VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The US has accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of allowing the Covid-19 outbreak to spin "out of control" at the cost of "many lives".  As quoted by BBC.com (18/5) US health secretary Alex Azar  on Monday said that there was a failure by this organization to obtain the information that the world needed. Mr Azar made the comments in an address to the UN's World Health Assembly/ WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier agreed to a review over the agency's handling of the pandemic.  Dr Tedros said an independent evaluation, which would look at what lessons could be learned and put forward any recommendations, would take place "at the earliest opportunity". The two-day assembly - an annual meeting involving 194 member states of the WHO that reviews the work of the UN's health agency - comes amid recriminations between the US and China over the virus//BBC

US biotech firm Moderna reported promising early results on Monday from the first clinical tests of an experimental vaccine against the novel coronavirus performed on a small number of volunteers. As quoted by AFP.com (18/5) the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said the vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, appeared to produce an immune response in eight people who received it similar to that seen in people convalescing from the virus. Moderna's chief medical officer Tal Zaks these interim Phase 1 data, while early, demonstrate that vaccination with mRNA-1273 elicits an immune response of the magnitude caused by natural infection.These data substantiate our belief that mRNA-1273 has the potential to prevent COVID-19 disease and advance our ability to select a dose for pivotal trials. Moderna, which was founded nine years ago, said the vaccine "was generally safe and well tolerated" and that patients suffered no more than redness or soreness from the shots. In a conference call, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the preliminary tests inspired confidence that mRNA-1273 has "a high probability to provide protection" against the virus//AFP

The World Health Organization on Monday kicked off its first-ever virtual assembly, with countries calling for a joint response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for any vaccine to be a "global public good". As quoted by AFP.com ( 18/5)  countries are also calling for a reform of the UN health body to ensure it is better prepared to address future pandemics.  The World Health Assembly (WHA) has been trimmed from the usual three weeks to just two days. It will focus almost solely on COVID-19, which in a matter of months has killed over 315,000 globally, and infected more than 4.7 million. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the event, saying several nations had ignored the WHO's recommendations. He warned in a video address that  different countries have followed different, sometimes contradictory, strategies and WHO is all paying a heavy price//AFP

President  China Xi Jinping stated on  Monday that China supports an independent inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic after it is "brought under control" as Europe accelerated its reopenings with landmarks Saint Peter's Basilica and the Acropolis in Athens welcoming visitors again.  As quoted by AFP.com ( 18/5) after weeks dogged by allegations from the US and elsewhere that Beijing had covered up the virus' origins, Xi insisted during the World Health Assembly that China has "always had an open, transparent and responsible attitude. More than 4.7 million people have tested positive and 315,270 killed by the disease since it emerged in Wuhan late last year. Russia offered a glimpse of hope as it reported that growth in new cases had been halted, and US biotech firm Moderna reported "positive interim" results in the first clinical tests of its vaccine against the new coronavirus//AFP