The acrimonious debate over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic flared up again last week with a report from an expert panel concluding that SARS-CoV-2 likely spread naturally in a zoonotic jump from an animal to humans—without help from a lab. www.science.org/content/article/evidence-suggests-pandemic-came-nature-not-lab-panel-says “Our paper recognizes that there are different possible origins, but the evidence towards …
Another wave of COVID-19 infections may have begun in Europe as cases begin to tick up across the region, the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said last Wednesday. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/982296?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=4751294&faf=1 “Although we are not where we were one year ago, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is …
The Biden administration extended the Covid-19 pandemic’s status as a public health emergency for another 90 days, preserving measures such as expanded Medicaid and higher payments to hospitals. The decision follows comments President Joe Biden made in September describing the pandemic as over. Some Republican lawmakers said afterward that the administration should wind down its …
Indonesia launched its first home-grown COVID-19 shot Thursday to help reduce the world’s fourth most populous nation’s dependency on imported vaccines. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/982435?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=4751294&faf=1 President Joko Widodo announced the vaccine brand, IndoVac, as a new milestone for Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry that will manufacture primary series vaccines, booster vaccines and vaccines for children, which have been in development …
Indonesia launches domestic COVID-19 vaccination Read More »
The subvariants known as BQ.1.1, BQ.1, BQ.1.3, BA.2.3.20 and XBB are among the fastest spreading of the main Omicron lineages. Based on UK data, the BQ variants, as well as BA.2.75.2 and BF.7 are the most concerning due to their growth advantage and immune evasiveness, the US health security agency has said. BF.7 has also …
Indian authorities have suspended the licence of Delhi-based drugmaker, Maiden Pharma, after it failed to furnish information on cough syrup related deaths in West Africa’s The Gambia.The company is accused of supplying cough syrup that led to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia.Meanwhile, police in The Gambia are investigating the deaths of 66 …
Maiden Pharma’s license suspended following cough syrup deaths Read More »
The pharmaceutical companies Biogen and Eisai last week announced that a monoclonal antibody treatment reduced cognitive decline by 27% in people with early stage Alzheimer’s compared with those on a placebo after 18 months. www.science.org/content/article/news-glance-ai-regulation-renewable-energy-and-alzheimer-s-therapy? Lecanemab belongs to a class of therapies that break down or inhibit build up of amyloid plaques in the brain, …
A new monoclonal antibody treatment for Alzheimer’s disease Read More »
According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), about one in 65 people in England – an estimated 857,400 individuals – had COVID in the week ending 17 September, up from 766,500 people, or one in 70, the week before. www.theguardian.com/global/2022/oct/06/rising-uk-covid-levels-whats-driving-it-and-what-will-happen-next? An increase was also seen in Wales, while in Northern Ireland and …
Lockdowns and travel restrictions are continuing to cause chaos across China in the run-up to a crucial political meeting next week as the government holds fast to hard-line zero-COVID policies. As thousands of Communist party delegates prepare to descend on Beijing for the twice-a-decade Congress meeting, where Xi Jinping is expected to start his third …
Zero-COVID policy continues to cause chaos in China Read More »
A new COVID-19 wave appears to be brewing in Europe as cooler weather arrives, with public health experts warning that vaccine fatigue and confusion over types of available vaccines will likely limit booster uptake. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981965?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=4728508&faf=1 Omicron subvariants BA.4/5 that dominated this summer are still behind the majority of infections, but newer Omicron subvariants are gaining …
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