WHO
1st wave of pandemic not over, warns WHO
As Brazil and India struggle with surging coronavirus cases, a top health expert is warning that the world is still in the very middle of the outbreak, dampening hopes for a speedy global economic rebound and renewed international travel.
Coronavirus: New high in daily caseload as 21% of samples test positive
The daily caseload of coronavirus infections touched yet another new high on Monday, with the health authorities reporting 1,975 individuals tested positive in the last 24 hours.
Global coronavirus death toll 345,059
The death toll from coronavirus pandemic has risen to 345,059 on Monday morning, according to the Centre for System Science and Engineering of the Johns Hopkins University.
China sees zero locally transmitted coronavirus case
China did not record any locally transmitted case of coronavirus on its mainland on Sunday, the health authorities said Monday.
Coronavirus: Bangladesh sees highest 28 deaths in a day
Bangladesh on Sunday recorded its highest number of death as fast spreading coronavirus claimed 28 more lives in the last 24 hours raising death toll in the country to 480.
Global coronavirus cases surpasses 5.2mln: JHU
The highly contagious coronavirus continues to spread across the world as the officially confirmed cases rise to 5,210,065 on Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Preventing NCDs through sport: WHO, Int'l Olympic Committee team up
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have agreed to work together to promote health through sport and physical activity with a special focus on preventing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) through sport.
Trump optimistic about coronavirus vaccine by late 2020
US President Donald Trump says he is optimistic about having a coronavirus vaccine on the market by the end of this year or thereafter.
Coronavirus: Global death toll exceeds 300,000
The global death tally from coronavirus pandemic reached 303,351 as of Friday morning.
Since first reported in China in December last year, coronavirus has so far infected 4,525,103 people globally, according to Worldometer.
Meanwhile, among the currently 2,518,010 infected patients, 2,472,450 are in mild condition, which is 98 percent.
On the other hand, 45, 560 of the currently infected patients are in serious condition, and their percentage is only two, the Worldometer shows.
So far, 1,703,742 people have recovered from COVID-19.
The US is the hardest-hit with the highest number of infections and deaths -- more than 1,457,593 and 86,912 respectively.
While UK has the second-highest death toll with 33,614, Spain has the second-highest cases -- 272,646.
Besides, the death toll in Italy hits 31,368..
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic on March 11.
The coronavirus of COVID-19 is affecting 212 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has so far reported 283 deaths and 18,863 coronavirus cases till Thursday.
Covid-19: Vaccines, tests, treatment should be patent-free
Oxfam has urged governments and pharmaceutical companies to guarantee that vaccines, tests, and treatments will be patent-free and equitably distributed to all nations and people.
The agency made the call on Thursday, ahead of the World Health Assembly next week. The virtual meeting on Monday will be attended by health ministers from 194 countries.
Vaccinating the poorest half of humanity – 3.7 billion people - could cost less than the 10 biggest pharmaceutical companies make in four months, Oxfam said on Thursday.
The Gates Foundation has estimated that the cost of procuring and delivering a safe and effective vaccine to the world’s poorest people is $25 billion.
Last year, the top ten pharmaceutical companies made $89 billion in profits – an average of just under $30 billion every four months.
Oxfam warned that rich countries and huge pharmaceutical companies – driven by national or private interests – could prevent or delay the vaccine from reaching vulnerable people, especially those living in developing countries.
The EU has proposed the voluntary pooling of patents for coronavirus vaccines, treatments, and tests in their draft resolution for the World Health Assembly.
If made mandatory and worldwide, this would ensure that all countries could produce, or import low cost versions, of any available vaccines, treatments, and tests.
Leaked Documents
Oxfam said leaked documents reveal that the Trump administration is trying to delete references to pooled patents and insert strong language on respecting the patents of the pharmaceutical industry.
This would give pharmaceutical companies exclusive rights to produce, and set prices for any vaccines, treatments and tests they develop – even if taxpayer money has been used to fund their research and development.
Jose Maria Vera, Oxfam International Interim Executive Director, said providing a vaccine to 3.7 billion people could cost less than what the ten biggest pharmaceutical companies make in four months.
Anything less than guaranteeing that a vaccine is made available free of charge to all people would be obscene.
“Vaccines, tests and treatments should be distributed according to need, not auctioned off to the highest bidder. We need safe, patent-free vaccines, treatments and tests that can be mass produced worldwide, and a clear and fair plan for how they will be distributed.”
Once vaccines or treatments are developed, there is also a high risk that rich and powerful governments will outbid poorer nations and force their way to the front of the queue, as they did in the scramble for other essential medical supplies such as personal protective equipment and oxygen.
In March, drug manufacturer Gilead moved to extend the monopoly on a potential treatment for the virus, and only withdrew it after a public outcry.
Gilead has now donated a significant portion of its current supply of remdesivir to the US government, but news reports suggest the company could make significant profits from subsequent production.
Some Wall Street analysts expect Gilead to charge more than $4,000 per patient for the drug, even though the cost of remdesivir can be as low as $9 per patient.
Poor Countries
Many poor countries are unable to access essential vaccines and medicines due to patent rules which give pharmaceutical companies monopoly rights and the power to set prices well above what they can afford.
Pneumonia is the biggest killer of children under the age of five, with 2,000 children dying every day. For over a decade, millions of children have not had access to patented pneumonia vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline due to its high cost.
After years of campaigning by Médecins San Frontieres, both companies reduced their prices in 2016, but only for the very poorest countries, leaving millions of children still without access to their vaccine.
Oxfam is proposing a four-point global plan that calls for:
a) Mandatory sharing of all Covid-19 related knowledge, data and intellectual property, and a commitment to make all public funding conditional on treatments or vaccines being made patent-free and accessible to all.
b) A commitment to deliver additional global vaccine manufacturing and distribution capacity with funding from rich country governments.
This means building factories in countries willing to share and investing now in the millions of additional health workers needed to deliver prevention, treatment, and care both now and in the future.
c) A globally agreed, equitable distribution plan with a locked-in fairness formula so that supply is based on need, not ability to pay.
Vaccines, treatments, and tests should be produced and supplied at the lowest cost possible to governments and agencies, ideally no more than $2 a dose for a vaccine, and provided free at the point of delivery to everyone that needs it.
d) A commitment to fix the broken system for the research and development of new medicines. The current system puts pharmaceutical profit above the health of people across the world meaning many needed put unprofitable medicines never get developed, and those that do are too often priced out of reach for the poorest countries and people.
Vera said, “Delivering an affordable vaccine for everyone will require unprecedented global cooperation. Governments must rip up the rulebook and prioritise the health of people everywhere, over the patents and profits of pharmaceutical corporations. Governments must ensure that no one is left behind.”
The Gates Foundation estimated the cost of producing and distributing a vaccine and has confirmed that this cost relates to the production and distribution in low and lower middle income countries only.
Oxfam believes that vaccines should ideally be produced and supplied for no more than $2 per dose.
This is a reasonable challenge to set given that new complex vaccines for big killers like pneumonia are already available for this price.