Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Marburg Can Easily Get Out Of Hand': Ebola-Like Virus Spreads In West Africa
Ghana has officially confirmed two cases of the Marburg virus, a highly infectious disease similar to Ebola, its health service said on Sunday, after two people who later died tested positive for the virus earlier this month. (7/18)
Ghana announced the country’s first outbreak of Marburg virus disease after a World Health Organization laboratory confirmed earlier test results. (Kew, 7/18)
The U.K. is hit with record heat —
Britain was on course for its hottest day on record on Monday with temperatures forecast to hit 40C for the first time, forcing train companies to cancel services, schools to close early and ministers to urge the public to stay at home. (Holton and Muvija M, 7/18)
Meanwhile, covid is still hitting countries around the globe —
The British government said Friday that everyone 50 or over will be offered a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine in the fall, lowering the age threshold from the previously announced 65. The Department of Health said it had accepted advice from the U.K.’s independent vaccines adviser about the autumn booster program. (7/15)
Several large Chinese cities including Shanghai are rolling out new mass testing or extending lockdowns on millions of residents to counter new clusters of COVID-19 infections, with some measures being criticised on the internet. (7/18)
The Indian government's COVID-19 vaccinations hit 2 billion on Sunday, with booster doses underway for all adults, as daily infections hit four-month high, official data showed. (7/17)
Japan's daily COVID-19 infections hit a record of more than 110,000, Jiji news agency reported on Saturday. (7/16)
Institutional racism, greed, and a broken global health system are all working against African nations to ensure that people are dying from COVID in silence, according to a scathing assessment from the co-chair of the African Union's African Vaccine Delivery Alliance, Dr. Ayoade Alakija. (Valentine and Shapiro, 7/17)
