World Health Organization (WHO)
Dr Firdausi Qadri’s Magsaysay: Fitting recognition for a pioneering life’s work
Bangladeshi scientist Dr Firdausi Qadri has been conferred with the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2021, in recognition of her groundbreaking work in “developing vaccines that have saved millions of lives”.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation’s board of trustees cited “her passion and life-long devotion to the scientific profession; her vision of building the human and physical infrastructure that will benefit the coming generation of Bangladeshi scientists, women scientists in particular, and her untiring contributions to vaccine development, advanced biotechnological therapeutics and critical research that has been saving millions of precious lives.”
Read: Dr Firdausi Qadri: Ramon Magsaysay 2021 Award Winner Bangladeshi Scientist
It caps a year in Dr Qadri’s life that saw her life’s work finally receiving the recognition it merits, within the general atmosphere in which scientists – particularly those in the field of life sciences – are being more valued for the invaluable work they do since the onset of the global pandemic.
Dr Qadri has focused her research on enteric diseases, specifically in the areas of immunology, genomics, proteomic technology and diagnostics, and vaccine development. Perhaps her most important intervention will remain the introduction of a new cheap oral cholera vaccine in Bangladesh, as an alternative to Dukoral, which is costly for poor people and cost-ineffective as a public health tool.
In October 2020, Bill Gates described her as a hero for her work in developing the new cheap cholera vaccine, which was done in partnership with the Gates Foundation:
“In 2011, Dr. Qadri and her team at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease and Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) led a feasibility study on a newer, more affordable oral cholera vaccine, Shanchol. The study, which was done in partnership with our foundation, showed that the inexpensive vaccine could be an effective tool in stopping the spread of cholera in poor, urban environments, giving people more than 50 percent protection against the disease,” Gates wrote.
He went on to write that it helped lead to “a complete change in thinking about how the world could tackle the challenge of cholera.”
“You can have very good water, sanitation, education, good homes and people won’t have cholera. But until that happens, you need to stop the misery. You need to control the disease,” Dr. Qadri was quoted as saying in the piece by Gates, which appeared on his Gates Notes blog. “And the vaccine is a one-stop solution.”
Read:Dr Qadri wins Magsaysay Award for developing life-saving vaccines
In 2012, Qadri was awarded the Fondation Christophe et Rodolphe Mérieux's annual scientific 'Grand Prize', called the "Christophe Mérieux Prize", for her research on infectious enteric diseases
In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) helped to create an oral cholera vaccine stockpile, to contain and prevent outbreaks. Since then, more than 60 million doses have been shipped worldwide. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is supporting countries to use the cholera vaccine to target cholera “hotspots”—areas at highest risk—to prevent outbreaks before they happen, according to Gates.
The UN has previously noted not only Dr Qadri’s own work, but also how a large part of her career has been focused on developing leaders in the field of infectious disease research from different disciplines and institutions. She has inspired many young scientists through her teaching and research activities.
“Her penchant for mentoring can be seen in her lab and field sites where aspiring fellows from both local and international universities, join her team as interns and later move on to faculty positions globally,” the organisation’s High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and the Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) wrote in a profile of her.
The arrival in 2017 of nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into overcrowded camps in Bangladesh raised serious concerns about a cholera epidemic. Working with the government, Dr. Qadri led a vaccination program that has helped prevent an outbreak, through a program that vaccinated 700,000 of the distressed refugees.
“If this vaccination was not carried out, there would be chaotic conditions,” Dr. Qadri said of the campaign. “We were able to prevent a major, major epidemic and deaths.”
She was also awarded the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award 2020 for her “outstanding work in science to prevent infectious diseases affecting children in developing countries and for promoting early diagnosis and vaccination with global health impact”.
Read:BINA and scientist Dr Shamsun Nahar receive prestigious IAEA awards
And earlier this year, Dr Qadri was one of three Bangladeshis – all women – who were named by Asian Scientist magazine in their list of the “best and brightest 100 Asian scientists.”
The Magsaysay is by far the most prestigious of the awards she has received, but it is only fitting for someone whose work is making it possible to believe in a world where the “world’s longest-running pandemic,” caused by cholera, can be defeated.
Int'l support architecture for Asia-Pacific LDCs need of the hour: Momen
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has called for stronger policies and support measures for the least developed countries (LDCs).
Addressing the opening session of the four-day Asia-Pacific Regional Review Meeting in Geneva on Monday, the Minister, in fact, urged the global community to chalk out a new international support architecture for the LDCs as well as the graduating LDCs.
Read: FM to attend series of programs in Switzerland, Netherlands
The Asia-Pacific meeting, jointly convened by the Bangladesh government, UN-OHRLLS and UN-ESCAP, was held in preparations for the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (UNLDC-5) slated for January in Qatar.
Speaking at the event, Dr Momen lauded the remarkable progress made by the majority of the LDCs in the Asia-Pacific, particularly in reducing poverty and investing in human resources and infrastructure.
He shared the graduation story of Bangladesh under the dynamic, bold and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which has witnessed the per capita income reaching $2,227 and reduction of poverty to 20.5 percent. Rabab Fatima, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN in New York, chaired the opening session, while several top leaders, including Volkan Bozkir, President of the UN General Assembly, Collen Vixen Kelapile, President of the ECOSOC, Eisenhower Mkaka, Foreign Minister of Malawi and Chair of the LDCs, and Faruk Kaymakci, Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkey, spoke at the event.
Global Covid cases near 210 million
The global Covid-19 caseload is fast nearing 210 million as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to devastate several countries even with mass inoculations underway.
The total caseload and fatalities from the virus stand at 209,934,849 and 4,402,002 respectively, as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, 4,824,375,876 Covid vaccine doses have been administered across the globe, as per the university data.
Read: Over 4.4 million Covid cases reported worldwide in one week
More than 4.4 million Covid cases and 66,000 deaths were reported worldwide in the past week as Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.
The number of new infections in seven days surpassed last week's number by 2%, while the mortality rate was roughly flat, the UN agency added.
The US has logged 37,293,969 cases and 625,166 deaths to date, according to the JHU data. The death toll in the United States is the highest in the world.
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The country has recorded 20,494,212 cases with 572,641 fatalities so far, according to the health ministry.
The third worst-hit country, India's Covid-19 tally rose to 32,322,258 on Thursday, as 36,401 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, as per the health ministry's data.
Read:'India likely to have Covid shot for children by September'
Besides, as many as 530 deaths were reported due to the pandemic since Monday morning, taking the total death toll to 433,049.
India is likely to have its indigenous Covid-19 vaccine for children by September, Director of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)'s National Institute of Virology (Pune) Priya Abraham said.
Abraham's remarks came amid the ongoing phase II and III trials of Covaxin for the 2-18 age groups.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 159 more coronavirus-related deaths and 6,566 fresh infections in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, in a decreasing trend in both fatalities and cases even though concerns remained over the virulent Delta variant of the virus.
The country has been seeing fatalities below 200 for the last seven days, a slight improvement from the July 25-August 13 period when daily deaths were recorded over 200.
Read: What we know about Covid-19 booster shots
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 24,874 and the cases to 1,447, 210, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)
The new cases were detected after testing 37,226 samples, which lowered the case positivity rate to 17.64%, still much higher than that of the WHO recommendation of bringing it below 5%.
Meanwhile, the case fatality rate remained static at 1.72%.
Global Covid cases top 209 million
The global Covid-19 caseload has now surged past 209 million as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to devastate several countries even with mass inoculations underway.
The total caseload and fatalities stand at 209,222,017 and 4,392,130 respectively, as of Thursday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, 4,787,668, 861 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
Read:'India likely to have Covid shot for children by September'
More than 4.4 million Covid cases and 66,000 deaths were reported worldwide in the past week, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday.
The number of new infections in seven days surpassed last week's number by 2%, while the mortality rate was roughly flat, the UN agency added.
A total of 4,444,632 people were infected with Covid-19 across the world and 66,506 patients died from August 9 to 15.
As of August 18, some 208,833,116 coronavirus cases had been recorded in nearly 200 countries. Since the start of the pandemic, the Covid-19 death toll has reached 4,386,814.
So far, the US, India and Brazil have seen the highest number of confirmed cases and fatalities.
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 37,148,877 Covid cases. Besides, 624,209 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
Read:Over 4.4 million Covid cases reported worldwide in one week
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The country has recorded 20,457,897 cases with 571,662 fatalities so far, according to the health ministry.
The third worst-hit country, India's Covid-19 tally rose to 32,285,857 on Wednesday, as 35,178 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, according to the federal health ministry.
Besides, as many as 440 deaths due to the pandemic since Monday morning took the total death toll to 432,519.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported 172 more coronavirus-related deaths and 7,248 fresh infections in 24 hours till Wednesday morning as concerns remain over the virulent Delta variant of the virus.
The country has been seeing fatalities below 200 for the last six days, a slight improvement from the July 25-August 13 period when daily deaths were recorded over 200.
Read: Bangladesh reports 172 more Covid deaths, 7,248 fresh cases
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 24,719 and the cases to 1,440,644, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)
The new cases were detected after testing 41,014 samples, which lowered the case positivity rate to 17.67 % from Tuesday’s 19.18%, still much higher than the WHO recommendation of bringing it below 5%.
Meanwhile, the case fatality rate has increased to 1.72% after staying unchanged at 1.71% for some days.
'India likely to have Covid shot for children by September'
India is likely to have its indigenous Covid-19 vaccine for children by September, Director of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)'s National Institute of Virology (Pune) Priya Abraham said.
Abraham's remarks come amid the ongoing phase II and III trials of Covaxin for the 2-18 age group.
"Hopefully, the results (of the trials) are going to be available very soon. The results will be presented to the regulators. So, by September or just after it, we may have Covid-19 vaccines for children," Abraham told India Science, an OTT channel of the science and technology department.
Read: Bangladesh- India flight operation to resume Aug 20: FM
ICMR and Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech co-developed Covaxin, India's first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine.
"Apart from Covaxin, Zydus Cadila's vaccine trial is also going on. This can also be applied to children and will be made available. Studies on booster doses have been going on overseas, and at least seven different vaccines have been tried for it," Abraham added.
"Now, the World Health Organisation has put a stop to it till more countries catch up with vaccination. This is because there is an alarming vaccine gap between high-income and low-income countries. But, in future, recommendations for boosters will come," he said.
Read: India hands over 31 ambulences, other medical equipment to Bangladesh
The vaccination programme against Covid-19 started in India on January 16 for people above 18 years. With more than seven months into the drive, so far only 9% of the country's adult population has been fully vaccinated, the figures compiled by Our World in Data showed.
The Indian government aims to vaccinate the entire population above 18 years of age by the end of this year.
India needs to administer 10 million doses a day to achieve its aim of inoculating the adult population by December, experts say.
Head of UN health agency seeks vaccine booster moratorium
The head of the World Health Organization called Wednesday for a moratorium on administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines as a way to help ensure that doses are available in countries where few people have received their first shots.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the appeal mostly to wealthier countries that have far outpaced the developing world in numbers of vaccinations. He said richer countries have administered about 100 doses of coronavirus vaccines for every 100 people on average, while low-income countries — hampered by short supplies — have provided only about 1.5 doses per 100 people.
WHO officials say the science is unproven about whether giving booster shots to people who have already received two vaccine doses is effective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
Read: WHO reports sharp increase in Covid fatalities
The U.N. health agency has repeatedly called for rich countries to do more to help improve access to vaccines in the developing world. It has argued that no one is safe until everyone is safe because the longer and more widely the coronavirus circulates, the greater the chance that new variants could emerge — and prolong a global crisis in fighting the pandemic.
The agency has no power to require countries to act, and many in the past have ignored its appeals on issues like donating vaccines, limiting cross-border travel and taking steps to boost production of vaccines in developing countries.
Tedros pointed to a WHO target he had announced in May seeking to ensure that 10% of the populations in all countries receive vaccines against the coronavirus.
“Accordingly, WHO is calling for a moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September to enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated,” he told a news conference.
To help take the heat out of the pandemic, WHO has been focusing on getting vaccines to older adults, health care workers and other target populations in many countries before booster shot campaigns are carried out.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, a special adviser to Tedros, said the moratorium was about an appeal to countries considering booster doses to “put a hold” on such policies “until and unless we get the rest of the world caught up” in the fight against the pandemic.
Read: Countries have responsibility to help scientists find Covid origin: WHO
”As we’ve seen from the emergence of variant after variant, we cannot get out of it unless the whole world gets out of it together. And with the huge disparity in vaccination coverage, we’re simply not going to be able to achieve that,” Aylward said.
Israel, France, Germany and many Middle Eastern countries have already started administering boosters, and other nations, including the United States and Britain, are considering plans to do so in the wake of the emergence of the highly transmissible delta variant.
Dr. Katherine O’Brien, WHO’s vaccines chief, noted that a “very limited number” of countries were giving booster doses though a larger number were contemplating it.
“The evidence is evolving. It’s moving. We don’t have a full set of evidence around whether this is needed or not,” O’Brien said, adding that the main message was that “we need instead to focus on those people who are most vulnerable.”
Asked about the WHO position, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called it a “false choice” and suggested the United States could both donate vaccines abroad and provide boosters at home.
“We announced just yesterday that we hit an important milestone of over 110 million vaccines donated to the world. That is more than any other country has shared combined,” she said. “We also, in this country, have enough supply, to ensure that every American has access to a vaccine. We will have enough supply to ensure, if the FDA decides that boosters are recommended for a portion of the population, to provide those as well.”
WHO officials reiterated their call for global “solidarity” to help battle the coronavirus pandemic and appealed to wealthy countries and corporations to help.
Read:Vaccine inequity biggest barrier to ending pandemic: WHO chief
“We need everyone’s cooperation, especially the handful of countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines,” Tedros said, appealing in particular to the influential Group of 20 large economies. “The G-20 has a vital leadership role to play as the countries that are the biggest producers, the biggest consumers and the biggest donors of COVID-19 vaccines.”
He urged the G-20, which currently is chaired by Italy, to make “concrete commitments to support global vaccination targets.”
“We call on everyone with influence — Olympic athletes, investors, business leaders, faith leaders and every individual in their own family and community — to support our call for a moratorium on booster shots until at least the end of September,” Tedros said.
Dhaka city dwellers breathe clean air throughout July, says study
This past July the Dhaka city dwellers got a special treat from the nature. The air they breathed in was much cleaner as the air quality significantly improved thanks largely to pollution-reducing rain, Eid exodus and Covid restrictions.
Even Dhaka got a niche among the world’s top ten cities having clean air from July 22-31 last, a relief for an overcrowded city known for its severe air pollution.
Read: Dhaka’s air quality improved in lockdown, a blessing in disguise!
According to the data of the US-based IQAir Visual, Dhaka was also among the top five cities for particular times on July 24 and 30 for the good air quality, said Prof Dr Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, the founder and director of Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) of Stamford University Bangladesh.
The city’s air quality significantly improved in July as its Air Quality Index (AQI) score remained less than 100 in the most of days of the month.
The AQI score 0-50 is considered as ‘good’ air quality, while 51-100 as moderate, 101-150 as unhealthy for sensitive groups, 151-200 as unhealthy, 201-300 as very unhealthy and 301 and above as hazardous.
Global Covid cases top 198 mln
The overall number of global Covid cases surpassed 198-million mark as different countries continue their battle against deadlier variants of coronavirus amid slow vaccination rate.
Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has now been detected in 124 territories worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read: 'Moderate, severe forms predominant for Delta strain of Covid'
According to the US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count reached 198,283,776 while the death toll from the virus stood at 4,224,015 on Monday morning.
So far, 4,112,844,213 vaccine doses have been administered across the world.
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,001,589 cases. Besides, 613,223 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
Brazil registered 464 more COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 556,834, the health ministry said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 19,938,358 with detection of 20,503 new cases.
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The South American country is experiencing a new wave of infections, which has overwhelmed hospitals, said the ministry.
Read: 'Different levels of antibodies needed for protection from Covid strains'
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,655,824 on Sunday as 41,831 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
As many as 541 deaths were recorded since Saturday morning, taking the death toll to 424,351.
Situation in Bangladesh
With the Delta variant of Covid-19 tearing through Bangladesh, the country reported 231 more deaths in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
Besides, 14,844 people came out positive for the virus after the test of 49,529 samples, said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
It said the fresh cases took Bangladesh’s total fatality to 20,916 while the caseload to 1,264,328.
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate marked a negligible fall to 29.97% from Saturday’s 30.24 %, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
However, the recovery rate rose to 86.47% from the previous day’s 86.29 % and the case fatality rate fell to 1.65% from last day’s 1.66 %, said the DGHS media release.
Read: Bangladesh faces harder days as Covid kills 231 more
During the 24-hour period, 15,054 patients recovered from the fatal disease.
Logging highest 6,182 deaths and 336,226 new cases, July has become the most fatal month since the reporting of first Covid cases in the country in March, 2020.
Covid-19: Bangladesh breaks its record again, reports 258 single-day deaths
As the country battles a brutal wave of pandemic, Bangladesh logged record-high 258 Coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, shattering the record of 247 single-day deaths a day before.
The country has been seeing nearly 200 deaths every day for the past two weeks and breaking records of daily cases and deaths almost every other day.
Besides, 14,925 more people came out Covid positive after the test of 52,478 samples, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The country saw the highest-ever 15,192 Covid cases on Monday.
With the new numbers, the death tally from Covid-19 reached 19,779 today while the caseload mounted to 1,194,752.
The country has been seeing nearly 9,000 cases on average every day for the past seven days.
Meanwhile, the daily test-positivity rate declined to 28.44% from Monday's 29. 82 % while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
Read: COVID-19 vaccination gives 97.4 pc protection from coronavirus infection
Besides, the case fatality rate rose to 1.66% during the period after remaining unchanged at 1.65% for a few days, said the DGHS.
The recovery rate rose slightly to 85.58% from Monday’s 85.50 % with 12,439 patients recovering during the 24-hour period.
Dhaka, the worst hit division, recorded the highest 84 of the deaths today, followed by 61 in Chattogram, 50 in Khulna ,21 in Rajshahi, 13 in Barishal, 11 each in Rangpur and Mymensingh and seven in Sylhet divisions.
Of them, 138 were men and 120 were women.
As per their age breakdowns, two were between 11-20, eight between 21-30, 16 between 31-40, 31 between 41-50, 54 between 51-60 and 147 were above 60, the release added.
Of the deaths, 46.53% were reported in Dhaka division so far followed by 18.37% in Chattogram and 13.20% in Khulna, making them the three worst hit regions of Covid-19 in the country.
Read: All will get Covid vaccine shots, reassures PM Hasina
Vaccination campaign to gain momentum
The Covid-19 vaccination programme at union level will start across the country on August 7, said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Tuesday.
The minister announced the government's decision while talking to reporters after a meeting held at the conference room of the Cabinet division.
“The prime minister has ordered speeding up the vaccination drive. One can get vaccinated at the union level showing his or her NID card. Vaccination centres will be set up in unions across the country before August 7,” he said.
Those who do not have any NID will be vaccinated under a special arrangement, he added.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday reaffirmed her government's stance to ensure Covid-19 vaccine doses for all in any case.
Read: Vaccination at union level to start on Aug 7: Home Minster
The prime minister said she has already given directives to vaccinate the helping hands of a family, including housemaids and drivers, so that all of a family can remain protected.
The prime minister said 1.87 crore people have so far been vaccinated and all will be brought under the vaccination programme.
The prime minister said Bangladesh will produce vaccines in the future so that the people of the country do not suffer in any way.
The national vaccination campaign will now be accelerated at ward, union and upazila levels of the country as per directives of the prime minister, Maleque said while briefing reporters after attending the Cabinet meeting on Monday.
An initiative has been taken to vaccinate elderly people from the ward level as they are more reluctant about receiving it, the minister said, stressing the need for ensuring more Covid-19 tests of the samples coming from rural areas.
Countries have responsibility to help scientists find Covid origin: WHO
Countries have the responsibility to work together, in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), so scientists can try to find the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UN health agency said Friday after China rejected the plan for a second phase of investigations the day before.
WHO's Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus had agreed last week to a call for further studies after the release of an inconclusive report on an international team's field visit to China's Wuhan city to research the origins of Covid-19, citing difficulties accessing raw data. The first human cases were identified in Wuhan.
"Countries have the responsibility to work together and to work with the WHO in the spirit of partnership, so scientists can have their space to try to find the origins of this pandemic," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told the media.
Read: China rebuffs WHO’s terms for further COVID-19 origins study
"Now countries are looking into the proposal that the director-general outlined last week. They need some time. We look forward to input and constructive dialogue," he added.
However, Zeng Yixin, deputy head of China's National Health Commission, had said, "The work plan on the second phase origins study proposed by the WHO contains language that does not respect science."
On July 16, Tedros said he expects China to support the next phase of the scientific process to identify the origins of SARS-CoV-2.
"Finding where this virus came from is essential not just for understanding how the pandemic started and preventing future outbreaks, but it is also important as an obligation to the families of the 4 million people who have lost someone they love, and the millions who have suffered," said Tedros.
Read: Natural origins theory of Covid-19 still the most likely: Fauci
"We expect China to support this next phase of the scientific process by sharing all relevant data in a spirit of transparency. Also, the WHO expects all member states to support the scientific process by refraining from politicising it," he added.
At the end of March, a WHO-led international scientific team delivered its report following a mission to China in January, in line with the World Health Assembly for a probe into the virus.