COVID-19

On World Health Day, PAHO Director calls for equitable pandemic recovery in the Americas

The pandemic has driven between 119 and 124 million more people globally into extreme poverty last year. Fourteen years of gains in the fight against poverty have been lost. Washington, D.C., April 7, 2021 (PAHO) – On World Health Day, observed today, Pan American Health Organization Director Carissa F. Etienne said that COVID-19 has exposed

Why you can’t compare Covid-19 vaccines

What a vaccine’s “efficacy rate” actually means. In the US, the first two available Covid-19 vaccines were the ones from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. Both vaccines have very high “efficacy rates,” of around 95%. But the third vaccine introduced in the US, from Johnson & Johnson, has a considerably lower efficacy rate: just 66%. Look at

Jamaica becomes first country in the Caribbean to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility

Fifteen Caribbean countries will receive just over 2.1 million doses of COVAX vaccines by May, according to allocation figures provided for the first round Kingston, Jamaica, March 15, 2021 (PAHO/WHO)- Jamaica today received 14,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility, a global effort between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the

COVID-19 vaccine rollout expanded in the Americas, PAHO Director reports

“Nearly 2.3 million COVAX doses will arrive in at least seven countries in our region in the next days and weeks.” Washington, D.C., March 10, 2021 (PAHO) – PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne welcomed the expansion of the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the Americas and reported that PAHO is working closely with member countries

CARPHA head praises Caricom leaders in covid19 fight

CARIBBEAN Public Health Agency (CARPHA) executive director Dr Joy St John on Monday praised Caricom heads of government for leading the region’s charge to protect its people against the ravages of the covid19 pandemic and ensure equitable access to covid19 vaccines. Among the leaders praised by St John were the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister,

Countries in the Americas notified of first COVID-19 vaccine allocations through COVAX

Washington, D.C., Jan. 31, 2021 (PAHO) — COVAX, a coalition led by WHO and Gavi to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, has notified countries in the Americas of the estimated dose allocation for the first phase of vaccine delivery in a letter to health authorities, the Pan American Health Organization reported today. Thirty-six of

WHO Guidance for SARS-Co-V 2 RT-PCR testing

Nucleic acid testing (NAT) technologies that use real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detection of SARS-CoV-2 Product type: Nucleic acid testing (NAT) technologies that use real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for detection of SARS-CoV-2 Date: 7 December 2020 WHO-identifier: 2020/5, version 1 Purpose of this notice: To ensure users of certain nucleic acid testing (NAT) technologies are aware

‘Nobody Sees Us’: Testing-Lab Workers Strain Under Demand

Laboratory technologists have been working nonstop to help the nation diagnose an ever-growing number of coronavirus cases.. In March, April Abbott dragged a hospital bed into her office at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Ind. In the nine months since, she has slept in it a half-dozen times while working overnight in her clinical microbiology laboratory,

WHO pre-qualifies COVID 19 Ag Tests

List of EUL products eligible for procurement: Instruction for Use (IFUs) Source: WHO

Free fatty acid binding pocket in the locked structure of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein

Abstract COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), represents a global crisis. Key to SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic development is unraveling the mechanisms driving high infectivity, broad tissue tropism and severe pathology. Our 2.85 Å cryo-EM structure of SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein reveals that the receptor binding domains (RBDs) tightly bind the essential free fatty acid