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GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Wednesday issued an emergency use listing for the India-made Covaxin vaccine, in a move expected to increase Covid-19 jabs available in poor countries. The vaccine, made by India’s Bharat Biotech and with a 78-percent efficacy rate after two doses over a month “is extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements,” the UN body said. Covaxin is the first vaccine completely developed […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Danish pharmaceuticals group Novo Nordisk, the world’s leading insulin maker, said Wednesday it is raising its full-year profit targets after sales of its anti-obesity and diabetics treatments boosted its bottom line in the third quarter. Novo Nordisk said in a statement that net profit rose by 18 percent to 12.119 billion kroner (1.6 billion euros, $1.9 billion) in the period from July to September on a 15-precent increase in sales to […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — American psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck, considered the father of cognitive therapy — an approach developed in the 1960s that revolutionized the field of psychotherapy — died Monday at age 100. He died at his home in Philadelphia, according to a statement from his daughter Judith Beck, the president of the Beck Institute, an organization of thousands of professionals practicing cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. “My father dedicated his life to […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Wednesday called for the urgent development of a vaccine against a bacterial infection responsible for nearly 150,000 stillbirths and infant deaths each year. A fresh report by the UN health agency and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that the impact of Group B Streptococcus infection (GBS), which is estimated to live harmlessly in the intestinal tracts of up to a third of […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Moderna said Sunday that American officials have delayed approving its Covid-19 vaccine for teenagers to allow more time to better assess the potential risk of developing myocarditis, or heart inflammation. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday “informed Moderna that the agency requires additional time to evaluate recent international analyses of the risk of myocarditis after vaccination,” the biotech company said Sunday in a statement. […]
by Olivier THIBAULT Agence France Presse The global death toll from Covid-19, which is set to pass five million, is already far worse than most other viral epidemics of the 20th and 21st centuries. But there have been notable exceptions. The post-World War I Spanish Flu wiped out more than 50 million people in 1918-19, according to some estimates. That is far more than the coronavirus pandemic, even if — as the World Health […]
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — US drugmaker Merck & Co. on Wednesday announced a deal that could see generic versions of its Covid-19 medication widely distributed in poorer countries, in a first during the pandemic. The global Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) said it had signed a voluntary licensing agreement with Merck to facilitate affordable worldwide access for its investigational oral antiviral medicine molnupiravir. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal will help create broad […]
by Véronique DUPONT with Stuart GRAHAM in Dundee Agence France-Presse NORTH RONALDSAY (ORKNEY), United Kingdom (AFP) – On a tiny island in Scotland’s far-flung Orkneys, thousands of sheep spend the winter munching on seaweed, a unique diet that scientists say offers hope for reducing planet-warming methane emissions. Around 60 people share North Ronaldsay — an island just over 3 miles (5 kilometres) long, ringed by rocky beaches and turquoise waters off the north coast of mainland […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A medical panel of US government advisors endorsed the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in five-to-11-year-olds Tuesday, paving the way for younger children to get their shots within weeks. The independent experts concluded the known benefits — both directly to kids’ health but also in ending school and other disruptions — outweighed the known risks. After a day of presentations and debate, the final vote was 17 in favor […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US pharmaceutical giant Moderna on Monday reported a “robust neutralizing antibody response” to its Covid vaccine in children aged 6-11, and said that it will submit the trial data to global regulators soon. “We are encouraged by the immunogenicity and safety profile of mRNA-1273 in children aged 6 to under 12 years and are pleased that the study met its primary immunogenicity endpoints,” chief executive Stephane Bancel said in […]
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The WHO said Thursday that 80,000 to 180,000 health care workers may have been killed by Covid-19 up to May this year, insisting they must be prioritized for vaccination. The World Health Organization said the fact that millions of health workers remain unvaccinated is an “indictment” on the countries and companies controlling the global supply of doses. A WHO paper estimated that out of the planet’s 135 million […]
STRASBOURG, France (AFP) – The European Parliament backed Wednesday an ambitious EU push to make farming more sustainable, in a move hailed by environmental activists who also called for binding targets for slashing pesticides. A majority of 452 legislators gave the thumbs up to a report on the EU executive’s “farm to fork” strategy in the face of intense lobbying from agricultural groups. There were 170 against with 76 abstentions. “MEPs highlighted the need for enhanced […]
