UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. World Health Organization said Thursday that it has reached an agreement with Israel for limited pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow for polio vaccinations for hundreds of thousands of children after a baby contracted the first confirmed case in 25 years in the Palestinian territory. The vaccination campaign will … Read more
LONDON — The baby in Gaza who was recently paralyzed by polio was infected with a mutated strain of the virus that vaccinated people shed in their waste, according to scientists who say the case is the result of “an unqualified failure” of public health policy. The infection, which marked the first detection of polio … Read more
GENEVA — The U.N. health agency on Monday launched a six-month plan to help stanch outbreaks of mpox transmission, including ramping up staffing in affected countries and boosting surveillance, prevention and response strategies. The World Health Organization said it expects the plan from September through February next year will require $135 million in funding and … Read more
Israel’s military on Sunday said polio vaccines for more than 1 million people had been delivered to Gaza, after the first confirmed case of the disease in the territory in a quarter-century. It was not immediately clear how, or how quickly, the more than 25,000 vials of vaccine would be distributed in Gaza, where ongoing … Read more
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — On the heels of a summer wave of COVID-19 cases, Americans will be able to get free virus test kits mailed to their homes, starting in late September. U.S. households will be able to order up to four COVID-19 nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to the … Read more
WASHINGTON — U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, shots designed to more closely target recent virus strains — and hopefully whatever variants cause trouble this winter, too. With the Food and Drug Administration’s clearance, Pfizer and Moderna are set to begin shipping millions of doses. A third U.S. manufacturer, Novavax, expects its modified … Read more
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Congo reported more than 1,000 new mpox cases in the last week up to Tuesday as African health authorities asked for desperately needed vaccines to help fight its “growing” threat on the continent. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreaks in Africa a global emergency. Mpox belongs to the … Read more
KINSHASA, Congo — Congo will receive the first vaccine doses to address its mpox outbreak next week from the United States, the country’s health minister said Monday, days after the World Health Organization declared mpox outbreaks in Africa a global emergency. Mpox cases have been confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen … Read more
CAIRO — The threat of polio is rising fast in the Gaza Strip, prompting aid groups to call for an urgent pause in the war so they can ramp up vaccinations and head off a full-blown outbreak. One case has been confirmed, others are suspected and the virus was detected in wastewater in six different … Read more
LONDON — The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared this week that the increasing spread of mpox across the continent is a health emergency, warning the virus might ultimately spill across international borders. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization is convening its own expert meeting to consider making a similar emergency declaration over … Read more
