World Health Organization News

Companies Cautious on Impact of Omicron Coronavirus Variant

Pandemic-weary corporations struggled to assess the impact of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus on Monday, with industries from airlines to autos awaiting more details to help determine how it might affect their operations and profits. The World Health …

Airlines Urge WHO to OK Quarantine-Free Travel After Vaccines

The airline industry has called on the World Health Organization to rule it’s safe for people to fly without quarantining once they’ve had a coronavirus vaccine. Acknowledgement of that principle from the United Nations agency is vital to the development …

Viewpoint: Who’s on the Hook if Vaccines Go Wrong?

The Covid-19 vaccines are here and distribution has begun. But what if something goes wrong? Whether it’s a loss of income, hefty medical bills or other serious adverse effects from getting a shot, someone has to pick up the tab, …

Hackers Target WHO by Posing as Think Tank, Broadcaster

The messages began arriving in World Health Organization employees’ inboxes in early April, seemingly innocuous emails about the coronavirus from news organizations and researchers. But a close examination revealed that they contained malicious links, and some security experts have traced …

Nigeria Has Chloroquine Poisonings After Trump Praised Drug

Nigeria reported two cases of chloroquine poisoning after U.S. President Donald Trump praised the anti-malaria drug as a treatment for the novel coronavirus. Health officials are warning Nigerians against self-medicating after demand for the drug surged in Lagos, a city …

Sedgwick Expands Service Offerings to Help Employers Cope with Coronavirus

While most businesses brace for an economic collapse caused by coronavirus, the outbreak has prompted creation of a new service offering by the nation’s largest claims administrator. Sedgwick, based in Memphis, Tenn., announced Thursday that it has expanded the scope …

NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS Closing Locker Rooms Amid Virus Scare

MIAMI — The NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer are closing access to locker rooms and clubhouses to all nonessential personnel, including media, in response to the coronavirus crisis, the leagues announced in a joint statement Monday …

Catastrophe Bonds Signal Coronavirus Nearing Pandemic Status

The World Health Organization says the coronavirus isn’t yet a global pandemic. Bonds that insure against just such a catastrophe say that it probably is. The bonds, sold in 2017 by the World Bank to raise money for poor countries …

Coronavirus Cases Outside China “Could be Spark” for Bigger Fire, Says WHO

BEIJING/GENEVA — The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday the spread of coronavirus cases which had no history of travel to China could be “the spark that becomes a bigger fire” as people across China trickled back to work …

Government Experts Urge New Talc Testing Standards Amid Asbestos Worries

An expert panel formed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has endorsed asbestos testing standards for cosmetics that reject long-held industry positions and reflect those of public health authorities and experts for thousands of plaintiffs who allege contaminated talc …