or in other words, vaccinating some people in all countries rather than all people in some countries,” the World Health Organization (V) Director-General Tedros …
Read More »WHO roots for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine in Africa
Nairobi, Kenya | XINHUA | The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that donors and industry should allocate sufficient resources to ensure that African countries have access to a safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccine. Richard Mihigo, Program Area Manager of Immunization and Vaccine Development of WHO, said the needs …
Read More »Constant surges of coronavirus infections expected without a vaccine
Brussels, Belgium | XINHUA | The head of the European health advisory body warned on Wednesday that constant surges and decreases of COVID-19 cases will continue until a vaccine is available. Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, said that the increase in cases in …
Read More »Kickstarting economies without COVID-19 plan, ‘a recipe for disaster’: WHO
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Countries that are opening their economies must be serious about suppressing COVID-19 infections, to save the world from a disaster that could arise from opening up without a plan, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. To control transmission, the who chief …
Read More »MOH calls for routine immunization despite Africa declared free of polio
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health has warned parents not to misinterpret Tuesday’s declaration by the World Health Organization that Africa is polio-free. In an interview with Dr Alfred Driwale, the manager of the Uganda National Expanded Programme on Immunization (UNEPI) in the Ministry of Health …
Read More »WHO chief warns against vaccine nationalism
Geneva, Switzerland | XINHUA | The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the world needs to prevent vaccine nationalism so as to guarantee the equitable access and fair allocation of COVID-19 vaccines. Speaking at a virtual press briefing from Geneva, the WHO head said that …
Read More »EU reaches first deal to buy potential COVID-19 vaccine
Brussels, Belgium | XINHUA | The European Union (EU) reached on Friday its first agreement to purchase a potential vaccine against COVID-19 once it is proven to be safe and effective, the European Commission said in a press release. The deal, made with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, would secure the …
Read More »WHO in conversation with Russia for more vaccine information: expert
Geneva, Switzerland | XINHUA | A senior expert of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that it is currently in conversation with Russia to get additional information about the COVID-19 vaccine that Russia will start production soon. Dr. Bruce Aylward, senior adviser to WHO’s director-general, told a press conference …
Read More »Global pandemic fight should not be hijacked by myopic politicians
Beijing, China | XINHUA | Global COVID-19 cases topped 20 million on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University, doubling the world’s total infections in 45 days. With an effective vaccine still out of reach and many countries witnessing new records of daily surge of confirmed cases over the past weeks, …
Read More »Putin says Russia first to approve a Covid-19 vaccine
Moscow, Russia | XINHUA | Russia has registered the world’s first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday. “As far as I know, this morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus infection has been registered,” Putin said during an …
Read More »