Health Omicron COVID variant appears to spread faster than Delta, WHO says The World Health Organization said that the new Omicron COVID-19 variant appears to spread faster than current variants and that vaccines could be less effective against it. 12/12/2021
world news WHO 'confident' current COVID-19 vaccines will work against Omicron "We have very effective vaccines that have proven to be effective against all variants so far, in terms of severity of disease and hospitalisation, and there is no reason to think that this would not be the case with Omicron," said WHO emergency manager. 08/12/2021
world news Mandatory vaccination should be a last resort, says WHO Europe chief Here's what WHO's Europe office said on mandatory vaccination, booster doses and the threat of the Omicron variant. 07/12/2021
world news 'Don't panic', WHO says, as fears of Omicron COVID-19 variant rise The World Health Organization's chief scientist says the new variant is 'highly transmissible' but that the world is better prepared than in 2020. 03/12/2021
world news WHO members eye pandemic preparation as new variant emerges The World Health Organization opened a special session of member states to discuss ways to better prepare globally to fight pandemics like COVID-19. 29/11/2021
world news WHO labels new COVID-19 variant 'of concern', names it Omicron "Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of infection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs (variants of concerns)," the United Nations' health agency said in a statement. 26/11/2021
Travel News Travellers ‘bewildered’ by sudden ban on South Africa flights After the sudden red-listing of ten southern African nations, visitors have a short and expensive window in which to leave. 26/11/2021
Health Developing countries get free access to Spanish COVID testing tech Spain's public medical research body and the World Health Organization struck a deal that could make COVID testing cheaper and more accessible for poorer nations. 24/11/2021
Health How unsafe toilets are impacting the health of 3.6 billion people Clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene should be normal for everyone. Yet, almost half of the world’s population don’t have access to it. 19/11/2021
world news Europe at global epicentre as COVID deaths and cases continue to rise COVID-19 deaths have increased by 10% in the World Health Organization's Europe and Central Asia region over the last week. 10/11/2021
world news Europe and Central Asia 'could see 500k COVID deaths by February 1' Europe and Central Asia are once again at the "epicentre" of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a possible 500,000 additional deaths before February 1. 04/11/2021
View The G20 needs to make good on its COVID-19 vaccine promises | View A year ago, the G20 nations promised the world equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. A year later, what do they have to show for it? asks Amnesty International health advisor Tamaryn Nelson 29/10/2021
Health Is the world ready for the next pandemic? At the World Health Summit 2021 in Berlin, experts discussed lessons to be learned from the COVID pandemic, and how to implement them to better prepare for the next ones to come. 26/10/2021
Health COVID-19 pandemic 'far from over', warns WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned there will be more pandemics in the future. 25/10/2021
world news 'No way to sugarcoat this': Vaccine equity still way off, WHO says High-income countries have administered 133 vaccine doses per 100 people vs just four doses per 100 population in low-income countries. 21/10/2021
Health Alcohol most common cause of breast cancer, says WHO There is no safe level of alcohol consumption and the risk of breast cancer increases with each unit of alcohol per day, the WHO has warned. 20/10/2021
Health Nipah virus could cause a deadly COVID-scale pandemic. But what is it? The Nipah virus has a 40 per cent to 75 per cent mortality rate and there is no treatment or vaccine. 15/10/2021
United Kingdom Long COVID now has an official WHO clinical definition In September, there were more than one million people living in the UK who reported they were suffering from long COVID. 09/10/2021
Health WHO recommends world's first malaria vaccine for African children WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called it a "historic moment". 06/10/2021
Health COVID: EMA backs 3rd vaccine dose for people with weak immune systems The EMA has advised people with "severely weakened immune systems" to get a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID vaccines. 05/10/2021
Green News Air pollution is worse than we thought - but there's hope of a fix How can the new Global Air Quality Guidelines help countries tackle both air pollution and climate change? 24/09/2021
Health WHO suspends Sputnik V approval process over 'manufacturing' concerns A regional WHO official said one manufacturing plant for the vaccine had failed to meet the necessary standards. 16/09/2021
Switzerland WHO chief will 'continue to call for vaccine equity until we get it' Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed again for drug companies to prioritise the UN-backed COVAX initiative designed to share vaccines globally. 14/09/2021
world news Vulnerable can get 3rd jab as Europe face 'worrying' COVID surge: WHO A further 236,000 people could lose their lives to the pandemic across Europe by December 1, the World Health Organization confirmed. 30/08/2021
Health Are COVID-19 vaccines safe for pregnant women? Euronews Next spoke to the World Health Organization to find out the impact of COVID vaccines on pregnant women, fertility and periods. 27/08/2021
world news WHO calls for COVID booster jab moratorium until the end of September The head of the UN agency stressed that "hundreds of millions" worldwide are still waiting for their first dose. 04/08/2021