Healthcare under pressure: WHO sees “incredibly low” COVID, flu vaccination rates as cases surge
JENNIFER RIGBY and JULIE STEENHUYSEN, of Reuters, report…
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 […]
Essay: COVID has highlighted the connection between spirituality and vaccine scepticism
In an article first published on The Conversation, TAMAS LESTAR, of the University of Winchester, looks at the “strong correlation” between spirituality and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy…
Malawi cholera death toll crosses 1,300: health official
Johannesburg, South Africa Reuters The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Malawi has crossed 1,300, a senior Malawian health official said on Thursday, as the southern African country battles its deadliest outbreak yet. As of Wednesday, Malawi had recorded 40,284 cholera cases and 1,316 deaths in an outbreak that started in March, 2022, with […]
Russian coronavirus-denying ex-monk sentenced to seven years
Moscow, Russia AP A former Russian Orthodox monk, who denied that the coronavirus existed and defied the Kremlin, was handed a seven-year prison sentence Friday. Nikolai Romanov, 67, who was known as Father Sergiy until his excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church, urged his followers to disobey the Russian Government’s lockdown measures and spread conspiracy […]
Uganda declares itself Ebola-free after swiftly turning tide on outbreak
Kampala, Uganda Reuters Uganda on Wednesday declared the end of a nearly four-month Ebola outbreak that it briefly struggled to contain but was then able to swiftly bring under control despite the absence of a proven vaccine against the viral strain in question. “We have successfully controlled the spread of Ebola in Uganda,” Health Minister […]
We’ve run out of cholera vaccines, WHO official says as disease surges
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The global stockpile of cholera vaccines the World Health Organization helps manage is “currently empty or extremely low”, a WHO official said on Friday amid a resurgence of the disease around the world. The UN health agency says global fatality rates are rising and there are around 30 countries around the world […]
Measles now an imminent global threat due to pandemic, say WHO and CDC
Reuters There is now an imminent threat of measles spreading in various regions globally, as COVID-19 led to a steady decline in vaccination coverage and weakened surveillance of the disease, the World Health Organization and the US public health agency said on Wednesday. Measles is one of the most contagious human viruses and is almost […]
Poor access to safe water fuels cholera outbreak in Syria
Damascus, Syria Reuters Poor access to safe water has exacerbated a cholera outbreak rampaging across Syria’s war-battered provinces, where local authorities are struggling to contain the spread with chlorine tablets and vaccines. More than 35,000 suspected cases of cholera have been reported across the country, according to the United Nations’ children’s agency. UNICEF said only […]
Battling cholera, Lebanon gets first vaccines, and sharp words, from France
Beirut, Lebanon Reuters Lebanon took delivery on Monday of its first vaccines to combat a worsening cholera outbreak – together with sharply worded criticism of the crisis-hit country’s crumbling public health infrastructure from donor nation France. By Sunday, cases of cholera – a disease typically spread through contaminated water, food or sewage – stood at […]