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by Joe Stenson with AFP bureaus Agence France Presse DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — Ireland on Sunday became the latest country to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine over concerns about patients developing post-jab blood clots, as nations across the world sought to step up their Covid-19 immunisation drives. Several countries including Denmark, Norway and Bulgaria last week paused the rollout of vaccines from the Anglo/Swedish pharma giant over fears of blood clots. The […]
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Floods and ashfall from rumbling volcano Sangay have destroyed around 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of land and crops across Ecuador, affecting 350,000 people, the risk management service (SNGRE) said on Saturday. “We support the population affected by the fall of ash from Sangay and floods nationwide,” President Lenin Moreno tweeted. Moreno also announced the restructuring of “agricultural loans” and the dispatch of “teams to assist our farmers.” About 16,320 hectares […]
OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Norwegian health officials reported three more cases of blood clots or brain haemorrhages in younger people who received the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab, but said they could not yet say they were vaccine-related. The Norwegian Medicines Agency said similar incidents had been reported in other European countries. While there was no proof of a link to the vaccine, anyone under 50 who felt unwell and developed large blue patches after vaccination should […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India will carry out a deeper review of post-vaccination side effects from the AstraZeneca shot next week although no cases of blood clots have been reported so far, an official told AFP Saturday. New Delhi decided to conduct the review after several countries suspended rollout over blood clot fears even as the World Health Organization said there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 jab. Denmark, Norway and […]
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s military is likely committing “crimes against humanity” in its attempt to stay in power, a UN expert said Thursday, as the junta claimed that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi accepted illegal payments of cash and gold. At least 70 people have reportedly been “murdered” since the February 1 coup, said Thomas Andrews, the UN’s top expert on rights in Myanmar. The country is “controlled by a murderous, […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand abruptly delayed its roll-out of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, stopping Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha from getting the first jab as several European nations suspended their programmes over blood clot fears. The kingdom was scheduled to start administering the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday, with Prayut expected to be filmed receiving the first injection. But by 8:30 am (0130 GMT) the gruff former general was nowhere to be seen, the […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan said Friday Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will meet President Joe Biden in the United States next month, becoming the first foreign leader to hold face-to-face talks with him. “If various circumstances allow, Prime Minister Suga will visit the US as early as the first half of April,” top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told reporters at a daily briefing. “With this visit, Prime Minister Suga is expected to be the first […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden will order authorities across the entire United States to lift priority restrictions on people wanting to get Covid-19 vaccinations by the start of May, an official said Thursday. “He will direct states that no later than May 1, all Americans need to be eligible to receive the vaccine,” said a senior administration official, who asked not to be identified. Biden will discuss his plans in a primetime […]
by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden signed a massive $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill Thursday ahead of giving a national address where he was set to urge “hope” on the first anniversary of the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Biden called the American Rescue Plan “historic” as he signed the package into law in the Oval Office. The bill, passed by Congress earlier this week, dishes out $1,400 payments to […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A person who has had Covid and receives a single dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines is equally or better protected than someone who never had Covid and got two doses, according to a study. “We hope this data… will help shape more nuanced vaccine policy,” co-author Viviana Simon, a professor of microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York told AFP Thursday. For […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine was shown to be 100 percent protective against severe cases of the disease, including hospitalization and death, the company said Thursday following trials. But its efficacy against the South African variant fell markedly when including mild and moderate cases, results showed. The results announced Thursday were from final analyses, following interim results that were announced in late January. In a Phase 3 trial in […]
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodia reported its first coronavirus death on Thursday as the country battles its worst outbreak since the pandemic began one year ago. A driver died in a hospital on Thursday morning in Phnom Penh after testing positive for the virus late last month, the health ministry said. Cambodia has largely escaped the brunt of the pandemic, registering just 1,163 cases, but a community cluster among Chinese expatriates has brought the […]
