The World Health Organization yesterday said preliminary evidence indicated that Covid-19 vaccines might be less effective against infection and transmission linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant, a day after a major US study said all three US-authorised vaccines appear to be significantly less protective against the variant.

Getting an initial course of Covid-19 vaccines to unprotected groups all over the world should remain a top priority before offering booster shots to vulnerable groups, World Health Organisation (WHO) Emergency Director Mike Ryan said yesterday.

More than half a billion people globally were pushed into extreme poverty last year as they paid for health costs out of their own pockets during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization and the World Bank said yesterday.

Member states of the World Health Organization have reached a tentative consensus to negotiate a future agreement on preventing pandemics, bridging the gap between sides led by the European Union and United States, diplomats said on Sunday.

The number of smokers worldwide has dropped steadily in recent years, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, urging countries to step up control measures further to kick deadly tobacco addiction.

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday proposed 26 experts to form its new Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of novel pathogens, including several who served on its mission to Wuhan, China, to probe the source of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a shared experience that shows how interconnected our lives are and how public health depends on

The World Health Organization's pandemic programme plans to ship 100 million doses of the Sinovac (SVA.O) and Sinopharm COVID-19 shots by the end of next month, mostly to Africa and Asia, in its first delivery of Chinese vaccines, a WHO document shows.

The world is at risk of losing hard-won gains in fighting Covid-19 as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads, but WHO-approved vaccines remain effective, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday and affirmed US support for the global health body's plans to conduct additional studies into the origins of Covid-19, including in China.

The World Health Organization said on Friday that the second stage of an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 should include further studies in China and lab audits. 

Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader yesterday termed World Health Organization's (WHO) latest figure of road traffic deaths in Bangladesh “imaginary”.

People should listen to music for no more than one hour a day to protect their hearing, the WHO suggests.