Category: Development

The first drug, baricitinib, is a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor- a class of drugs used to treat autoimmune conditions, blood and bone marrow cancers, and rheumatoid arthritis. According to the WHO Guideline Development Group, it is “strongly recommended” for patients with severe or critical disease in combination with corticosteroids. The group of international experts based their recommendation on “moderate certainty evidence” that it improves survival and reduces the need for… Read More

WHO said that this marked the shortest surge since the pandemic began on the continent, where total cases have exceeded 10.2 million. Recorded cases of infection show that the weekly number plateaued in the seven days leading up to 9 January, from the previous week. So far 30 African countries—and at least 142 globally—have detected the #Omicron variant. The Delta… Read More

Briefing reporters in Geneva, the UN health agency chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the “huge spike” is being driven by the Omicron variant, which is rapidly replacing Delta in almost all countries.  Despite the number of cases, the weekly reported deaths have “remained stable” since October last year, Tedros added, at an average of 48,000. The number of patients being hospitalized is also increasing in… Read More

The opinion is contained in an interim statement from the WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition, which was established last September.  Vaccines alone do not prevent the spread of #COVID19.Please keep:😷Wearing well-fitted masks↔️ Safe distancing🚷Avoiding crowds🖐️🏽 Cleaning your hands🪟 Opening windows Do it all to lower your risk! pic.twitter.com/dLRN9kY5sJ — World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 11, 2022… Read More

Currently, the Omicron variant of COVID-19 represents a “new west to east tidal wave sweeping across the region”, said WHO’s Regional Director for Europe, Dr. Hans Kluge. In the first week of January, Europe saw over seven million newly reported cases, more than doubling over a two-week period. “How each country now responds must be informed by its epidemiological situation,… Read More

In his first briefing of 2022, WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus repeated his longstanding call for vaccine equity and solidarity to defeat the crisis, now reaching into its third year.  “The dawn of a new year offers an opportunity to renew our collective response to a shared threat,” he said, speaking from Geneva.  “I hope global leaders who have shown such… Read More

“Cervical Cancer is highly preventable and treatable”, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted, saying “it could be the first cancer EVER to be eliminated”. It’s #CervicalCancer Awareness Month! Cervical cancer could be the first cancer EVER in the world to be eliminated, if 9⃣0⃣% of girls are vaccinated7⃣0⃣% of women are screened9⃣0⃣% of women with cervical disease… Read More

The development comes as a senior World Health Organization (WHO) epidemiologist repeated the agency’s message that countries could not “boost” their way out of the pandemic, while the Omicron variant was transmitting so “intensely”, just as the Delta variant has done. “In the context of intense social mixing, in the context of limited use of proven public health measures, in… Read More

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published helpful new data from its Doubly Labelled Water (DLW) Database, which provide insights on the effectiveness of exercise to spur weight loss. The results aren’t as straightforward as you may think. “When enrolled into exercise programmes for weight loss, most people lose a little weight, some individuals lose lots, but a few… Read More

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus reminded that it was two years ago, as people gathered for New Year’s Eve celebrations, that a new global threat emerged.  Since then, 1.8 million deaths were recorded in 2020 and 3.5 million in 2021, but the actual number is much higher. There are also millions of people dealing with long-term consequences from the virus.   ‘Tsunami of cases’   Right now, Delta and Omicron are driving up… Read More