Exactly two years ago Prof Sir Andrew Pollard was starting to panic. “We were just waking up to the reality of COVID-19 and that we would need vaccines for our very survival,” the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group said. He joined forces with a colleague, Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, and together they launched one of the greatest medical missions in modern history.
China on Sunday imposed stay-at-home orders on millions more people in the country's northeast as it battles its biggest COVID-19 outbreak in two years.The country has largely kept the virus at bay since it brought to heel its initial outbreak in 2020 using targeted lockdowns, mass testing and travel restrictions.But the Omicron strain has broken through its defences in recent months and taken hold in multiple cities.Jilin, the second-biggest city in Jilin province, will lock down about
The Ukraine war has major economic consequences for energy, food, inflation and poverty, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The EBRD's chief economist, Beata Javorcik, spoke to AFP about the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, from where more than three million refugees have fled so far.Global lenders are giving billions for Ukraine, including a two-billion-euro (US$2.2 billion) "resilience package" from the London-bas
China reported two COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, its first in more than a year, underlining the threat posed by an Omicron outbreak that has triggered the country's highest case count since the pandemic's onset.The National Health Commission said both deaths occurred in Jilin, the north-eastern province which has been hardest hit by a nationwide rise in cases that has prompted lockdowns or tight restrictions in several cities.The deaths were the first reported in mainland China since
Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:Ukraine Calls On China To Condemn 'Russian Barbarism'Ukraine calls on China to join the West in condemning "Russian barbarism", after the United States (US) warned Beijing of consequences if it backed Moscow's attack on the country."China can be the global security system's important element if it makes a right decision to support the civilised countries' coalition and condemn Russian barbarism,&quo
Last month, COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna announced its financial results for 2021. They confirmed that Moderna’s vaccine is one of the most lucrative medicines of all time, bringing in nearly US$18 billion in revenue for the company in a single year.
United States (US) President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have begun their first direct talks since November, amid growing US concern over Beijing’s relationship with Russia and its stance on the increasingly brutal war in Ukraine.Biden and Xi began speaking at 13:00 GMT on Friday, the White House said, amid warnings from Washington that China may be considering providing military support to Russia.
35 generic drug manufacturers will make a more affordable version of Pfizer's anti-COVID pill for the world's poorer nations, in licensing deals announced Thursday by a United Nations (UN)-backed organisation.The global Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) signed agreements with three dozen manufacturers to produce the oral COVID-19 treatment nirmatrelvir for supply in 95 low- and middle-income countries.United States (US) pharmaceutical giant Pfizer signed a licence agreement with the MPP i
The COVID-19 pandemic continued its resurgence this week, in particular in Asia and Europe, but the number of related global deaths plunged by a fifth.Here is the state of play based on AFP's database:12 Percent Rise In Cases The average number of global daily cases increased over the week by 12 percent to 1.8 million, after taking a new turn for the worse the week before, according to an AFP tally to Thursday.Western European countries are seeing a rebound, including France, wh
Under two percent of babies born to mothers with COVID-19 then test positive for the virus, a comprehensive study found Wednesday, with researchers hailing the "hugely reassuring" news for parents.The analysis published in the BMJ medical journal reviewed nearly 500 previous studies involving almost 29,000 mothers, offering the most sweeping insight yet into the risk of transmitting coronavirus during pregnancy."This is as comprehensive as it can get in terms of giving the evid
Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday the country will "stick with" its zero-COVID strategy, state TV reported, as the world's most populous nation battles its largest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.The country where the virus emerged in late 2019 has largely kept subsequent outbreaks under control thanks to a combination of strict border controls, lengthy quarantines and targeted lockdowns, and has not reported any coronavirus-related deaths for over a y
A fourth dose of existing mRNA COVID-19 vaccines may have only "marginal benefits" for younger, healthy adults, according to a new Israeli study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.The research assessed 270 health care workers at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv who received a second booster shot of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, four months after initially getting three Pfizer shots.Each was age-matched against two participants in a control group
