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 […]
COVID-19
North Korea officially announces COVID-19 outbreak; The latest health stories from around the world
Even as most of the world rises to a slowly receding COVID wave, North Korea on Sunday reported 15 additional deaths from “fever” after the country recently announced its first-ever cases of COVID-19 and ordered nationwide lockdowns, television channel NDTV citing AFP reports said. www.ndtv.com/world-news/north-korea-coronavirus-north-korea-covid-north-korea-coronavirus-cases-north-koreas-explosive-covid-outbreak-820-620-cases-in-3-days-2977028 State media KCNA said a total of 42 people had […]
No mixing vaccines for COVID-19 boosters
A new study by Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore has suggested that mixing vaccines for COVID-19 shows a mixed result depending on the initial vaccination schedule, presenting programmatic challenges moving forward. The government, in light of this newfound data, has suggested that they may not allow booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines other than the one […]
WHO estimates 15 million death toll due to COVID-19; The latest health stories from around the world
The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that nearly 15 million people—about one in every 500 globally—died from causes related to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021 (the first two years of the pandemic), putting the toll from COVID-19 at nearly three times the number that had been officially recorded by countries. India suffered […]
India and WHO clash over COVID-19 death figures
Following a visit from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the WHO and the Indian Government have been at odds over the official death toll of COVID-19. India’s official death toll places the figure at 520,000, however, the WHO has cited studies that suggest the figure could be as high […]
Could climate change aid the spread of viruses? The latest health stories from around the world
Earth’s warming climate is expected to change the habitat of many animal species, which a new modelling study predicts may spell trouble: Species on the move will mingle with many others they have never encountered before, allowing the various animals to exchange viruses. That could spark new disease outbreaks in many wildlife populations—and in humans […]
COVID-19 cases begin to rise once more in Delhi
COVID-19 cases are once again rising in Delhi, said Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday. While COVID-19 cases have increased in the capital, it has been reported that people are not developing severe disease and the hospitalisation rate is low. Given the severity of lockdowns in neighbouring China following outbreaks in cities such as Shanghai, […]
A third of the world have not had a single COVID-19 vaccination; the latest health stories from around the world
Sixteen months since the COVID-19 vaccination drive began and a third of the world’s population hasn’t yet received a single dose of the vaccine. A shocking 83 percent of all Africans are in the same boat, said the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30 March. Meanwhile last week the total number of […]
India stalls global COVID-19 death toll estimates; the latest health stories from around the world
India is stalling an ambitious effort by the World Health Organization to calculate the global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic. Like some other such efforts (less authoritative perhaps) before it, the WHO study has found that vastly more people died than previously believed — a total of about 15 million by the end of […]
Food supplies run low in Shanghai COVID-19 lockdown; the latest health stories from around the world
A citywide COVID-19 lockdown in China’s financial capital of Shanghai has disrupted food supplies badly, causing a wave of anxiety as residents ration dwindling stores of vegetables and staples. COVID-test requirements for truckers entering Shanghai have caused delays in the delivery of foods and other commodities. Within the city, many food delivery workers have been […]