I am an epidemiologist working in global health and have worked in the field of vaccines for nearly 15 years.

A new, heavily mutated COVID-19 variant spread across the globe on Sunday, shutting borders, renewing curbs, and sparking fears for the fight against the nearly two-year-old coronavirus pandemic.Dubbed Omicron, the strain has cast doubt on global efforts to battle the pandemic because of fears that it is highly infectious, forcing countries to reimpose measures many had hoped were a thing of the past.Dutch health authorities said they had identified at least 13 cases of Omicron among 61 quara

While PCR tests can detect infection with Omicron, studies are looking to whether the COVID-19 variant of concern has any impact on other test types, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Sunday."The widely-used PCR tests continue to detect infection, including infection with Omicron, as we have seen with other variants," the WHO said in an update on what is known so far about the new variant."Studies are ongoing to determine whether there is any impact on other types of tes

It was only a matter of time before a new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern emerged, requiring an urgent global response. It would seem that the Omicron variant, identified by scientists across Africa, including the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), poses the next major threat in the course of the pandemic.

A new US$6 billion Chinese-built railway line opens in Lao this week, bringing hopes of an economic boost to the reclusive nation, but experts are questioning the benefits of a project that has seen thousands of farmers evicted from their land.The 414-kilometre route, due to open on 3 December, took five years to construct under China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which funds infrastructure projects aimed at increasing Beijing's clout globally.Struggling strawber

Several European nations on Saturday announced their first cases of a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, as governments worldwide began pulling down the shutters to contain the new Omicron variant.Britain, Germany and Italy confirmed their first cases of the new COVID-19 strain, while Dutch authorities quarantined 61 passengers from South Africa who tested positive for COVID-19.South Africa complained it was being punished with air travel bans for having first detected the strain, whic

Today we can say that we are entering into a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of the countries that have been worst affected by the virus - such as the United Kingdom (UK) - having vaccinated enough of their vulnerable patients and health staff to avoid the worst of the pressure on their health systems, even though the virus continues to widely circulate. With more than a billion vaccines made a month, there should theoretically be enough for everyone.There is, however,

More than 50 European and Asian leaders called for vaccine equity Friday at a virtual summit as a new COVID-19 variant was detected in South Africa.The two-day 13th summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting, hosted by Cambodian leader Hun Sen, came as nations raced to slow the spread of the new more infectious strain – known as B.1.1.529 – that scientists fear could be more resistant to vaccines.Globally, coronavirus jab distribution has been unequal with poorer nations' vaccination rates remain

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday declared the recently-discovered B.1.1.529 strain of COVID-19, first detected in southern Africa, to be a variant of concern and renamed it Omicron.The classification puts Omicron into the most-troubling category of COVID-19 variants, along with the globally-dominant Delta, plus its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta and Gamma.Nations rushed to ban flights to slow the spread of Omicron on Friday, while stock markets and oil prices plunged on fears surround

The United Kingdom's Health Security Agency says its analysis of English data shows COVID vaccines are safe in pregnancy, reinforcing international evidence.The agency found similar rates of stillbirths and preterm births for vaccinated and unvaccinated mothers.Researchers say women should feel confident the jabs will help protect them and urge more to take them.Their report shows just 22 percent of women who gave birth in August had had at least one jab.Since mid-April, mothers-to-be ha