Medtech and pharma companies continue to support Ukraine relief efforts following Russia’s invasion. Previously, the World Health Organization announced that it was sending “essential medical supplies” to Ukraine — including its first shipment of 36 metric tons of supplies for trauma care and emergency surgery and other health supplies — to meet the needs of more than…
WHO aims to halt COVID-19 vaccine boosters to spur vaccination in developing world
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called to put plans to distribute booster shots on hold until late September to enable more equitable vaccine access across the world. At present, only 14% of the world’s population is fully vaccinated, and, in some countries, only a sliver of people have obtained vaccines. However, vaccination rates are…
WHO: All countries should vaccinate at least 10% of their people against COVID-19 by September
World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the organization’s aims for global COVID-19 vaccinations. During an address to the annual World Health Assembly today, Ghebreyesus called for all countries to have at least 10% of their populations vaccinated by September and at least 30% by the end of 2021. In low- and…
WHO: AstraZeneca vaccine pauses in EU unwarranted
The World Health Organization endorsed the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after several European countries have halted its use over potential safety risks. AstraZeneca has observed 15 deep vein thrombosis (DVT) reports and 22 pulmonary embolism (PE) cases out of 17 million vaccine recipients in the E.U. and U.K. as of March 8. Based on that data,…
Pfizer, BioNTech to provide up to 40M COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX) will supply up to 40 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine this year to COVAX, a global initiative to provide vaccine doses to developing countries. The companies said today that they expect the first doses to ship out during Q1; the vaccine will go to COVAX at a not-for-profit price. The…