Tag: WHO

FDA: PHL clinical trials for 3 COVID-19 vaccines – Janssen, Clover, Sinovac – ready to begin

  (Eagle News) — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that three clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines which it had earlier approved are about to begin in the country. These are the Phase 3 clinical trials for the vaccines developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals of Johnson and Johnson, Clover Biopharmaceuticals, and Sinovac. “So wala na po tayong pending ngayon na mga applications for clinical trials with FDA, and all these three clinical trials have been […]

WHO virus probe begins with fieldwork in ground-zero Wuhan

  by Leo RAMIREZ / Hector RETAMAL Agence France Presse WUHAN, China (AFP) — Experts from the World Health Organization visited a Wuhan hospital Friday as the fieldwork began in a closely watched coronavirus origins probe that will take in a food market presumed to be “ground zero” of the pandemic. The WHO investigation has been hobbled by delays, and there are fears over access and the strength of evidence a year after the virus […]

S.Africa president blasts vaccine hoarding at Davos forum

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 […]

Air pollution linked to irreversible sight loss: study

  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 […]

WHO seeks review of reports on deaths in frail, elderly people who got Pfizer vaccine

(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 […]

In tracking virus mutations, most countries flying blind

  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 […]

Covax: the global plan to share Covid vaccines

  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 […]

First Pfizer vaccine doses to arrive in PHL by February under WHO’s COVAX facility – Galvez

Around 200,000 vaccine doses from COVAX facility to arrive by late February   (Eagle News) – About 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, “most likely Pfizer” will be coming into the country by February based on the COVAX facility of the World Health Organization, according to Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. Answering questions at the Senate hearing, Galvez said that the COVAX facility has pledged a total of 40 million vaccine doses for the Philippines which will […]

US resumes WHO support, launches $1.9 trillion virus plan

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 […]

UK coronavirus strain detected in at least 60 countries: WHO

  GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The UK coronavirus strain has been detected in at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, 10 more than a week ago. With the global death toll now well past two million, and new variants of the virus causing deep concern, countries across the world are grappling with how to slow infections until vaccines become widely available. The South African strain, which like the UK one is believed […]

WHO, China could have acted faster on pandemic: experts

by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — China and the World Health Organization could have acted faster to avert catastrophe during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, a panel of independent experts has concluded. The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response said its evaluation of the start of the crisis in China “suggests that there was potential for early signs to have been acted on more rapidly”. Containment measures should have been implemented […]

World facing ‘catastrophic’ moral failure on vaccines: WHO chief

  GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The world is on the “brink of a catastrophic moral failure” if rich countries hog Covid-19 vaccine doses while the poorest suffer, the head of the WHO said Monday. World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denounced the “me-first” attitude of wealthy nations and also blasted vaccine manufacturers for chasing regulatory approval in rich countries rather than submitting their data to the WHO to green-light vaccine use globally. He said […]