Global Health
US announces further Global Health Security Partnerships
White House issued a statement indicating the intention of the Biden-Harris Administration to continue to “prioritise global health security”
WHO approval for Republic of Korea regulator
The WHO announced in November that the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), Republic of Korea, achieved maturity level 4 (ML4) in its ranking
UK applies Vaccine Taskforce model to health problems
The UK government announced in November 2022 that it would be introducing a “Vaccine Taskforce style approach” to some of the biggest health challenges
WHO declares measles a dangerous “growing threat”
The WHO announced that almost 40 million children were “dangerously susceptible” to the “growing threat” of measles following a decline in vaccination
Vaccines: the missing piece in the dementia puzzle?
Dementia is described by the NHS as a syndrome associated with an “ongoing decline of brain functioning”. This may manifest in an impaired ability to remember,
WHO on vaccine safety: it’s a “shared responsibility”
In November 2022 the WHO, with “financial support” from USAID, finalised a project on vaccine safety monitoring in Kyrgyzstan. Described as providing support to its government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it focused on “adapting and implementing regulatory...
WHO publishes Global Vaccine Market Report 2022
In November 2022 the WHO shared its Global Market Vaccine Report for the year 2022. It is the “first report to capture the implications of COVID-19" on vaccine markets. It also highlights the “dynamics” that are at play that prevent or hinder the “development, supply,...
WHPA and WHO sign memorandum of understanding
On 8th November 2022 the WHO and the 5 members of the World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) signed a memorandum of understanding to “enhance” their collaboration on “protecting and investing in the health workforce”. WHPA The WHPA includes the FDI World Dental...
Exclusive interview with Dr Carl Dieffenbach
As we continue sharing interviews that took place during the World Vaccine Congress in Europe 2022 we are also gearing up for our next event, the World Vaccine and Immunotherapy Congress in San Diego in November 2022. In doing so we are delighted to share some...
Study shows vaccine confidence sinking after COVID-19
A study by researchers at the University of Portsmouth in Vaccine at the end of October explored the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccine confidence. As we have previously explored, vaccine fatigue, vaccine hesitancy, and anti-vaccine disinformation have...
Calls for ASEAN AVRF to move forward from COVID-19
In November 2022 a commentary in The Lancet Global Health reflected that COVID-19 vaccination programmes have been “relatively successful” across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which now includes 10 member states. According to the authors, these...
Exclusive interview with Dr Jerome Kim
In the aftermath of the World Vaccine Congress in Europe 2022 we are delighted to present the second in our series of live on-site interviews. We were lucky to catch Dr Jerome Kim of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) for a quick chat on the morning of Day 2....
Thinking bee: oral vaccination against AFB in honeybees
According to a paper in Frontiers in Veterinary Science in October 2022, an oral vaccination study in honeybees "constitutes a turning point” in insect disease management. The collaboration between European and American researchers investigated the safety and efficacy...
Ukraine receives 700,000 Td doses from UNICEF
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in October 2022 that UNICEF had delivered 700,000 doses of a tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine to Ukraine. This delivery was provided as humanitarian aid during the continued conflict initiated...
Senegal launches programme for measles and rubella vaccine
The Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) in Senegal announced in October 2022 that it was creating a new vaccine programme in collaboration with Univercells and Batavia Biosciences. The programme is funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The...
Gavi CEO calls for vaccine market “interventions”
Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the global alliance pursuing vaccine equity, wrote in the Financial Times in October 2022 of the need for improved access to vaccines. Dr Berkley has been CEO since 2011, during which time he has drawn on his epidemiology experience to...
African swine fever: the deadly pig pandemic
First detected in East Africa in the early 1900s, African swine fever (ASF) has a high mortality rate in domestic pigs. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) describes it as a “highly contagious viral disease” that is “not a danger to human health”. Despite...
Cholera vaccine supply issues disrupt double-dose regime
The WHO announced in October 2022 that the International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision will have to “suspend” its standard two-dose cholera vaccine programme in favour of a single-dose approach. This is attributed to a “strained global supply” of...
WHO launches One Health Joint Plan of Action
In October 2022 the WHO, as part of a wider Quadripartite, launched a One Health Joint Plan of Action. The Quadripartite includes the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the WHO, and the World...
Menstruation after COVID-19 vaccination: tracking changes
Research published in BMJ Medicine in August 2022 reflected a collaboration between US and UK partners to investigate the effects of COVID-19 vaccination on the menstrual cycle. The study describes how a “range of menstrual cycle changes” had been reported but that...
