Africa, Latin America Likely Will Not Receive COVID-19 Vaccines Until Later 2021 Or After, Health Officials Warn; Canada Authorizes Pfizer Vaccine, U.S. Set To Decide; China Pushes Vaccine Diplomacy December 10, 2020 News Summary AP: African health official blasts ‘terrible’ vaccine inequality ” ‘It will be extremely terrible to see’ rich countries receiving COVID-19 vaccines while African countries go without, especially as a new surge in cases begins on the continent of 1.3 billion people, Africa’s top public health official said Thursday. As the…
FDA Releases First Evaluation Of Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus Vaccine Data, Showing Antibody Response Within 10 Days; Final Decision Expected This Week December 9, 2020 News Summary AP: Pfizer vaccine moves closer to getting the OK in the U.S. “U.S. regulators Tuesday released their first scientific evaluation of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and confirmed it offers strong protection, setting the stage for the government to green light the biggest vaccination effort in the nation’s history. The analysis by…
U.K. Regulators Urge People With Severe Allergies To Avoid Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccine After 2 HCWs Experience Reactions December 9, 2020 News Summary Wall Street Journal: Two in U.K. Suffer Allergic Reaction to Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine “Two of the first people vaccinated in the U.K. on Tuesday with the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE shot responded adversely to the injection, the country’s National Health Service said, prompting the regulator to issue new guidance warning those…
Media Outlets Examine Trump Administration Efforts To Secure COVID-19 Vaccines December 9, 2020 News Summary New York Times: Blunders Eroded U.S. Confidence in Early Vaccine Front-Runner “…[A] pattern of communication blunders by AstraZeneca … has damaged the company’s relationship with regulators, raised doubts about whether its vaccine will stand up to intense public and scientific scrutiny and, in at least one instance, slowed the vaccine’s…
Media Outlets Examine President-Elect Biden’s CDC Pick, Potential Choices For USAID Head, Pandemic Response Plan December 9, 2020 News Summary Devex: Aid advocates look for early signals of Biden’s plans for USAID “With six weeks remaining until inauguration day for President-elect Joe Biden, the U.S. development community is watching closely for signals about how the incoming team might approach leadership, policy priorities, and budgeting for U.S. foreign aid agencies. While…
News Outlets Examine Inequities In Vaccine Distribution, Vaccine Diplomacy, Nationalism December 9, 2020 News Summary CNN: Rich countries are hoarding Covid-19 vaccines and leaving the developing world behind, People’s Vaccine Alliance warns “Rich countries have bought enough Covid-19 vaccine doses to immunize their populations three times over, an international vaccine watchdog has said, but developing countries are being left behind in the global sprint to…
U.A.E. Endorses Sinopharm Coronavirus Vaccine For General Use, Says Data Show 86% Efficacy December 9, 2020 News Summary New York Times: Chinese vaccine is 86 percent effective, says U.A.E., where trials were held. “The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that it approved a Chinese coronavirus vaccine that is being tested in the country after preliminary data showed that it was 86 percent effective. The U.A.E.’s Ministry of…
Corruption Cannot Be Allowed To Hinder COVID-19 Recovery, U.N. SG Says In International Anti-Corruption Day Message December 9, 2020 News Summary U.N. News: We cannot allow corruption to infest COVID-19 recovery, U.N. chief says “Corruption has thrived under the coronavirus pandemic and anyone involved in graft must be prevented from exploiting the rollout of new vaccines, the U.N. Secretary-General has said. In a message on International Anti-Corruption Day, on Wednesday, Secretary-General…
More COVID-19 & Global Health News December 9, 2020 News Summary AP: Siberians fight the pandemic by giving weary doctors a lift (Alexeyeva, 12/8). AP: Merkel backs tougher virus curbs as German deaths hit record (Moulson et al., 12/9). Borgen Magazine: COVID-19 Showing the Importance of Agricultural Market Resiliency (Friborg, 12/6). Devex: The man behind Africa’s COVID-19 response (Jerving, 12/9). Devex:…
White House, State Department Highlight Trump’s Executive Order On Access To Coronavirus Vaccines December 9, 2020 News Summary U.S. Department of State: President Trump’s Executive Order on Ensuring Access to United States Government COVID-19 Vaccines In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo says, “On December 8, President Trump issued the Executive Order on Ensuring Access to United States Government COVID-19 Vaccines. The Executive Order provides a…