Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky said COVID-19 is “becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated” and that vaccinated people are protected against severe disease. The highly transmissible delta variant is fueling expanding outbreaks, but they are centered in parts of the country with lower vaccination rates. “We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country […]
The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved the first new medication for Alzheimer’s disease in nearly twenty years. There is controversy surrounding the decision made by the FDA. Some Alzheimer’s experts have argued that there was not enough evidence to indicate that the drug can help patients. The drug aducanumab targets the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, […]
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Carissa Etienne has called on member countries to take steps to contain the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles and rubella, while simultaneously undertaking coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations. She said COVID-19 caused significant disruptions to immunization programs in countries across the Americas, noting that “our health systems are stretched, and, in many places, […]
The second round of a World Health Organization “pulse survey” reveals that over one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial disruptions persist, with about 90% of countries still reporting one or more disruptions to essential health services, marking no substantial global change since the first survey conducted in the summer of 2020. Within countries, however, the magnitude and extent of […]
New data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that reported annual cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States continued to climb in 2019, reaching an all-time high for the sixth consecutive year. The newly released 2019 STD Surveillance Report found: 2.5 million reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, the three most commonly […]
On Monday, India witnessed another record 273,810 new Covid-19 cases — the highest single-day figure so far, according to data from the Indian Ministry of Health. The country registered 1,619 coronavirus deaths in one day — a record high — bringing the total to 178,769. India, the world’s second largest country by population, has registered the second highest number of […]
According to press reports, about 70% of coronavirus patients tested at a Tokyo hospital last month carried a mutation known for reducing vaccine protection. The E484K mutation, nicknamed “Eek” by some scientists, was found in 10 of 14 people who tested positive for the virus at Tokyo Medical and Dental University Medical Hospital in March, the report said. For the […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) in a recent report noted that countries seeking their own COVID-19 vaccine doses are making deals with drug companies that threaten the supply for the global COVAX program for poor and middle-income countries. Jamaica is one of the countries set to benefit from the COVAX Facility. WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward said in a briefing […]
According to press reports, Israel’s health ministry’s latest data has shown that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been ‘dramatically’ effective against coronavirus disease. The latest figures, which were compiled through Feb. 13 and compared the vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, show that the jab has been nearly 96 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 infections two weeks after individuals receive their […]
A new coronavirus that emerged in China late last year has spread to at least 200 countries on six continents, with the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the outbreak of the pathogen a pandemic. More than 400,000 people have died from the virus worldwide and the number of reported cases has exceeded seven million, according to data compiled by Johns […]
