World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the COVAX scheme had reached a deal with vaccine maker Pfizer-BioNTech for 40 million doses for poorer countries.
The World Health Organization's emergency committee met on Thursday, two weeks ahead of schedule to discuss the new coronavirus variants from South Africa and Britain that have rapidly spread to at least 50 countries and sparked widespread alarm.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that “vaccine nationalism” is moving “at full speed,” leaving poor people around the globe watching preparations for inoculations against the coronavirus in some rich nations and wondering if and when they will be vaccinated.
The importance of a safe working environment for healthcare staff as a requirement for ensuring patient safety has been highlighted by the World Medical Association to mark World Patient Safety Day on Thursday, September 17.
World Health Organization spokeswoman said on Friday it does not expect widespread vaccinations against COVID-19 until the middle of next year, stressing the importance of rigorous checks on their effectiveness and safety.
Brazil surpassed four million coronavirus cases on Thursday, as an international panel looking into the global response to the pandemic vowed to uncover how it was able to spread worldwide.
Mexico is pressing ahead with an effort to forge COVID-19 vaccine alliances across a wide ideological spectrum of countries from France to Cuba, as a World Health Organization (WHO) vaccine initiative will fall short of its needs.
The coronavirus pandemic has yet to peak in the Americas, the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday, as it said global infections were likely to hit 10 million within a week.
The World Health Organization's director-general has no mandate to invite Taiwan to take part in its assembly next week, the body's lawyer said on Monday, adding member states had divergent views on the self-ruled island's participation.
China and the United States both supported a draft United Nations Security Council resolution confronting the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, and it was shocking and regretful that Washington changed its mind on Friday, a Chinese diplomat said.