Category: WHO

White House Rejects WHO Calls for Moratorium on COVID-19 Booster Shots

The White House pushed back on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) calls for a moratorium on distributing COVID-19 booster shots, with press secretary Jen Psaki calling it a “false choice.” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday urged wealthier nations including the United States and companies controlling the vaccine supply to prioritize addressing providing more doses…


France to Offer COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots, Ignoring WHO Call

France plans to give COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for the most vulnerable and elderly populations as soon as next month, disregarding a call from the World Health Organization (WHO) for a moratorium on the jabs until more people are vaccinated across the globe. “Yes, we will probably need a third dose, not for everyone straight…


Blinken Calls for an Interference-Free Investigation Into the COVID-19 Origin, Backing WHO’s Proposal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on July 28, backing the latter’s proposal to further investigate the origin of the pandemic, which was believed to have originated in China. “Secretary Blinken affirmed U.S. support for the WHO’s plans to conduct additional studies into the COVID-19 origins, including in…


It’s ‘Premature’ to Rule Out COVID-19 Lab Leak Theory, WHO Chief Says

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that it was “premature” to rule out the possibility that COVID-19 could have emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China, without sufficient evidence. Walking back on a March WHO report that designated the COVID-19 lab leak theory hypothesis as “extremely unlikely,” Tedros said that based…


‘Premature’ to Rule Out COVID-19 Lab Leak Theory: WHO Chief

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that it was “premature” to rule out the possibility that COVID-19 could have emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China, without sufficient evidence. Walking back on a March WHO report that designated the COVID-19 lab leak theory hypothesis as “extremely unlikely,” Tedros said that based…


China Should Provide Raw Data on Pandemic’s Origins—WHO’s Tedros

GENEVA—The head of the World Health Organisation said on Thursday that investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in China were being hampered by the lack of raw data on the first days of spread there and urged it to be more transparent. A WHO-led team spent four weeks in and around the central…


COVID-19 Vaccines Should Not Be Mixed and Matched: WHO Official

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that people should not mix and match COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers and described the phenomenon as a “dangerous trend.” Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, said Monday that more data is needed first before a proper health impact can be assessed. “It’s a little bit of a dangerous trend…


Benefits of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines Outweigh Risk of Heart Inflammation: WHO Vaccine Safety Committee

Benefits from the messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the risk of heart inflammation, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) vaccine safety committee has said in its updated guidance. After reviewing all currently available information and despite evidence suggesting a likely association between heart inflammation and the emergency use mRNA vaccine, the WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine…


WHO Stops Recommending Widespread COVID-19 Testing of Asymptomatic Cases

In updated guidance on COVID-19 testing strategies, the World Health Organization (WHO) says it does not currently recommend widespread screening of people without symptoms, citing the cost of such a strategy and its ineffectiveness. “Widespread testing of asymptomatic populations, including through self-testing, is not currently recommended, based on lack of evidence on impact and cost-effectiveness…


WHO Recommends Masks and Social Distancing for Vaccinated People Due to ‘Delta’ COVID-19 Strain

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that fully vaccinated individuals should still wear masks and engage in social distancing due to the “Delta” COVID-19 variant. “People cannot feel safe just because they had the two doses. They still need to protect themselves,” Dr. Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant director-general, told reporters late last week during a…