The COVID-19 outbreak, since it originated in Wuhan, China towards the end of 2019, has spread globally since January of 2020. Since then, the disease has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic. More than a year on since this declaration, the disease has spread across the globe, claiming more than […]
coronavirus
COVID-19 in India, is the worst over?
Just 9,283 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Health Ministry. Such figures are encouraging, indicative that after a period of being the most heavily affected nation, India has turned the tables. “Even after Diwali, we are not seeing a surge,” Dr M D Gupte, former director […]
Will political posturing give way to calm investigation when WHO investigates future pandemics?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed a new team to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scientific Advisory Group on the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) will also be tasked with studying the origins of future outbreaks and epidemics and guiding studies of emerging pathogens more generally, according to a report in […]
Pandemic preparedness: better late than never
Billion-dollar plan Almost as if to make up for the lost Trump year during the pandemic, the White House has put together an ambitious new plan with a $65.3 billion price tag that could transform the way the United States responds to pandemics by vastly accelerating vaccine development, testing, and production. But is the plan […]
Global health news: The latest
It’s going to take years for the world to come to grips with the impact of COVID-19. Moving slightly away from the immediate effect of the disease, there are numerous medical issues that have arisen during the pandemic. Shortages in hospital facilities and medical personnel are most prominent among them. This has, in turn, led […]
IP and breakthrough infections: Global Health Today
This is the third in a series of newsletters, offering the expert insight of Lalita Panicker – consulting editor, views, Hindustan Times, New Delhi – into some of the most pressing health issues of the day. This edition highlights vaccines – specifically, the IP debate and so-called breakthrough infections. To read the first, click here. COVID-19 […]
Booster shots, the polio programme: Global Health Today
This is the second in a series of newsletters, offering the expert insight of Lalita Panicker – consulting editor, views, Hindustan Times, New Delhi – into some of the most pressing health issues of the day. To read the first, click here. Booster shots: To boost or not to boost Faced with a rising tide […]
Intellectual property in the era of COVID-19
Much of the conversation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in recent months has focused on access to vaccines – specifically, vaccine accesses in low- and middle-income countries. But to what extent is re-examining intellectual property (IP) rights part of the solution? As Health Issues India reported in May, “patent waivers for COVID-19 vaccines have been offered […]
Child healthcare needs a boost
Recent figures reveal a huge gap in child healthcare in India, at a time when experts warn of the vulnerabilities of young people to COVID-19 in a looming third wave. Experts expressed misgivings about a severe deficit in child healthcare at primary health centres and community health centres. Per data shared by a parliamentary standing […]
Global health today: Tedros, COVID in Indonesia, and a million more COVID cases by 2022?
This is the first in a series of newsletters, offering the expert insight of Lalita Panicker – consulting editor, views, Hindustan Times, New Delhi – into some of the most pressing health issues of the day. Another term for Tedros? To use a well-worn cliché, the Director-General (DG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) is […]