On the occasion of World Obesity Day 2022 and in celebration of thetheme ‘Everybody Needs to Act’, nine regional partners haveunited to reaffirm their collective commitment to work together toprioritise action against overweight and obesity even as the World ObesityAtlas, 2022 paints a dismal picture for obesity in the Caribbean. The Atlas, released on March 4, 2022, by the World Obesity … [Read more...]
Why Cuba’s extraordinary Covid vaccine success could provide the best hope for low-income countries
KEY POINTS Cuba’s prestigious biotech sector has developed five different Covid vaccines to date, including Abdala, Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus — all of which Cuba has said provide upwards of 90% protection against symptomatic Covid when administered in three doses.The country of roughly 11 million remains the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean to have produced a homegrown shot … [Read more...]
With scant vaccine supplies, the W.H.O. presses Latin America and the Caribbean to hold off on boosters.
Officials from the World Health Organization on Wednesday urged countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to limit administering booster shots and to hold off on vaccinating children, allocating scant doses to the most vulnerable. “In some countries, we have seen vaccine doses reaching all levels of the population before a high percentage of vulnerable” residents has been fully immunized, … [Read more...]
WHO says Covid misinformation is a major factor driving pandemic around the world
A top World Health Organization official said Tuesday that misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines is keeping people from getting the shots, driving an increase in cases around the world. “In the last four weeks or so, the amount of misinformation that is out there seems to be getting worse, and I think that’s really confusing for the general public,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical … [Read more...]
Lancet Editorial: ‘Riding the coronacoaster of uncertainty’
[Reprinted: The Lancet, 5-15-2020] Among all the reports, modelling, and desktop exercises in the past decade devoted to preparing for the next pandemic, when COVID-19 spread worldwide, some of the consequences had surely never been predicted. Scientists who were barely known outside a narrow academic circle are now household names, lauded and vilified in turn in the press and on social media. … [Read more...]