COVID-19 vaccine scheme for poorest has $US2.6 billion left to spend as pandemic recedes
London, UK Reuters Several billions of dollars left in a scheme to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest could be diverted to prepare for other pandemics or to support vaccine manufacturing in Africa, the scheme’s partners said. The COVAX initiative, run by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization, and the Coalition for […]
Immunisation backslide: COVID disrupted measles vaccinations in Africa and now cases are surging
EDWARD MCALLISTER and JENNIFER RIGBY, of Reuters, report on the surging cases of measles involving children around the world…
Deadly childhood diseases rise in Ethiopia’s Tigray as war hampers vaccinations
Nairobi, Kenya Reuters Deadly diseases such as measles, tetanus and whooping cough are on the rise in Ethiopia’s Tigray region after vaccination rates plunged during the civil war that broke out nearly two years ago, doctors and regional health officials say. The percentage of children in Tigray receiving routine vaccines has fallen below 10 per […]
Rotavirus childhood vaccine shortage hits four African countries
London, UK Reuters Supplies of a vaccine to prevent the deadly rotavirus infection in children have either run out in Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal and Cameroon or are close to doing so, officials close to the roll-out told Reuters, after disruptions at drugmaker GSK. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 200,000 children die each […]
The Long Read: Why world’s first malaria shot won’t reach millions of children who need it
JENNIFER RIGBY, NATALIE GROVER and MAGGIE FICK, of Reuters, report on how efforts to roll-out the world’s first malaria vaccine are being thwarted…
Omicron variant detected in more countries as scientists race to find answers
Reuters The Omicron coronavirus variant spread around the world on Sunday, with new cases found in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia even as more countries imposed travel restriction to try to seal themselves off. The World Health Organization said it is not yet clear whether Omicron, first detected in Southern Africa, is more transmissible than […]
African countries to receive first US donated COVID-19 vaccines in days – Gavi
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Nearly 50 African countries are to receive 25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by the United States, with the first shipments to Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Ethiopia in coming days, accordingb to US officials and the Gavi vaccine alliance. US President Joe Biden has pledged to share 80 million US-made vaccines with […]
Let down by rich and failing the poor, global vaccine scheme to be shaken up
Brussels, Belgium Reuters Shunned by rich countries and failing to meet the needs of the poorest, a program co-led by the World Health Organization for fair distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is planning a shake-up, internal documents seen by Reuters show. The COVAX program is far short of its target of delivering two billion doses by […]
COVID fight could return ‘to square one’: experts sound vaccines alarm
London, UK Reuters 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 […]
COVAX vaccine program to deliver 237 million doses to 142 nations by end-May
Geneva, Switzerland/London, UK Reuters The COVAX vaccine-sharing program said on Tuesday it will deliver 237 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot to 142 countries by the end of May as it steps up the global roll-out of its vaccine supplies. The timeline for the delivery of doses, made by AstraZeneca and by India’s Serum Institute, […]