Tuberculosis (TB) is on the rise again globally for the first time in a decade, linked to disruptions in access to healthcare because of the COVID pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.The setback has erased years of progress toward tackling the curable disease, which affects millions of people worldwide. WHO says around 4.1 million people have tuberculosis but have not been diagnosed or officially declared, up sharply from 2.9 million in 2019."This is a

The World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled Wednesday a proposed team of scientists tasked with looking at new pathogens and preventing future pandemics – plus reviving the stalled probe into COVID-19's origins.The group of 26 experts will be charged with producing a new global framework for studies into the origins of emerging pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential.

The World Health Organization's (WHO) vaccine advisers on Monday recommended people with weakened immune systems should be offered an additional dose of all WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccines.The United Nations (UN) health agency's experts also said over-60s fully immunised with China's Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines should be offered an additional third vaccine dose.The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) stressed it was not recommending an additional booste

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was about to restart the process of approving Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine following a series of problems with the dossier.WHO authorisation has been sought for the Sputnik V jab created by Russia's Gamaleya research institute, which is already being used in 45 countries, according to an AFP count.Several COVID-19 vaccines have been given the WHO green light for emergency use during the pandemic: Pfizer-BioNTech, Janssen

Some have become global mainstays and others are staying local: here is an overview of more than 20 approved COVID-19 vaccines currently in use, and a few that fell by the wayside.mRNA Leads The PackMessenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines developed by United States (US)-German alliance Pfizer/BioNTech and American company Moderna have emerged as the most successful vaccines in use today.A survey from Canada's McGill University shows the Pfizer jab Comirnaty has been approved in 100 countries, whil

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday recommended the synthetic antibody treatment Regeneron for COVID-19, but only in patients with specific health profiles.

With global COVID cases declining and pandemic fatigue on the rise, many countries are easing restrictions put in place to block the spread of the virus.But it's far too soon to declare victory, say experts, who warn that unequal vaccine access could still lead to the emergence of new and more deadly variants of the virus. Positive Signs On 14 September the World Health Organization (WHO) announced "the first substantial decline in weekly [COVID] cases in more than

The world stands at a critical juncture of the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries that lack the first round of vaccine coverage are extraordinarily vulnerable to the highly infectious Delta variant, and are also seedbeds for new variants that could quickly spread worldwide. The Lancet COVID-19 Commission, which I chair, is working urgently with the United Nations (UN) system to strengthen the multilateral response.

India will resume exporting COVID-19 vaccines from October, five months after it stopped sending supplies abroad in the face of a deadly wave of infections, the health minister said Monday.The South Asian giant, dubbed the "pharmacy of the world", was a major supplier to the COVAX programme aimed at ensuring poor countries can access doses.Exports stopped in April, according to foreign ministry data, when a virus surge in India pushed the healthcare system to breaking point and ther

While COVID-19's origin story is currently defined by a lack of hard evidence and data, scientists around the world continue their search for answers to how the pandemic began.As the world approaches the two-year mark since this novel coronavirus was first detected, there have been many twists and turns in the investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the pandemic.