China's "Sinovac" vaccine gets WHO emergency approval.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved China's "Sinovac" Covid vaccine for emergency use. WHO said it prevented symptomatic disease in 51% of those vaccinated and prevented severe symptoms and hospitalisation in 100% of samples. Some evidence and data …

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74th World Health Assembly adopts decision to recognize 30 January as World NTD Day.

Delegates at the 74th World Health Assembly unanimously adopted a proposal by the UAE to declare January 30 as ‘World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day’. The proposal to recognise the day was floated by the United Arab Emirates. It was adopted unanimously by the delegate…

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Dr. Abeykoon wins the South-East Asia Region WHO World No Tobacco Day 2021 award.

In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to combatting harmful tobacco use, Dr Palitha Abeykoon, Former Chairman of National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol in Sri Lanka, International Pubilc Health Expert, and WHO Director-General Special Envoy for COVID-19 Prepar…

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WHO names COVID-19 variants found in India as 'Kappa' and 'Delta'

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday 31 May 2021 announced news labels, using Greek alphabets, for various variants of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), also giving names to the two variants that have been first found in India thus far. Covid variant first found i…

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Vietnam detects a new UK-Indian coronavirus variant.

Vietnam has detected a Covid variant that appears to be a combination of the Indian and UK variants and can spread quickly by air, officials say. Vietnam's Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long described the latest mutation as "very dangerous". Viruses mutate all th…

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EU approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12-15 year old.

The EU's medicines agency (EMA) has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12-15 year olds, the first jab allowed for this age group in the bloc. Individual member states must now decide if they will offer the vaccine to children.  The US and Canada approved the Pfizer …

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International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories: 25-31 May.

The United Nations is observing the International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories from May 25 to 31, 2021. On December 06, 1999, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-…

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WHO and Switzerland launch global BioHub.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Swiss Confederation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch the first WHO BioHub Facility as part of the WHO BioHub System, which was announced in November 2020.  This facility will enhance the rapid sharing of viruses a…

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Singapore has approved Covid Breath Test with one-minute result.

A breath test designed to detect Covid-19 and give accurate results within one minute has been approved for use in Singapore, the National University of Singapore said in a statement. The test, developed by NUS spin-off startup Breathonix, works much like a standard breathal…

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UK launches plans for "global pandemic radar" to detect Covid-19.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Friday 21 May 2021 that the United Kingdom will work with the World Health Organization, other partners and nations to develop an advanced international pathogen surveillance network to identify COVID-19 variants and emerging dis…

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IMF urges $50 billion spending commitment to help end the current global pandemic.

The International Monetary Fund wants $50 billion to be spent on ensuring a faster rollout of coronavirus vaccines, saying it could ultimately generate returns of $9 trillion for the global economy. The IMF called for at least 40% of the global population to be vaccinated by…

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WHO classified Indian coronavirus variant as a “global variant of concern”

The World Health Organization has classified a coronavirus variant found in India as a global “variant of concern”. This variant has been named B.1.617. According to World Health Organization, this variant is already spread to more than 30 countries. It is more transmissibl…

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2021 World Food Prize Laureate.

Dr. Shakuntala Thilsted, who is best known in the aquaculture sector for her groundbreaking research into the nutritional value of small native fish species in Bangladesh and Cambodia, has been named the 2021 World Food Prize Laureate. Thilsted, who is global lead for nutrit…

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WHO, Germany launch new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal Republic of Germany will establish a new global hub for pandemic and epidemic intelligence, data, surveillance and analytics innovation. The Hub, based in Berlin and working with partners around the world, will lead innova…

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Congo declares end of Ebola outbreak.

The Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday (03) declared the end of an Ebola outbreak that infected 12 people in the eastern province of North Kivu and killed six of them. The outbreak was contained using Merck's (MRK.N) Ebola vaccine, which was given to more than 1,600 …

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WHO unveils global immunization strategy.

A UN-led global immunization strategy was unveiled to reach more than 50 million children who have missed lifesaving jabs against measles and other diseases because of current global pandemic disruption. The new global strategy has the potential to save 50 million lives with…

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World Immunization Week 2021: 24 - 30 April.

World Immunization Week – celebrated every year in the last week of April – aims to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is widely recognized as one of the world’s most successful heal…

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New Zealand bans entry of travellers from India.

New Zealand has temporarily suspended entry for all travellers from India, including its own citizens, for about two weeks following a high number of positive coronavirus cases arriving from the South Asian country. The move comes after New Zealand recorded 23 new positive c…

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French President Macron Orders Third Lockdown.

President Emmanuel Macron ordered France into its third national lockdown Wednesday 31 March 2021 in an effort to slow a third wave of current global pandemmic infecting his country. Among the lockdown measures, Macron closed all schools for three weeks beginning next Monday…

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El Salvador certified as malaria-free by WHO.

El Salvador is first Central American country to achieve this status, third in all of the Americas in recent years. El Salvador today became the first country in Central America to be awarded a certification of malaria elimination by the World Health Organization (WHO). The …

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