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by Agence France Presse Bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States demanded a “robust and clear” international probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, as a team of World Health Organization experts in China waited Thursday for the green light to begin its long-awaited Covid-19 probe. The call came as coronavirus infections shot past 100 million and governments scrambled to get their hands on scarce vaccine doses, with a bitter row […]
PRETORIA, South Africa (AFP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday lashed “vaccine nationalism,” accusing rich countries of bulk-buying coronavirus vaccines and hoarding them to the detriment of others. Addressing the all-virtual 2021 World Economic Forum (WEF), Ramaphosa said low- and middle-income countries were being shouldered aside by wealthier nations able to acquire “up to four times what their population needs”. “We are concerned about vaccine nationalism,” he warned. “Rich countries in the world are […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Air pollution is likely to increase the risk of irreversible sight loss, according to the results of a long-term study published Tuesday. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among over-50s in richer nations, with roughly 300 million people predicted to be affected by 2040. Known risk factors include age, smoking and genetic make-up. Now researchers have drawn a link between AMD and air pollution, which is […]
by Jan FLEMR Agence France Presse In a dog training centre built inside a shipping container located in a Czech mountain village, Renda, Cap and Laky are being put to the test. They sniff at six vessels, each containing a piece of cloth with scent from patients with Covid-19, negative donors, or fake samples. “Good boy!” exclaims Lenka Vlachova, a trainer working at Prague’s fire brigade, as jagdterrier Renda sits down by one sample, wagging […]
by Julie CHARPENTRAT with AFP bureaus in Europe Agence France Presse PARIS France (AFP) — Despite dozens of deaths of people shortly after they were vaccinated against coronavirus, scientists say the evidence available so far does not incriminate the new anti-Covid vaccines. Health agencies stress however that the vast majority of post-vaccination fatalities were elderly, already vulnerable and often sick. Here’s a review of the situation: – Elderly, vulnerable – Norway sparked alarm last […]
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — A major clinical trial shows that an inflammatory drug called colchicine is effective in treating Covid-19 and reduces the risk of complications from the disease, doctors in Canada said. The results of the study are a “major scientific discovery” and make colchicine — a medicine used to treat gout — “the world’s first oral drug that could be used to treat non-hospitalized patients with Covid-19,” the Montreal Heart Institute said in […]
by Ammu KANNAMPILLY Agence France Presse PUNE, India (AFP) — The tiny clinking vials supervised by silent PPE-wearing technicians belie the excitement inside the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, a major player in the fight against coronavirus. The firm, founded in 1966 in the western city of Pune, is producing millions of doses of the Covishield vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, for India and much of the developing world. […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Pfizer announced Friday that it will provide up to 40 million of its Covid-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries on a non-profit basis, through the globally-pooled Covax facility. While dozens of the world’s richer countries have begun their vaccination campaigns in a bid to curb the pandemic, coronavirus jabs have been few and far between in the world’s poorer nations. Covax — the globally-pooled coronavirus […]
(Eagle News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking a review of the reports on deaths in frail elderly individuals who had received the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. In a statement on Friday, Jan. 22, WHO said that the Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) has already met early this week for the review. The GACVS is a group of experts that provides independent and authoritative guidance to WHO on the matter of […]
by Kelly MACNAMARA Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — To monitor changes to the coronavirus that could supercharge the pandemic or render vaccines less effective, scientists must sequence its genetic code to catalogue potentially dangerous mutations as they emerge. But so few countries are conducting and sharing surveillance that experts are as worried about the mutations they cannot see as those they can. Publication of the first genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 in January […]
by Agnès PEDRERO Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Covax programme, bolstered by the new US presidency on Thursday, aims to secure enough Covid-19 vaccines this year for the most vulnerable 20 percent in every country, rich or poor. Top US government scientist Anthony Fauci told the World Health Organization (WHO) that the United States intends to join Covax, the globally-pooled coronavirus vaccine procurement and equitable distribution effort. The move should give […]
by Nina LARSON with AFP Bureaus Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The United States on Thursday said it would resume its funding for the UN’s health agency as President Joe Biden shifts towards greater international cooperation in the fight against Covid-19, while also launching a $1.9 trillion plan to tackle the pandemic at home. On his first day in the job, Biden confirmed he had reversed the decision of former president Donald Trump […]
