World Health Organization

Saturday, Oct 23, 2021 | Last Update : 02:10 AM IST

World Health Organization

The UN health agency said work was under way to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of Delta and why it is more transmissible. (Representational image: PTI)

Delta not specifically targeting children: WHO

Delta has now been detected in 132 countries and is more transmissible than earlier versions of the virus

31 Jul 2021 12:19 PM

A medical worker takes a nasal sample from a man during a COVID-19 testing at a makeshift testing site at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 15, 2021. (AP/Ahn Young-joon)

Dispiriting setback: COVID deaths, cases rise again globally

Cases rose 10 per cent last week to nearly 3 million, with the highest numbers recorded in Brazil, India, Indonesia and Britain

15 Jul 2021 10:12 AM

At present, the WHO has approved vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech, Astrazeneca-SK Bio/Serum Institute of India, AstraZeneca EU, Janssen, Moderna and Sinopharm for emergency use. (PTI Photo)

Decision on emergency use listing of Covaxin likely in 4-6 weeks: WHO

Swaminathan said WHO is reviewing Covaxin as its manufacturer Bharat Biotech is now uploading its entire data on the health body's portal

10 Jul 2021 5:01 PM

A Tokyo Metropolitan Government employee takes the Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine shot at a newly opened vaccination center in the government building, July 1, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP /Eugene Hoshiko)

UN chief calls for global vaccination plan as COVID-19 death toll tops 4 million

The world needs a global vaccine plan to at least double the production of vaccines and ensure equitable distribution

08 Jul 2021 12:00 PM

The World Health Organization said on May 11 that the coronavirus variant B.1.617, first identified in India last year, was being classified as a variant of global concern. (Representational image: PTI)

India asks social media firms to remove reference to 'Indian variant' of coronavirus

Around the world, coronvirus variants have generically been referred to by doctors, health experts on the basis of where the are identified

22 May 2021 12:04 PM

Taking to Twitter, the world health body said the video claiming that the WHO has warned of 50,000 deaths in India is "fake news". (AFP)

Fake News: WHO denies issuing warning of 50,000 COVID-19 deaths in India by April 15

India has so far reported over 1,26,86,049 COVID-19 cases. The death toll in the country has gone up to 1,65,547

06 Apr 2021 1:35 PM

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization speaks during a news conference on updates regarding COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (AFP)

World must be better prepared for next pandemic, says WHO chief

‘But when the next pandemic comes, the world must be ready – more ready than it was this time,’ Ghebreyesus told a news briefing in Geneva

09 Sep 2020 10:54 AM

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sought to draw favourable comparisons with the notorious flu pandemic of 1918. (AFP)

WHO hopes COVID will be over within two years, quicker than world got rid of Spanish flu

Western Europe has been enduring the kind of infection levels not seen in many months, particularly in Germany, France, Spain and Italy

22 Aug 2020 3:27 PM

Across Africa and around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the supply of antiretroviral drugs to many of the more than 24 million people who take them, endangering their lives.(AP)

WHO team to assist South Africa in reinforcing COVID-19 response

South Africa, at present, has the world's fifth largest virus caseload with over 5,79,000 confirmed cases and more than 11,000 deaths

16 Aug 2020 12:35 PM

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. (AP)

People should not fear spread of COVID-19 in food, packaging: WHO

China had said they found traces of coronavirus in imported frozen meat from Brazil and on outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp

14 Aug 2020 10:26 AM

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, left, and Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen (right) speaks during a meeting in Taipei. (via @iingwen)

US health chief offers Taiwan 'strong' support in landmark visit

Washington had broken off official ties with Taiwan in 1979 in favour of Beijing

10 Aug 2020 11:30 AM

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), addresses a press conference about the update on COVID-19 at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (AP)

The effects of the pandemic will be felt for decades to come: WHO

The agency also said the effects of the pandemic 'will be felt for decades to come' in an emergency WHO committee reviewing the pandemic

02 Aug 2020 12:25 PM

Shoppers wear face masks in Covent Garden, central London on July 24, 2020, as lockdown restrictions continue to be eased during the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. - Face coverings are now compulsory for customers in shops in England, as new coronavirus rules came into force on Friday. (AFP)

Rules tighten across Europe as WHO warns of virus spike

Europe accounts for a fifth of the world's more than 15 million infections and remains the hardest-hit region in terms of deaths

25 Jul 2020 10:22 AM

Dr. Gauden Galea, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in China, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the WHO's offices in Beijing. (AP)

WHO experts to visit China as part of COVID-19 investigation

The WHO mission is politically sensitive, with the US moving to cut ties with it over allegations the agency is biased toward China

10 Jul 2020 2:47 PM

A woman displays information on her phone while checking in to be tested at a COVID-19 testing center at Lincoln Park. (AFP)

We can now trap coronavirus in this 'catch and kill' air filter

According to a recent study, the device killed 99.8 per cent of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, in a single pass through its filter

08 Jul 2020 2:44 PM

US officially notifies UN of withdrawal from World Health Organization

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, says he would reverse the decision on his first day in office if elected

08 Jul 2020 9:44 AM

World Health Organization headquarters at Geneva. (AFP)

WHO acknowledges 'evidence’ of COVID-19 airborne spread

The change in the WHO’s assessment of risk of transmission could affect its current advice on keeping 1 metre of physical distancing

08 Jul 2020 9:00 AM

A staff scan the e-ticket of a visitor at the Singapore Zoo in Singapore on July 6, 2020, on its first day of reopening to the public after the attraction was temporarily closed due to concerns about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. (AFP)

Can coronavirus spread through air? Hundreds of experts say yes

Scientists say there is evidence that coronavirus is airborne, ask WHO to revise its pandemic guideline

06 Jul 2020 12:36 PM

A Christian woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus scans a QR code on her smartphone before attending a service at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea. (AP)

Record spike in daily global coronavirus cases, up more than 212,000

Global coronavirus cases exceeded 11 million on Friday, marking another unfortunate milestone in the spread of the disease

05 Jul 2020 10:42 AM

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. (AP Photo)

'No excuse' for countries that fail in contact tracing, says WHO chief Tedros

“Although many countries have made some progress, globally the pandemic is actually speeding up,” Tedros Adhanom said

30 Jun 2020 12:42 PM

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Patralekha Chatterjee