Search results

New COVID-19 variants will keep distancing relevant

Location:

INT

Yet it is still difficult to predict what new variants may emerge or what their impact might be. Extreme disparity in vaccine coverage has resulted in a complex demographic of…

Variants may delay, not derail COVID-19 control

Location:

INT

Viruses mutate when they multiply and often the changes do not affect their behaviour significantly. However, changes that allow them to infect better, evade immune defences or…

Prospects for COVID-19 to end-2021

Location:

PROSPECTS H2 2021

COVID-19 remains a complex disease due to lack of effective treatment, uncertainty around variants, marked differences by country and region on vaccination progress, and…

Omicron variant threatens Caribbean tourism recovery

Location:

CARIBBEAN

The move -- a response to the Omicron variant -- comes just weeks after the country reopened fully to international tourists. With tourism across much of the Caribbean having only…

Africa’s vaccine deficit presents risks of variance

Location:

AFRICA

Both the WHO and African Union (AU) have called for a moratorium on booster shot programmes to allow more supply to flow to regions such as Africa, where vaccination numbers…

Russia postpones vaccination targets as Delta strikes

Location:

RUSSIA

A third wave of COVID-19 began to accelerate in June after two earlier waves between March 2020 and March 2021. The third wave is attributable to relaxations of restrictions at…

Omicron poses serious risks for Central America

Location:

CENTRAL AMERICA

The situation has been attributed largely to the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant. Case numbers look set to continue rising for much of the first quarter of…

Slow pace of vaccinations drives Australia lockdowns

Location:

AUSTRALIA

The rapid spread of the Delta variant has exposed serious shortcomings in Australia’s containment strategy, which has been forced to rely on economically disruptive lockdowns…

Brazil policy shortfalls will see new COVID outbreaks

Location:

BRAZIL

The discovery of a new variant of the virus (P1) in Manaus has prompted renewed concerns as the city is suffering a severe second wave, months after a first wave that reportedly…

Rapid Omicron spread may dampen recovery in Peru

Location:

PERU

Although there have been important advances in vaccinations over the last six months, large numbers remain under-vaccinated. The country continues to have one of the world’s…