Scientists are working to understand what mutations of the virus mean for inoculation strategies COVID-19 SPECIAL FEATURE | KATHERINE ELLEN FOLEY | As researchers become more aware of strains of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, public health officials have one question: Will vaccines offer protection against them? At the moment, …
Read More »Why the EU has authorized AstraZeneca – Oxford COVID-19 vaccine
Brussels, Belgium | XINHUA | The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by British company AstraZeneca and Oxford University on Friday, although the bloc seems unlikely to get the amount of doses as agreed for the moment. “Securing safe vaccines for Europeans is our utmost …
Read More »COVID-19 pandemic regressed aspects of democracy in Africa-Report
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The COVID-19 pandemic has regressed key aspects of democracy in Africa and the Middle East, including the disruption of electoral processes. That is one of the conclusions of a study by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. The report released on Thursday this …
Read More »COVID ‘vaccine hoarding’ putting Africa at risk- WHO
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa is in danger of being left behind in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines as countries in other regions strike bilateral deals, and driving prices up, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday. Although vaccines have been administered in 50 wealthier nations, Guinea …
Read More »India confirms 447 cases of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination
New Delhi, India | XINHUA | A total of 447 cases of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFIs) after the COVID-19 vaccination have been reported over the past two days, out of whom three required hospitalization, India’s health ministry said on Sunday. “Of those who were hospitalised, one was discharged from …
Read More »WHO struggling to secure vaccines for ‘needy’ countries
Geneva, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned there could be delays to delivering vaccines to ‘needy’ countries like Uganda, if developed countries do not stop hoarding supplies. The world health body appealed to countries that have contracted more vaccines than they will need, and …
Read More »GAVI: Learning from 2020, renewing hope for 2021
COMMENT | DR SETH BERKLEY | What a year this has been! The devastating impact of COVID-19 has affected us all, and few will look back on 2020 with fond memories. With around 1.7 million deaths, more than 76 million confirmed cases and a global economic impact that the World …
Read More »China, Egypt sign letter of intent for COVID-19 vaccine cooperation
Cairo, Egypt | THE INDEPENDENT | China and Egypt signed on Thursday a letter of intent for mutual cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines. Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang signed the letter, on behalf of the National Health Commission of China, with Mohamed Hassani, Egyptian assistant minister of health for …
Read More »Egypt sees sudden spike in COVID-19 cases, 911 new infections reported
Cairo, Egypt | THE INDEPENDENT | The coronavirus spread has suddenly spiked in Egypt as the north African country reported 911 new COVID-19 infections and 42 deaths on Wednesday, said Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed. After this spike, total deaths reached 7,209 while infections hit 127,972, the minister told reporters …
Read More »How small clinical trial sample sizes can offer important findings
Scientists have been racing to develop COVID-19 vaccines that could reach millions, yet many of the studies have surprisingly small sample sizes drawn from the clinical trials. Does that matter? ANALAYSIS | COVID-19 VACCINE | GAVI.COM | Before a vaccine or drug is made available to the public it normally …
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