WHO Africa stresses rigorous clinical testing

Public sequence data supplied a basis for molecular assays; validation and distribution followed later.

The dated release concerns genetic information, not a claim that vaccines or treatments were already available.

WHO and Africa CDC launched a 25-member committee to advise on testing proposed traditional therapies for COVID-19.

The newly launched panel emphasized clinical trials that assess efficacy, safety and quality; it did not certify a COVID-19 remedy.

Members came from research institutions, regulators, traditional medicine programmes and civil society across the region.

An independent commission certified interruption of indigenous wild poliovirus transmission in the region.

Health workers and communities sustained immunization and surveillance across countries.

The achievement did not eliminate vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks.

The announcement recognized sustained prevention, case detection and international cooperation.

A regional expert panel endorsed a phase III clinical trial protocol for candidate herbal products against COVID-19, without approving a product.