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 […]
COVID-19 vaccine scheme for world’s poorest pushes for delivery slowdown
London, UK Reuters Leaders of the global scheme aiming to get COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest are pushing manufacturers including Pfizer and Moderna to cut or slow deliveries of about half a billion shots so doses are not wasted. COVAX, the World Health Organization-led scheme, wants between 400 and 600 million fewer vaccines doses […]
Pfizer to provide 10 million courses of COVID pill to developing countries – the Global Fund
Reuters Pfizer Inc is expected to provide around 10 million courses of its highly effective COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid to low-and-middle-income countries this year, according to an official with the Global Fund, a healthcare NGO working to buy the pills from the drugmaker. The Fund’s head of strategy for policy, Harley Feldbaum, said Pfizer had […]
Australia begins vaccine booster rollout as more curbs ease in Sydney
Sydney, Australia Reuters Australia will begin administering booster shots of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine from Monday as millions in its largest city, Sydney, woke up to more freedom amid an accelerating immunisation drive against the coronavirus. Australia’s vaccination rate has picked up pace since July, after widely missing its initial targets, when its south-east was hit […]
Thousands of Nicaraguans go to Honduras border for vaccines
Tegucigalpa, Honduras Reuters Nearly 8,000 Nicaraguans received COVID-19 vaccines at two customs border crossings with neighbouring Honduras in recent days, Honduran health authorities said on Monday, as supplies of the inoculations in Nicaragua have run low. Promoting the vaccines for Nicaraguans, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez wrote in a post on Twitter that “the solidarity […]
Biden to donate 500 million Pfizer doses, urge others to join in
St Ives, UK Reuters US President Joe Biden plans to buy and donate 500 million doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to more than 90 countries, while calling on the world’s democracies to do their part to help end the deadly pandemic, the White House said. The announcement of the vaccine donation – the largest […]
Essay: Six important truths about COVID-19 vaccines
In an article first published on The Conversation, US-based pharmacist SARAH LYNCH and immunologist KANNEBOYINA NAGARAJU dispel some common myths about the COVID-19 vaccines…
Explainer: Can coronavirus vaccines reach developing countries?
Thomson Reuters Foundation Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is more stable than expected at temperatures that ordinary refrigerators can provide and can be distributed using existing cold-chain shipping and storage infrastructure. That opens the door for its early use in hard to reach places that might not be appropriate for Pfizer Inc’s vaccine which needs ultra-cold storage. Vials labelled “COVID-19 […]
New Zealand confirms first coronavirus case in months; Australia approves vaccine
Wellington, New Zealand Reuters New Zealand on Monday confirmed its first case of COVID-19 in the community in months in a 56-year-old woman, but said close contacts of the recently returned traveller had so far tested negative. The woman, who returned to New Zealand on 30th December, had tested positive for the South African strain […]
Backing the jab: Anti-abortion faith leaders support use of COVID-19 vaccines
DAVID CRARY, of Associated Press, reports on growing support among US Christian leaders for the coronavirus vaccines…