SA Covid-19 vaccine trials âhold key lessonsâ for future partnerships
By The Conversation
By Keymanthri Moodley and Theresa Rossouw
Covid-19 vaccine supplies are available in various parts of the world. But itâs clear that distribution is not symmetrical.
High-income countries have access to disproportionate quantities of limited supplies.
Vaccine nationalism, stockpiling and profit-driven strategies of global pharmaceutical manufacturers have shown up global health inequities.
More than 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered globally to date. Only about 200 000 (0.2%) have been in Africa.
South Africa is one of the first countries in sub-Saharan Africa to procure vaccines. The country has some of the highest reported cases of Covid-19 in the region. But, despite hosting a clinical trial of the AstraZeneca vaccine, South Africa was unable to secure a fair pricing agreement.
Spotlight on the Biden Administration s Healthcare Team revcycleintelligence.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from revcycleintelligence.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Monitoring system to stem forest loss launched
Islamabad
February 2, 2021
Islamabad:Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam has said the effective monitoring of forests is imperative for containing deforestation and forestland degradation and taming global warming-caused climate change. There has been large-scale deforestation and land degradation in the country over last several years for want of effective forest monitoring system, which helps detect logging operations in forest areas and natural habitats of outstanding significance or critical importance, in a matter of minutes, he told the launching ceremony of the National Forest Monitoring System here on Monday.
Peter Godfrey-Faussett (top right) presenting at HIVR4P 2021.
A full package of effective prevention interventions, up to international standards, must be offered to people taking part in HIV prevention trials, say UNAIDS and WHO in new guidance issued this week. This means that if researchers want to run a study in a country in which PrEP is not routinely available, they must find a way to provide it to study participants. If the study demonstrates that a new product is effective, the researchers have new obligations to provide it to study participants at the end of the trial and help make it available to the wider population.
UNAIDS
UNAIDS is deeply troubled and concerned about the detention by military police of the Venezuelan citizens and humanitarian workers Johán León Reyes, Yordy Bermúdez, Layners Gutiérrez Díaz, Alejandro Gómez Di Maggio and Luis Ferrebuz, who are members of the nongovernmental organization Azul Positivo. The five have been held since 12 January 2021.
“I call on the Venezuelan authorities to release from police custody the five humanitarians working for the nongovernmental organization Azul Positivo, and to return essential equipment seized at the time of their arrest,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director. “A strong and empowered civil society plays a central role in providing much-needed services to the most vulnerable people and is critical to making progress against the HIV pandemic and other health threats in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.”