The Hill: Trust and transparency are necessary to make COVID-19 vaccine successful
Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy

“The world is desperately awaiting a COVID-19 vaccine, but not just any vaccine will do. We must ensure that any vaccine that emerges, particularly through an accelerated process, is proven safe and effective in a transparent and science-driven process. Without such assurance, much of the public may not buy into it. … In the past seven months, we have learned that COVID-19 does not yield an inch to political tactics or media campaigns. It does not follow consumer sentiment polls or approval ratings. The impending election, the stock market, and the yearning for a return to normalcy must not distort the decision on whether to approve a vaccine. Only science and rigorous testing can bring an end to this pandemic — and then only if the public can trust in the result” (10/23).

News24: OPINION | Women are they key to a post-Covid recovery
Roberta Clarke, regional director for Eastern Africa and Southern Africa at U.N. Women, and Chimimba David Phiri, sub-regional coordinator for eastern Africa at FAO and representative to the African Union and UNECA

“The social and economic toll of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is having devastating effects on rural economies across Africa. It is affecting rural women’s productive, reproductive, and income-generating capacities because it tends to reduce their economic opportunities and access to nutritious foods, while at the same time increasing their workloads and escalating gender-based violence. Covid-19 lays bare structural and societal inequalities; and without significant investments and commitment to gender equality and social justice, we expect these to deepen, undermining efforts to achieve the SDGs (sustainable development goals). … On the occasion of the International Rural Women’s Day on 15 October, U.N. Women and FAO reiterate their commitment to working with governments, rural women’s organizations, and the private sector to ensure that women are supported in their roles in sustaining local economies, securing rural households and communities, and improving rural wellbeing” (10/24).