Pandemic
Geneva (AFP) - Negotiations on a landmark global agreement on handling future pandemics came to a close on Friday without finalising a deal, though countries voiced the desire to keep pushing for an accord. Scarred by the devastation caused by Covid-19 -- which killed millions of people, shredded economies and crippled health systems -- countries have spent two years trying to hammer out binding commitments on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. But the talks gathered momentum only in the last few weeks, as the fast-approaching deadline set for before next week's start of the World...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday voiced doubt for the near-term prospects of a global pandemic agreement under negotiation that has drawn a backlash in several Western countries. Jarred by the Covid-19 pandemic, World Health Organization member countries have spent more than two years thrashing out an accord on future pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Talks are set to go to the wire on Friday, after which the annual assembly of WHO member states, which opens on Monday in Geneva, will decide where the process goes next. "Where it currently stand...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - An anti-vaccine group founded by US presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr raised millions of dollars during the coronavirus pandemic, tax records show, boosting its coffers as it ramped up what experts call dangerous health misinformation. Children's Health Defense (CHD), repeatedly called out for promoting vaccine falsehoods, collected about $46 million between 2020 and 2022, roughly 10 times its revenue in the three years preceding the pandemic. CHD and four other non-profit organizations collectively raked in more than $100 million during that period, public tax rec...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The head of the main US public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control, announced on Friday that she will step down from her post at the end of June. Rochelle Walensky, who was a key figure in the Biden administration's response to Covid-19, did not give a direct reason for her departure, but suggested that the easing of the coronavirus pandemic had brought her tenure at the CDC to a natural endpoint. "The end of the Covid-19 public health emergency marks a tremendous transition for our country, for public health, and in my tenure as CDC Director," the 54-year-old sa...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The White House on Monday announced a May 11 end to Covid-19 vaccine requirements for travelers to the United States and for government employees across the world's biggest economy. "Today, we are announcing that the administration will end the Covid-19 vaccine requirements for federal employees, federal contractors, and international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, the same day that the Covid-19 public health emergency ends," a statement said. More than a million people died from Covid-19 in the United States. However, the White House noted that the pandemic ...
AFP
New York (AFP) - Moderna's chief executive on Wednesday defended the US company's plan to quadruple the price of its lifesaving Covid vaccine to as much as $130 per dose as soon as government stockpiles run out. Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders lashed out at the price hike, denouncing the "unprecedented level of corporate greed" in the pharmaceutical industry. "And that is certainly true with Moderna," Sanders said. Moderna has so far charged between about $15 and $26 for doses of its vaccine, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. The US government subsidized $1.7 billion of Moderna's re...
AFP
Geneva (AFP) - All countries remain "dangerously unprepared" for the next pandemic, the Red Cross warned on Monday, saying future health crises could also collide with increasingly likely climate-related disasters. Despite three "brutal" years of the Covid-19 pandemic, strong preparedness systems are "severely lacking", the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said. The world's largest humanitarian network said building trust, equity and local action networks were vital to get ready for the next crisis. "All countries remain dangerously unprepared for future ...
AFP
Los Angeles (AFP) - Bad Bunny, Frank Ocean and Blackpink will headline this April's Coachella, the California desert festival that kicks off the summer concert circuit, organizers announced Tuesday. It's set to be a history-making weekend, with Bad Bunny -- the world's most-streamed artist -- as the first Spanish-language and first Latin American artist to headline. And K-pop group Blackpink of South Korea is the first Asian act to receive a top billing at the festival. Both acts debuted at Coachella in 2019 to great fanfare, teeing up an eventual headlining slot. Ocean was originally booked a...
AFP
Las Vegas (AFP) - The annual CES consumer electronics extravaganza threw open its doors in Las Vegas on Thursday as the industry looks to the latest innovations to help cure the pain from an ailing global economy. High inflation, lingering supply chain troubles and company layoffs provide a dark backdrop for technology's premier trade show where more than 100,000 attendees are expected from around the world until Sunday. Consumer Technology Association research director Steve Koenig reminded CES-goers that much as major innovations like smartphones first seen at the expo soared to success afte...
AFP
San Francisco (AFP) - Twitter said it has stopped enforcing a policy intended to prevent the spread of Covid misinformation, as new owner Elon Musk -- who has clashed previously with US officials over pandemic safety rules -- continues to remake its content moderation policies. The move comes after the mercurial billionaire reinstated a slew of accounts on the social media network that had previously been banned for violating its content rules, such as that of former president Donald Trump. "Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the Covid-19 misleading information policy...
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