The World Health Organization held a two half-day virtual summit on 1 and 2 July, to take stock of the evolving science on COVID-19 and examine progress made so far in developing effective health tools to improve the global response to the pandemic.
Diseases
Africa waited for solutions to past health crises: will it be different for COVID-19?
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently noted that “researchers are working at break-neck speed” to understand SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19). They are also working to develop potential vaccines, medicines and other technologies that are affordable and equitable. By June 2020 – six months since it was first identified – thousands of therapeutic trials and dozens of vaccine development studies were under way, including one vaccine study each in South Africa and Nigeria.
NIH ACTIV vaccine working group weighs role of human challenge studies for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development
Members of the National Institutes of Health’s Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) Vaccines Working Group assess practical considerations and prerequisites for using controlled human infection models (CHIMs), which can be used for human challenge studies, to support SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development.
Complexity of human tooth enamel revealed at atomic level in NIH-funded study
Scientists used a combination of advanced microscopy and chemical detection techniques to uncover the structural makeup of human tooth enamel at unprecedented atomic resolution, revealing lattice patterns and unexpected irregularities.
10th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared over
The long, complex and difficult Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been overcome due to the leadership and commitment of the Government of the DRC, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), a multitude of partners, donors, and above all, the efforts of the communities affected by the virus.
Cancer drug may reduce symptoms of severe COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2, is a respiratory illness that can bring mild to severe symptoms.
NIH investigators hope CD47 study leads to broad-spectrum infectious diseases immunotherapy
National Institutes of Health investigators and colleagues have discovered that when the immune system first responds to infectious agents such as viruses or bacteria, a natural brake on the response prevents overactivation.
