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 »New vaccine design strategy holds promise for COVID-19: study
San Francisco, US | XINHUA | A team of researchers has developed a new vaccine design strategy that could confer improved immunity against certain viruses, including those that cause AIDS, the flu, and COVID-19, according to a report released by the University of Washington Medicine (UW Medicine) on Tuesday. Using this …
Read More »U.S. short of plan to get vaccine to communities of color hit by COVID-19
Washington, US | XINHUA | Despite its efforts to develop a vaccine against the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States lacks a plan to get shots to communities of color affected by the coronavirus, according to a piece published in U.S. magazine Politico on Monday. “For decades, communities of color have …
Read More »Human trials for COVID-19 vaccine underway in India
New Delhi, India | XINHUA | Human trials for developing an indigenous vaccine against COVID-19 are going on in full swing in India. Two companies — Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila — are currently carrying out human trials in six cities across the country. On Friday a 30-year-old man was administered …
Read More »World can still learn from China’s successes in curbing COVID-19 outbreak: The Lancet
London, UK | XINHUA | China has largely controlled COVID-19, and the rest of the world can still learn from China’s successes in bringing its outbreak under control, according to the latest editorial by medical journal The Lancet. China’s response shows the importance of domestic research and public health capacity, said …
Read More »Multiple coronavirus vaccine doses necessary to protect world from coronavirus
Washington, US | XINHUA | People could need multiple vaccine doses to immunize themselves against the coronavirus and deploying a vaccine will require a global effort, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said on Wednesday. “None of the vaccines at this point appear like they’ll work with a single dose,” Gates told …
Read More »Trump admits pandemic will “get worse” at resumed coronavirus press briefing
Washington, US | XINHUA | U.S. President Donald Trump resumed his press briefing on the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, admitting that the situation in the country will “get worse.” “It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better — something I don’t like saying about things, but that’s the …
Read More »