As COVID patent war rages on, pharma group seeks fairer future access
London, UK Reuters An alliance of companies has pledged to ensure equitable access to vaccines and treatments for pandemics, as the friction around intellectual property rights for COVID-19 interventions between the pharmaceutical industry and developing nations endures. At the heart of the plan is a commitment to set aside part of the production of vaccines […]
Essay: We need equity and justice in vaccine distribution. The church can help.
In an article published by Religion News Service, LANRE WILLIAMS-AYEDUN and MYAL GREENE, of World Relief, say faith leaders can advocate for better distribution and lower resistance to getting vaccinated…
EU launches reset with Africa after pandemic disruption
Brussels, BelgiumReuters The EU welcomed more than 40 African leaders to Brussels on Thursday in an effort to reassert its influence on a continent where China and Russia have made hefty investment inroads, and where many felt let down by Europe’s COVID-19 vaccines rollout. The European Union will offer several packages of support at […]
Global vaccine-sharing program reaches milestone of one billion doses
Brussels, BelgiumReuters The COVAX global vaccine-sharing program has delivered a billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, one of the organisations which manages it said on Saturday. Supplies to poorer nations have long been very limited because of lack of vaccines, as wealthier states secured most of the doses initially available from December, 2020. Biomedical engineers confirms a […]
WHO warns against vaccine hoarding as poorer countries go without
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters The World Health Organization warned wealthy countries on Thursday against hoarding COVID-19 vaccines for booster shots as they try to fight off the new Omicron variant, threatening supplies to poorer countries where inoculation rates are low. Many Western nations have been rolling out boosters, targeting the elderly and people with underlying health issues, […]
Explainer: With Omicron, has COVID-19 vaccine inequity put the world at risk?
Thomson Reuters Foundation The emergence of the heavily mutated COVID-19 variant Omicron has thrown a spotlight on huge disparities in vaccination rates around the globe. Its appearance comes as many richer nations are ramping up boosters amid a surge in infections of the Delta strain, while some poorer countries have not yet vaccinated even one […]
India could ship vaccines to COVAX in a few weeks, say sources
New Delhi, IndiaReuters India could resume deliveries of COVID-19 shots to global vaccine-sharing platform COVAX in a few weeks for the first time since April, two health industry sources said, ending a suspension of supplies that has hurt poor countries. The World Health Organization, which co-leads COVAX, has been urging India to restart supplies for […]
More vaccines, climate help needed for poorer nations, say UN, Non-Aligned Movement
Belgrade, SerbiaReuters Developing nations and the head of the United Nations on Monday demanded a fairer global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and more funding from rich countries to help poorer ones adapt to a hotter world. At a meeting to mark the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement, founder member Ghana hit out at global […]
Africa lags on COVID-19 vaccination, healthcare workers at risk – WHO, nurses say
Geneva, Switzerland/Nairobi, Kenya Reuters Only 15 of Africa’s 54 nations have fully vaccinated 10 per cent of their populations against COVID-19 and many frontline health workers remain at risk, the World Health Organisation and International Council of Nurses said on Thursday. They called for speeding up distribution of doses to those at risk on the […]
Amid global vaccine inequality, Vatican weighs ethics of booster shots
Vatican CityRNS While Catholic US President Joe Biden received his third shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, experts at the Vatican on Tuesday considered the ethics of such “booster shot” distribution in wealthy countries when many in other parts of the world have yet to receive the first dose. Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who heads the Pontifical […]