About: World Health Organization
World nations try to balance Omicron restrictions while keeping economies open
Global COVID-19 infections hit a record high over the past seven-day period, Reuters data showed on Wednesday (29 December), as the Omicron variant raced out of control and governments tried to contain its spread without paralysing fragile economies.
Biden calls on Americans to vaccinate to fight Omicron as Europe braces for ‘storm’
Countries across Europe considered new curbs on movement on Tuesday (21 December) while US President Joe Biden appealed to all Americans to get vaccinated to fight the Omicron variant sweeping the world days before the second Christmas of the pandemic.
UK says COVID surge ‘extremely difficult’ as Omicron grips Europe
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday (20 December) he would tighten coronavirus curbs to slow the spread of the Omicron variant if needed, after the Netherlands began a fourth lockdown and as other European nations consider Christmas restrictions.
European health systems must prepare for Alzheimer’s
By taking concrete steps today, Europe can be prepared for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The burden of disease is growing, so there is no time to wait. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the need for health system readiness into sharp focus....
Top WHO, US scientists say Omicron no worse than other virus variants
The Omicron variant appears to be no worse than other coronavirus strains, top scientists from the WHO and the United States told AFP, while cautioning that more research is needed to judge its severity.
Officials offer reassurance over Omicron variant; WHO advises against travel bans
The World Health Organization warned countries on Tuesday (30 November) not to impose blanket travel bans over the new Omicron coronavirus variant as governments and scientists try to determine how much protection current vaccines would offer against the strain.
Omicron COVID variant shuts borders across globe
A new, heavily mutated Covid-19 variant spread across the globe on Sunday (28 November), shutting borders and renewing curbs as the EU chief said governments faced a "race against time" to understand the strain.
EU proposes booster jabs for 2022 travel, opens to WHO vaccines
European Union residents will need to have COVID-19 vaccine booster jabs if they want to travel to another country in the bloc next summer free of tests or quarantines, the European Commission proposed on Thursday (25 November).
Europe battles COVID surge as WHO warns of 700,000 more deaths
Europe remains "in the firm grip" of COVID and the continent's death toll could top 2.2 million this winter if current trends continue, the World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday (23 November).
COVID cases break records across Europe as winter takes hold
Coronavirus infections are hitting record levels in many countries across Europe as winter takes hold, prompting a call for action from the World Health Organization which described the new wave as a "grave concern".
‘Grave concern’ over COVID in Europe as German cases soar
The World Health Organization expressed "grave concern" Thursday (4 November) over the rising pace of coronavirus infections in Europe, as Germany registered its biggest daily increase since the start of the pandemic.
African Union slams vaccine manufacturers for restricting access
The African Union on Tuesday (14 September) accused manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines of denying African countries a fair chance to buy them, and urged manufacturing countries - in particular India - to lift export restrictions on vaccines and their components.
Richer countries winning Europe’s vaccine race
Europe may have fully vaccinated almost half of its population against Covid-19, but the richer countries are far outstripping the poorer ones. This disparity, often along West-East lines, has raised concerns from the European Commission and the World Health Organisation.
WHO sounds alarm over rising COVID deaths in Europe
The World Health Organisation warned Monday (30 August) that 236,000 more people could die from COVID in Europe by December, sounding the alarm over rising infections and stagnating vaccine rates across the continent. Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria are among the countries with the highest mortality.
Facing backlash, EU says import of J&J vaccines from South Africa is temporary
The European Commission said it had reached a temporary agreement with South Africa to use a plant there to bottle Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines that are being imported into the EU, after criticism of the arrangement.
Ignoring WHO call, major nations stick to vaccine booster plans
Germany, France and Israel will go ahead with plans to administer COVID-19 vaccine boosters, disregarding an appeal by the World Health Organisation to hold off until more people are vaccinated around the world.
China rejects WHO plan for study of COVID-19 origin
China rejected on Thursday (22 July) a World Health Organization (WHO) plan for a second phase of an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus, which includes the hypothesis it could have escaped from a Chinese laboratory, a top health...
WHO asks for re-checks of research on when coronavirus first surfaced in Italy
Samples from a study suggesting the coronavirus was circulating outside China by October 2019 have been re-tested at the World Health Organization's (WTO) request, two scientists who led the Italian research said.
G20 snubs COVID patent waiver, waters down pledge on WHO’s funding
Leaders of the world’s largest economies back “voluntary licensing” of COVID-19 vaccine patents, the draft conclusions of a summit show, watering down a US push for waivers and earlier commitments to supply more funds to the World Health Organization.
WHO urges rich countries to donate shots instead of vaccinating children
The World Health Organization urged rich countries on Friday (14 May) to reconsider plans to vaccinate children and instead donate COVID-19 shots to the COVAX scheme that shares them with poorer nations. The WHO is hoping more countries will follow...
EU countries fail to reach a common position on how to use the AstraZeneca jab
EU member countries have adopted different tactics on how to use the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite the Commission’s push for a coordinated approach.
EU countries resume AstraZeneca jabs after ‘safe’ verdict
Leading EU countries said Thursday (18 March) they would resume AstraZeneca vaccinations after the European medical regulator said the jab is "safe and effective" and not associated with a higher blood clot risk after days of commotion around the shot.
Major EU nations halt AstraZeneca while WHO insists the jab is safe
The EU's largest countries joined a stream of states halting their rollouts of AstraZeneca jabs on Monday (15 March) over blood clot fears, as the World Health Organization and Europe's medicines watchdog insisted it was safe to use.