Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany will begin coronavirus vaccinations on December 27 with elderly care home residents, Health Minister Jens Spahn announced Wednesday, with the European Union aiming for all 27 member states to begin on the same day. In a statement, Germany’s 16 state-level health ministers said Spahn had announced “the expected approval and supply of the BioNTech vaccine” with distribution beginning shortly before year’s end. As Germany holds the EU’s rotating presidency, that […]
by Ed FRANKL Agence France Presse FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany reported a record number of deaths from Covid-19 on Wednesday, the first day of a new partial lockdown to try to halt a surge in infections. A total of 952 people died in the previous 24 hours, according to the Robert Koch Institute disease control centre. It said 27,728 new coronavirus cases were registered, a figure close to the daily record […]
by Danny KEMP Agence France Presse THE HAGUE, The Netherlands (AFP) — The EU’s medicines regulator on Tuesday dramatically advanced the decision day for the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus jab under pressure from Germany, meaning vaccinations in the bloc could start by the year’s end. The Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency’s announcement that it will meet on December 21 instead of December 29 to decide whether to authorise the shot, followed a growing backlash from desperate EU […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spanish pharmaceutical company Reig Jofre said Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to produce the US drugmaker’s giant’s Covid-19 vaccine at its plant in Barcelona. Under the terms of the agreement, Reig Jofre said it will be responsible for the formulation, filling and packaging of the vaccine once it get regulatory approval, while J&J’s Belgian subsidiary Janssen will handle distribution. Reig Jofre in 2018 invested 30 […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The United Nations agency for education, UNESCO, on Monday called on governments to give teachers priority access to the new Covid-19 vaccines and be treated like “frontline” workers. The call came as the United States, the country worst hit by the virus, kickstarted the biggest vaccination drive in its history by giving the jab to a nurse in New York. “As we see positive developments regarding vaccination we believe that teachers […]
by Anna MALPAS LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British capital faces tougher Covid-19 measures within days, the UK government said on Monday, with a new coronavirus variant emerging as a possible cause for rapidly rising infection rates. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said London, and parts of three surrounding counties, would move into the highest of three levels of restrictions in force across England from Wednesday. Pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues will have […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Shops selling non-essential goods, hair-salons and schools in Germany will close from Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, to halt an “exponential growth” in new coronavirus infections in Europe’s biggest economy. The partial lockdown will apply until January 10, with companies also urged to allow employees to work from home or offer extended company holidays, under the new measures agreed by Merkel with regional leaders of Germany’s 16 states on Sunday. Alcohol […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s Russian branch said Friday it would use part of Russia’s homemade Sputnik V vaccine in further clinical trials. “Today we announce a clinical trial programme to assess safety and immunogenicity of a combination of AZD1222, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and Sputnik V, developed by Russian Gamaleya Research institute,” AstraZeneca said in a statement published on its website in English and Russian. The pharmaceutical company said […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British government said Thursday that it would begin offering coronavirus tests for children aged 11-18 in the worst-affected parts of London and southeast England to try to cut a rise in infections. UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “particularly concerned” about a spike in cases in London, and parts of the counties of Kent and Essex that border the British capital. He told a news conference that […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British health officials on Wednesday warned that anyone with a history of significant allergic reactions should not have the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid jab for the time being. The warning came after two members of the state-run National Health Service who were among the first to receive the vaccine on Tuesday suffered allergic reactions and needed treatment. NHS England medical director Stephen Powis said both people, who had a history of […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it plans to provide 500 million doses of its vaccine for poor countries once results of clinical trials are announced by the end of January. It plans to sell the vaccine at cost price and will provide the doses to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the group’s scientific director Paul Stoffels told a virtual round table in Geneva. The vaccine is currently undergoing final-stage […]
by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said Tuesday he understands concerns around the speed at which pharmaceutical companies have produced Covid-19 vaccines, but insisted that no corners had been cut. As Britain on Tuesday became the first Western country to start a mass coronavirus vaccine campaign, using the new Pfizer-BioNTech jab, Bourla said people should feel confident that it is safe and effective. “We didn’t cut any corners,” he […]
