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Sep152021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Here’s what we know about the MU variant

COVID19

A coronavirus variant known as “mu” or “B.1.621” was designated by the World Health Organization as a “variant of interest” earlier this week and will be monitored by the global health body as cases continue to emerge across parts of the world. It is the fifth variant of interest currently being monitored by the WHO. Where was it first detected and where is it now? The variant was first detected in Colombia in January 2021, where cases continue to rise. It has since been identified in more than 39 countries, according to the WHO, among them the United States, South Korea, Japan, Ecuador, Canada and parts of Europe. Will my coronavirus vaccine work against mu? It’s unclear how much protection the vaccines offer against this variant. “The Mu variant has a constella...

Sep82021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Covid-19 disrupted fight against HIV, TB, malaria

Global Health

A community health worker carries out a rapid diagnosis test for malaria in the village of Gbapi, Kenema District The Covid-19 pandemic had a "devastating" impact on the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in 2020, according to a report released by the Global Fund on Wednesday. "To mark our 20th anniversary, we had hoped to focus this year's report on the extraordinary stories of courage and resilience that made possible the progress we have achieved against HIV, TB and malaria over the last two decades," said Peter Sands, the Global Fund's executive director. "But the 2020 numbers force a different focus. They confirm what we feared might happen when Covid-19 struck," he said. "The impact of Covid-19 on the fight against HIV, TB and malar...

Sep42021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WHO releases new compendium of innovative health technologies for COVID-19

COVID19

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for innovative health technologies that can help countries improve health outcomes by providing shortcuts to solutions despite lack of infrastructure and resources. However, many of the new technologies that have come to market are unaffordable or unsuitable for low- and middle-income countries. To ensure that all countries benefit from health innovation, WHO has compiled a compendium of 24 new technologies that can be used in low-resource settings. “Innovative technologies are accelerating access to healthcare everywhere, but we must ensure that they are readily available in all health facilities, fairly priced and quality-assured,” said Dr Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant Director General for Access to Health Products. “WHO will continu...

Sep12021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Why Is It Taking So Long to Get a Covid Vaccine for Kids?

COVID19, Vaccines

By: Tara Parker-Pope As kids around the country head back to school, there has been disappointing news this week for parents of children under 12. While many health experts had hoped for an early fall approval of a vaccine for young children, two of the nation’s top public health officials said it’s not going to happen. “I’ve got to be honest, I don’t see the approval for kids 5 to 11 coming much before the end of 2021,” said Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, on the NPR program “Morning Edition.” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, offered a slightly more hopeful timeline. He told the “Today Show” on NBC that there was a “reasonable chance” that Covid-19 shots would be available to children under 12 by mid- to ...

Aug232021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

FDA grants full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine

COVID19

The U.S. gave full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday, a milestone that could lift public confidence in the shots and spur more companies, universities and local governments to make vaccinations mandatory. The Pentagon immediately announced it will press ahead with plans to require members of the military to get the vaccine. The formula made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech now carries the strongest endorsement from the Food and Drug Administration, which has never before had so much evidence to judge a shot’s safety. More than 200 million Pfizer doses have been administered in the U.S. — and hundreds of millions more worldwide — since December. But up to now, they were dispensed in this country under what is known as emergency use authorization from the FDA. ...

Aug192021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

CDC launches a new public health analytics center

Global Health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is announcing a new center designed to advance the use of forecasting and outbreak analytics in public health decision making. Once established, the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics will bring together next-generation public health data, expert disease modelers, public health emergency responders, and high-quality communications, to meet the needs of decision makers. The new center will accelerate access to and use of data for public health decision-makers who need information to mitigate the effects of disease threats, such as social and economic disruption. The center will prioritize equity and accessibility, while serving as a hub for innovation and research on disease modeling. “This is an amazing...

Aug182021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

The prospect of booster shots is igniting a global health debate

Global Health

By Daniel E. Slotnik and Noah Weiland As the Delta variant rages around the world, a heated debate has arisen over whether public health officials should recommend booster shots. On one side are global health officials who contend that available vaccines would be better used to inoculate high-risk people in poor nations where few have gotten the shots. On the other are leaders and health officials in wealthier countries, who are setting aside doses for more vulnerable people who may need additional doses to protect them from the virus. Biden administration officials have already begun developing a plan that would roll out third shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as early as this fall, saying the logistics are too complicated to wait for scientific certainty that the e...

Aug12021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

Decolonizing Global Health: A Moment To Reflect On A Movement

Global Health

By: Madhukar Pai There is a lot that is wrong with how global health is designed, structured, taught, and practiced. If this was not clear before the pandemic, the ongoing Covid-19 vaccine inequity (vaccine apartheid) offers abundant proof that global health, as a field, does not walk the talk on buzzwords such as global solidarity or social inequities. Whether it is vaccines, grant funding or journal authorship, it is all about the power and privilege high-income countries (HIC) have and maintain, and what they may be willing to part with, as charity. The past two or three years have seen a flood of conferences, webinars, talks, op-eds, and articles on the need to decolonize global health (DGH). Similar calls are also being made to decolonize humanitarian aid. A numbe...

Jul202021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

WFP and WHO launch innovative project on Emergency Health Facilities

Global Health

Following the recent G20 side event co-hosted by the Italian Government and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) focusing on the role of logistics in current and future health emergencies, WFP and the World Health Organization (WHO) are launching INITIATE2, a joint project to bring together emergency actors, research and academic institutions, and international and national partners to promote knowledge sharing and skills transfer for improved emergency response to health crises. INITIATE² will develop standardized, innovative solutions such as disease-specific field facilities and kits and test these solutions in real-life scenarios. The agencies will also train logistics and health responders on their installation and use, contributing to their capacity to respond in health c...

Jul192021 by GHealth NewsNo Comments

COVID vaccines developed quickly — is a vaccine for HIV next?

HIV

By: Charli Shield It is a search that has so far eluded scientists for 40 years: Finding a safe and effective vaccine to protect people from HIV. Not a single HIV vaccine has made it beyond Phase III clinical testing in 37 years of research. In comparison to COVID-19, that timeline seems baffling. Over the last 18 months, more than 32 COVID vaccines have made it to Phase III clinical trials, eight have so far been approved and manufactured, and another 90 are in the Phase I and II pipeline. "When there's the political will, there is funding and resources," said Hendrik Streeck, virologist and director of the German Center of HIV &...