Brazzaville, Congo | Xinhua | After a six-week surge, Africa’s fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic driven primarily by the Omicron variant, is flattening, marking the shortest-lived surge to date in the continent where cumulative cases have now exceeded 10 million, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. Weekly cases having …
Read More »WHO cautions against concurrent outbreaks of COVID-19, other diseases
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday cautioned and urged for preparedness against concurrent outbreaks of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases during the coming spring. Dr. Maria van Kerkhove from the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said at a press briefing that this could happen as population …
Read More »Booster doses of current vaccines may not be enough: WHO
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday that current COVID-19 vaccines may need to be updated if they are to provide continued protection against emerging variants, including Omicron. WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC), a group of 18 experts, said that although current …
Read More »Sinopharm, Sinovac vaccines prevent severe hospitalization from Omicron: report
Cairo, Egypt | Xinhua | China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines protect against “severe hospitalization” caused by the Omicron variant, the United Arab Emirates-based news outlet The National reported Tuesday, quoting a World Health Organization (WHO) expert as saying. Abdi Mahamud, the WHO’s incident manager for the pandemic, said that “more …
Read More »WHO maintains 14-day quarantine recommendation for COVID-19 patients
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | Although most people recover from COVID-19 within five to seven days of the onset of symptoms, the World Health Organization (WHO) still recommends a 14-day quarantine, an official from the organization told a press briefing on Tuesday. However, Abdi Mahamud from WHO’s COVID-19 Incident Management Support …
Read More »WHO warns of “tsunami of cases” from Omicron, Delta
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | The World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned on Wednesday that the more transmissible Omicron together with the currently circulating Delta variants might lead to “a tsunami of cases,” putting immense pressure on national health systems. Recapping WHO’s response since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Director-General …
Read More »WHO chief says blanket vaccine booster programs may prolong COVID-19 pandemic
Geneva, Switzerland | Xinhua | Blanket vaccine booster programs are likely to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic rather than ending it, as a result of unequal distribution of vaccines between rich and poor countries, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a …
Read More »Africa surge in COVID-19 cases fastest this year
But deaths remain low ANALYSIS | THE INDEPENDENT | An 83% surge in new COVID-19 cases in early December in Africa, driven by the Delta and the Omicron variants, is causing fewer deaths than previous surges—but more waves could be building as updated forecasts warn that the continent may not …
Read More »Ministry of health to roll out mass polio vaccination in January
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda with support from the World Health Organization, is set to conduct a polio vaccination campaign across the country targeting an estimated 8 million children below 5 years of age. The spokesperson in the Ministry of Health Emmanuel Ainebyoona, says the national immunization campaign is …
Read More »Rapid increase in Omicron COVID cases “imminent”: ECDC
Stockholm, Sweden | Xinhua | A rapid increase in the number of Omicron COVID-19 variant cases is imminent, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned on Wednesday. The European Union’s (EU) health watchdog also urged countries to rapidly intensify their vaccination efforts, and reintroduce and strengthen other measures …
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