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COVID-19 — A TIMELINE OF THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
July – December 2020
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][info_list font_size_icon=”24″][info_list_item list_title=”July 1, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of WHO’s emergencies program reported Eurasian avian-like H1N1 swine influenza virus from China is not new, but has been under surveillance since 2011[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 2, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]New Zealand health minister David Clark resigns after a series of blunders amid the country’s COVID-19 response[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 3, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]UNITAID and UNICEF agree to an initial purchase of dexamethasone to expand the drug’s access for low- and middle-income countries. Confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 11 million globally — only five days after the global caseload hit 10 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 4, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO discontinues the lopinavir/ritonavir treatment arm of the Solidarity Trial following a recommendation from the trial’s International Steering Committee that found the treatment produced little or no reduction in patient mortality when compared to standard of care[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 6, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The U.S. submits its formal notification to withdraw from WHO. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is reviewing whether the U.S. has met the conditions to do so.
In an open letter to WHO, 239 scientists urge the agency to “recognize the potential for airborne spread of COVID-19”[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 7, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for COVID-19, following months of downplaying the crisis while cases and deaths from the virus continued to increase. Brazil has the second-largest confirmed caseload, with 1.7 million cases, following the U.S.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 8, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 500,000 in Africa.
Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 12 million — five days after the figure reached 11 million. Confirmed cases in the U.S. surpass 3 million.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 9, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO updates a scientific brief on transmission of COVID-19, saying more research on airborne transmission is needed[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 12, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO receives reports of 230,000 new cases of COVID-19. Almost 80% of those cases are from 10 countries, says WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a news briefing[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 13, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The 2020 “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” report estimates that between 83 million and 132 million people could be pushed into hunger this year because of COVID-19, many by job losses amid lockdown measures[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 14, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]American biotech firm Moderna published interim results from its ongoing human clinical trials of its candidate vaccine for COVID-19, finding that it was safe and provoked an immune response in all of its 45 volunteers[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 15, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Seventy-five countries have expressed interest in joining the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access — or COVAX — Facility, which is a mechanism aimed at increasing equitable access to future COVID-19 vaccines[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 16, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Research from the Jubilee Debt Campaign finds that $11.3 Billion in IMF loans to countries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are being used to bail out private lenders[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 17, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 14 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 18, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Confirmed deaths from COVID-19 surpass 600,000 globally[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 20, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]A new study published in The Lancet shows a promising vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford. The candidate, a chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored vaccine referred to as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, generated T cells and neutralizing antibodies in participants, and a stronger immune response was found among 10 people who received a second dose[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 21, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Three out of 10 people in the Americas are at increased risk of developing severe COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions, warns the Pan American Health Org[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 22, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 15 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 26, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 16 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 27, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]New research from the WHO shows that the world has reached a milestone in the fight against hepatitis B infections, with prevalence rate among children under 5 years old at less than 1% in 2020[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”July 30, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 17 million.
A in JAMA found that children 5 years old and younger, with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, have up to 100 times the viral load in their upper throat as people who are older[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 1, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Russia announces plans to launch a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in October, with a vaccine that has not completed clinical trials[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 3, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surpasses 18 million. A few studies have estimated the infection fatality rate of COVID-19 at 0.6%, That means just over 1 in 200 people infected will potentially die, but it is hugely skewed by age, with the risk much higher in older people[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 5, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Confirmed deaths from COVID-19 surpass 700,000 globally[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 6, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 19 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 7, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Cases of COVID-19 on the African continent surpass 1 million
A new collaboration between the Serum Institute of India, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation aims to deliver up to 100 million doses of future COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 8, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 5 million in the United States[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 10, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 hit 20 million. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus states “My message is crystal clear: Suppress, suppress, suppress the virus. If we suppress the virus effectively, we can safely open up societies[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 11, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]New Zealand reports fresh new cases of COVID-19. The announcement comes two days after the government celebrated 100 days of no community transmission. Russia grants regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine. Russian President Vladimir Putin says “it has passed all the needed checks”[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 12, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The U.S. government secures 100 million doses of Moderna’s candidate vaccine, mRNA-1273, which is in late-stage clinical trials. The deal also gives the U.S. option to purchase an additional 400 million vaccine doses[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 14, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 21 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 18, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]A letter signed by former world leaders, people in the education sector, and economists calls for urgent action in response to the global education emergency created by the pandemic[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 19, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 22 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 20, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]A WHO surgery of 39 countries in sub-Saharan Africa finds that schools are fully operational in six countries, closed in 14, and partially open in 19. About a dozen countries plan to resume in-person classes in September[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 22, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surpasses 23 million and the number of deaths surpasses 800,000[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 24, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Hong Kong researchers report the world’s first case of reinfection of COVID-19. A 33-year-old man who had a mild case of COVID-19 in April tests positive again — infected by a different strain of the virus, calling into question the length of immunity that people acquire after they have the disease[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 26, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]“With the pandemic, Africa has lost over a decade of gains of economic growth. Africa’s recovery will be long and difficult[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 27, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]UNICEF finds that 1 in 3 school children — 463 million children globally — have not had access to remote learning options during the pandemic[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 30, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally surpass 25 million.
India reports the highest single-day increase of any nation thus far during the pandemic, with 78,761 new COVID-19 cases[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Aug 31, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The European Union announces €400 million ($478 million) in guarantees for COVAX.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 6 million in the United States, the highest number of any country[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 1, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]A study is published in the New England Journal of Medicine that finds antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 did not decline within four months of diagnosis — bringing greater clarity around the questions of whether having had COVID-19 prevents someone from becoming reinfected and how long that protection lasts[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 2, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO publishes new guidelines recommending the use of corticosteroids in COVID-19 patients with severe and critical conditions. The guidance comes months after preliminary data from a U.K. trial showed dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, reduced mortality among critically ill COVID-19 patients.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 3, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 26 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 4, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom states; “when vaccines for COVID-19 are available, they should initially go to people most vulnerable to contracting the disease — essential workers, elderly populations, and people with underlying health conditions[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 7, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 27 million. More than 200 U.N. staff members in Syria have been infected with COVID-19[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 8, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Trials of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford are on hold after a reported adverse reaction in a participant. A safety review is being conducted before trials can resume[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 10, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]U.S. Senators Cory Booker and Dick Durbin introduce a bill ensuring continued U.S. funding to WHO.
“With the United States leading in the number of COVID-19 infections, we do not have time to play along with the president’s political stunt to withdraw from vital international organizations like the World Health Organization, which is leading a global effort to find and distribute a vaccine for a disease responsible for the death of more than 190,000 Americans,”[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 12, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]AstraZeneca says that it has resumed its clinical trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine in the U.K. The trials were paused following reports of an adverse reaction in a participant[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 14, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, recommends the convening of a U.N. Summit on Global Health Security to agree a new international framework for health emergency preparedness and response[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 15, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]United Arab Emirates grants emergency approval for use of the COVID-19 candidate vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm. The vaccine is still in phase 3 trials[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 16, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, says she will convene a Global Health Summit in 2021 in Italy. She also announces plans for the establishment of a European BARDA, an agency for biomedical advanced research and development[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 18, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Global COVID-19 cases surpass 30 million. The U.S. has the highest number of infections followed by India and Brazil[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 21, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO is releasing a fully revised investment case for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, which includes costing for the accelerator’s “fourth pillar,” known as the “health systems connector.” This brings the total funding ask of the accelerator from $31 billion to $38 billion[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 22, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The U.S. supasses 200,000 reported deaths from COVID-19 — the highest number of any country in the world.
U.S. President Donald Trump says the U.N. must hold China accountable for its actions relating to the pandemic.
Chinese President Xi Jinping says COVID-19 vaccines developed by China, once completed and available for use, “will be made a global public good[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 23, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Johnson & Johnson begins the final stage of clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. The trial includes up to 60,000 people. If proven effective, this vaccine might only require one dose rather than two[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 24, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Socioecological factors such as low population density, a younger demographic, and hot and humid weather have likely contributed to the COVID-19 disease pattern in Africa, resulting in fewer infections. Cases in the region have also been declining over the past two months[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 25, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO publishes draft criteria for the assessment of COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use listing or prequalification. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket — that’s the message, meaning we have to invest in vaccines, but at the same time, let’s be very serious in using the tools we have at hand,”[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 28, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The world surpasses 1 million COVID-19 deaths and 33 million confirmed cases. A total of 120 million antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests from SD Biosensor and Abbott are being made available to low- and middle-income countries through volume guarantee agreements made by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 29, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The latest analysis of the open-label phase 1 study of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, shows it can generate neutralizing antibodies in adults ages 56 years and older. The older cohorts also did not have any serious adverse reactions to the vaccine at either the 25 microgram or 100 microgram dose levels[/info_list_item][/info_list][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][info_list font_size_icon=”24″][info_list_item list_title=”Sep 30, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Johnson & Johnson commits to allocate up to 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate to lower-income countries[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 1, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Africa CDC has expanded its antibody testing to 15 countries on the continent[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 2, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump test positive for COVID-19[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 3, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The Solomon Islands reports its first case of COVID-19: a student who arrived in the country on a repatriation flight from the Philippines[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 5, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”] The Lancet publishes results from a large-scale clinical trial known as the Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy — or RECOVERY — Trial, showing that the drug combination lopinavir-ritonavir is not an effective treatment for patients admitted to the hospital with COVID–19[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 6, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The pilot for the Solidarity Trial of candidate COVID-19 vaccines will start at the end of October, and the initial results could be released in January 2021. The Solidarity Trial is a global initiative launched by WHO to compare COVID-19 treatments and rapidly assess their effectiveness[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 8, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Moderna releases a statement saying it will not enforce patents on its COVID-19 vaccine for vaccine manufacturers combatting the pandemic[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 9, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]China joins COVAX, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying announces on Twitter[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 12, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Johnson & Johnson temporarily pauses clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate after an “unexplained illness in a study participant.” [/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 13, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Nearly half of the world’s workforce is at risk of losing their jobs, with informal economy workers the most vulnerable, according to a press release from the International Labour Organization[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 14, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 38 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 15, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Interim results from WHO’s Solidarity Trial find that the drugs remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, and interferon had “little or no effect” on mortality, the need for ventilation, or the length of hospital stay for COVID-19 patients[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 16, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 39 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 19, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 40 million. COVID-19 cases in Argentina surpass 1 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 20, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]A survey carried out in 19 countries finds high acceptance of a potential COVID-19 vaccine. But 28% of the 13,400 respondents said they would hesitate to get, or completely refuse, a coronavirus vaccination.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 21, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Around 100,000 people continue to test positive for COVID-19 in the Americas every day, with cases rising in the United States and Canada[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 22, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]African nations will begin to widely use rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 following WHO’s recent approval of two of these tests for emergency use. Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 41 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 24, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 42 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 26, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Data from a clinical trial of Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 antibody treatment bamlanivimab found it is ineffective in helping hospitalized patients with advanced stages of disease to recover. As a result, the treatment will no longer be administered to patients under the ACTIV-3 trial[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 27, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The Russian Direct Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund, submitted applications for WHO prequalification of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 29, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Taiwan has not reported a locally transmitted case of COVID-19 in 200 days[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Oct 30, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Members of an international group of experts had their first virtual meeting with their Chinese counterparts on efforts to establish the origin of the coronavirus, says WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a news briefing. Globally, confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 45 million. Over the past week, cases have increased at a rate of about 1 million every two days.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 1, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 46 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 2, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he is self-quarantining after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 3, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 47 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 5, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Denmark plans to cull up to 17 million minks after detecting a mutated version of the novel coronavirus on mink farms, which infected 12 people[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 7, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 49 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 9, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Pfizer and BioNTech’s mRNA-based vaccine candidate is found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 among people with no evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Globally, confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 50 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 10, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Brazil suspends clinical trials of Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine after a “serious adverse event” in one of the volunteers[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 11, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed COVID-19 cases surpass 51 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 13, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]South Korean biotech company GL Rapha will produce over 150 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea, as part of a new deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 13, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]South Korean biotech company GL Rapha will produce over 150 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea, as part of a new deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 16, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Moderna announces its COVID-19 vaccine candidate has shown 94.5% efficacy, based on interim analysis from a phase 3 study conducted among 30,000 participants in the United States. Starting two weeks after a second dose, the group that received the vaccine had five cases of COVID-19, none of which was severe. Among the placebo group, 90 participants had COVID-19, including 11 severe cases.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 19, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpasses 2 million on the African continent[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 20, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The WHO Guideline Development Group advises against use of the antiviral drug remdesivir for COVID-19, saying there is no evidence that it improves survival or decreases the need for ventilation[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 21, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]here have been more cases of COVID-19 reported in the past four weeks than in the first six months of the pandemic, says WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 23, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine showed 62% efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in participants given two full shots of the vaccine. However, the efficacy rose to 90% when the vaccine was given at only half dose during the first shot, followed by a full dose for the second shot, according to interim analysis[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 24, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine has shown 91.4% efficacy based on preliminary data from ongoing phase 3 clinical trials in the country, according to officials from the Gamaleya Institute and the Russian Direct Investment Fund[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 25, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 60 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 26, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Widespread campaigns to distribute COVID-19 vaccines in Africa will likely not happen until the second quarter of next year because of challenges around accessing vaccines and preparing countries for their distribution, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Nov 30, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Moderna announces further trial results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, showing it to be 94.1% effective against COVID-19, and 100% effective against severe cases. The company has applied for emergency use authorization from the FDA[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 1, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]U.S. press reports leaked documents revealing discrepancies in reported COVID-19 cases in Hubei province in the early days of the outbreak. China reported confirmed cases, but not suspected and clinically diagnosed cases, effectively downplaying the true size of the epidemic, experts argue. The documents also reveal that the average time between the onset of COVID-19 symptoms and a confirmed diagnosis was 23.3 days in early March[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 2, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The U.K. government approves the COVID-19 vaccine candidate from Pfizer and BioNTech for domestic use — the first country to do so[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 3, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed deaths from COVID-19 surpass 1.5 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 4, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Globally, confirmed cases of COVID-19 surpass 65 million. In response to criticisms that vaccines could prove unsafe in the long term because pharmaceutical companies rushed through the vaccine development process, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at WHO, says during a press conference that shortcuts were not taken in the scientific process. The vaccines still underwent the full process of development, but timelines were accelerated because phase one and phase two were overlapped by regulatory agencies that were willing to be flexible.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 8, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The U.K. begins to roll out a COVID-19 vaccination campaign, becoming the first nation to do so. The campaign, using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, will first inoculate front-line health workers, people over 80, and nursing home workers. The U.K. has purchased 40 million doses of the vaccine, with much of it expected to arrive next year[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 10, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announces an additional $250 million directed toward efforts to fight COVID-19, targeting the development of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and drugs and their equitable and timely distribution. The foundation’s total commitment to the global COVID-19 response is $1.75 billion.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 11, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The Asian Development Bank launches the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility, a $9 billion vaccine initiative to support its low-income member countries in the procurement and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
Vaccines that will be eligible to be financed through the facility however need to be purchased via the COVAX Facility, have received prequalification from[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 12, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Peru temporarily suspends trials for China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine candidate after a volunteer presents neurological problems. The health ministry is investigating whether the reaction was related to the vaccine[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 14, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The U.S. begins to roll out a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The country surpasses 300,000 confirmed deaths from the virus[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 16, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]European Union signs a promised €100 million ($122 million) grant and €400 million loan to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, reinforcing efforts to ensure people in low- and middle-income countries have swift access to a COVID-19 vaccine[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 17, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]French President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for COVID-19[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 18, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]WHO announces agreements are in place allowing the ‘COVAX initiative’ to access nearly 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
• 170 million doses from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
• 500 million doses from Johnson & Johnson
• 200 million from Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline
• 200 million doses of AstraZeneca-Oxford or Novavax vaccines, with an option for up to 900 million more doses[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 19, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Canada surpasses 500,000 COVID-19 cases. U.K. surpasses 2 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 20, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]New Zealand reports six new cases, bringing the total number to 2,116. Well done New Zealand![/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 21, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The first cases of COVID-19 in Antarctica are reported by Chile. 36 people, including 10 civilians and 26 officers contracted the virus in the Base General Bernardo O’Higgins. USA surpasses 18 million COVID-19 cases[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 22, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]The United Kingdom reported 691 new deaths, the highest figure for daily fatalities since early May[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 24, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Italy surpasses 2 million COVID-19 cases. The Canadian Province of Ontario reported a new record high of 2,447 COVID-19 daily cases[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 25, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Japan reported 3,748 new coronavirus cases, a record daily high. 5 cases of the mutated strain of COVID-19 were confirmed in people who had travelled to Japan from the U.K.[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 26, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Canada confirms 2 cases of the new strain of COVID-19. France confirms its 1st case of the new variant strain. Total number of COVID-19 cases across the world crossed over 80 million, with the number of deaths more than 1.75 million[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 27, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]United States of America surpasses 19 million COVID-19 cases. South Africa surpasses 1 million covid 19 cases[/info_list_item][info_list_item list_title=”Dec 29, 2020″ list_icon=”Defaults-calendar”]Singapore has reported 13 new cases (all imported), bringing the total to 58,542. 14 people have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 58,400. The death toll remains at 29[/info_list_item][/info_list][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]