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Malaria

Malaria vaccine resulted in 13% drop in deaths; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi In a major analysis in Africa, the first vaccine approved to fight malaria cut deaths among young children by 13% over nearly 4 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported last week. Data from a pilot rollout of the vaccine, called …

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Nobel Prize awarded for COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been jointly awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2023/press-release/  The discoveries by the two …

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WHO declares an end to COVID-19 emergency phase; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, last Friday. The move is likely to usher the world into a new phase of disease monitoring with a scaling back of surveillance and available …

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WHO expands mRNA facilities to South Africa; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday launched its mRNA vaccine technology hub in South Africa’s Cape Town, to help poorer countries struggling to gain access to life-saving medication. www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-officially-launches-mrna-vaccine-hub-cape-town-2023-04-20/ In 2021, the WHO picked South African biotech firm Afrigen Biologics …

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Project NextGen to prepare for future pandemics; The latest health stories from around the world

Article by Lalita Panicker, Consulting Editor, Views and Editor, Insight, Hindustan Times, New Delhi President Joe Biden’s administration said this week it plans to spend more than $5 billion to stoke development of better coronavirus vaccines and treatments to curb future pandemics. www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-new-us-coronavirus-research-lab-gears-carbon-cost-repurposed-accelerator? Like Operation Warp Speed, its predecessor during the administration of former President …

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Invasive mosquito species linked to unusual malaria outbreak

Scientists have linked an invasive mosquito to an unusual outbreak of malaria in Ethiopia. Anopheles stephensi, native to southern Asia, was first identified in Africa a decade ago in the Republic of Djibouti, which borders Ethiopia. It has since spread to at least four other countries in sub-Saharan Africa. www.science.org/content/article/unusual-malaria-outbreak-tied-invasive-mosquito? Now, amid lingering questions about whether …

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Vaccine trial against malaria shows promising results

A new vaccine against malaria has shown promising preliminary results in a large trial in four African countries, boosting hopes that an additional tool may soon be available to help control the deadly disease. www.science.org/content/article/new-data-buoys-hopes-promising-malaria-vaccine-questions-remain The vaccine, named R21/Matrix-M and developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, produced similarly impressive results in a small trial last …

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Global Fund receives $14.25 billion pledge to help reverse setbacks caused by COVID-19

High- and low-income countries alike last week joined in pledging $14.25 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in the largest single fundraising push for global health. www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-earth-science-satellites-global-fund-s-haul-and-neptune-s-rings? Supporters said the sum was necessary to help reverse setbacks in combating those diseases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, although the amount fell …

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