EU has shipped tiny percentage of planned COVID-19 shot donations – document
Brussels, BelgiumReuters EU countries have so far donated just a tiny portion of excess COVID-19 vaccines to poor nations, mostly AstraZeneca shots, less than three per cent of the 160 million doses they plan to give away in total to help tame the global pandemic, an EU document shows. The European Union has committed to […]
COVID-19 cases surge in Africa, less than 0.8 per cent of people fully vaccinated, say officials
Nairobi, KenyaReuters COVID-19 cases rose by over 20 per cent week-on-week in nearly two dozen African countries and progress on vaccinating Africans is proceeding slowly, with just 0.79 per cent of people on the continent fully vaccinated, senior health officials said on Thursday. “Africa is in the midst of a full blown third wave…We’ve seen […]
G7’s billion vaccine plan counts some past pledges, limiting impact
Reuters A G7 plan to donate a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries will have limited impact because it includes some previous pledges, but it still offers a small lifeline to a global vaccine buying system, according to some experts. Leaders from the Group of Seven major economies announced the move on Friday. A […]
Vaccine rollout: Amid brutal case surge, Afghanistan hit by a delay
KATHY GANNON, of Associated Press, reports on Afghanistan’s struggle to find vaccines…
US to detail global distribution plan for 80 million vaccine doses
San Jose, Costa Rica Reuters The United States will announce in the next two weeks how it plans to distribute 80 million COVID-19 vaccine doses it has pledged globally, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday. Speaking at a joint news conference with Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, Blinken said the administration of […]
COVID fight could return ‘to square one’: experts sound vaccines alarm
London, UKReuters India’s export ban on COVID-19 shots risks dragging the battle against the pandemic “back to square one” unless wealthy nations step in to plug a gaping hole in the COVAX global vaccine-sharing scheme, health specialists said on Thursday. COVAX, which is critical for poorer countries, relies on AstraZeneca shots made by the Serum […]
India’s halt to vaccine exports “very problematic” for Africa
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaReuters An extended halt to exports of COVID-19 vaccines from India, where authorities are battling a wave of domestic infections, risks derailing vaccination efforts already underway in Africa, one of the continent’s top health officials said on Tuesday. India stopped vaccine exports a month ago and, according to a Reuters report earlier on […]
G7 urged to donate ’emergency’ supplies to vaccine-sharing scheme
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The head of UNICEF on Monday asked G7 countries to donate supplies to the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme as an emergency measure to address a severe shortfall caused by disruption to Indian vaccine exports. India has curbed exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine made by its Serum Institute, which had been pledged to COVAX, to […]
An uphill battle: Cash-strapped Africa overwhelmed by COVID vaccine challenge
EDWARD MCALLISTER, of Reuters, reports on the outlook for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa…
Global officials urge rich countries to donate excess COVID-19 vaccines, money to help end pandemic
Geneva, Switzerland/New York City, USReuters Top UN, financial and vaccine officials on Thursday urged rich countries to donate excess COVID-19 vaccine doses to a program supplying lower income countries in a bid to end the pandemic and get the global economy back on track. At an event organised by the GAVI Vaccine Alliance to boost […]