by Kelly MACNAMARA PARIS, France (AFP) — Oxford University and AstraZeneca on Tuesday became the first Covid-19 vaccine makers to publish final-stage clinical trial data in a scientific journal, clearing a key hurdle in the global race to produce safe and effective drugs for the coronavirus. The study, published in the respected Lancet medical journal, confirmed that the vaccine works in an average of 70 percent of cases. It comes during a flurry of positive […]
Other News
Pres. Duterte tells LGUs to look for available hotels, inns to house COVID-19 suspected cases
Says he will assume “full responsibility” for paying hotels (Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte directed all local government units to look for hotels, motels and inns which can be used as temporary isolation facilities for people who have been swabbed for COVID-19 where they will await test results, and eventually stay while under quarantine if they test positive. Duterte observed there is not enough spaces or areas where people suspected of having COVID-19 […]
Everest ‘grows’ as China, Nepal agree new height
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — The highest point on Earth got a bit higher Tuesday as China and Nepal finally agreed on a precise elevation for Mount Everest after decades of debate. The agreed height unveiled at a joint news conference in Kathmandu of 8,848.86 metres (29,031 feet) was 86 centimetres (2.8 feet) higher than the measurement previously recognised by Nepal, and more than four metres above China’s official figure. The discrepancy was due to the […]
Mystery illness frays India’s coronavirus nerves
BANGLORE, India (AFP) — Hundreds of people have been treated for mystery illness in a southern Indian town, with one doctor ruling out “mass hysteria” at a time nerves are already frayed because of the coronavirus. The government rushed medical experts to Eluru in Andhra Pradesh state to investigate the illness, which first appeared Saturday causing seizures, nausea and chronic pain. Officials said nearly 500 people have been treated — with most swiftly recovering — […]
PHL COVID-19 total at 442,785; recoveries rise to 408,790
(Eagle News) — COVID-19 cases in the country breached the 442,000 mark on Tuesday, December 8, after the Department of Health reported 1400 additional cases. The DOH said of the 442785 total COVID-19 cases, 5.7 percent or 25325 were active. Of these, 84.8 percent were mild, 6.6 percent asymptomatic, 5.5 percent critical, 2.8 percent severe, and 0.32 percent moderate. The areas with the most COVID-19 cases reported today were Benguet with 101, Davao City with […]
Australia to force Google, Facebook to pay for news content
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Facebook and Google could be required to pay news outlets for their content in “world first” legislation set to be introduced to Australia’s parliament on Wednesday. In one of the most aggressive moves to check the power of the US digital giants, Canberra plans to compel the companies to pay media organisations when their platforms host their content or face millions of dollars in fines. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the […]
JUST IN: Briton, 90, first person to receive Pfizer Covid vaccine
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Tuesday began the biggest vaccination program in the country’s history, with a 90-year-old grandmother becoming the first person to receive the Covid vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech. The historic inoculation was given to Margaret Keenan in Coventry, central England. © Agence France-Presse
Pres. Duterte presses for free COVID-19 tests for the public; says gov’t should shoulder costs
Tasks DOH Sec. Duque to find ways to achieve this by next year (Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte said he would be looking for ways to lower the prices of COVID-19 tests, including swab tests or RT-PCR tests, to make it more affordable. He is even thinking of having government shoulder the swab tests so that the public, especially the poor and marginalized, do not have to pay for these. President Duterte even […]
NLEX Corp. says some 2% of RFID stickers defective; adds it has reached out to specific vehicle owners
(Eagle News) — Some 2 percent of RFID stickers installed on vehicles are defective, the North Luzon Expressway Corp. said on Tuesday, Dec. 8. But NLEX Corp. senior vice president Romulo Quimbo Jr. said in a television interview that the company has already identified which ones these were, and has already reached out to the specific vehicle owners. “Many of the motorists who have already changed the stickers have already successfully traversed the system,” he […]
Hong Kong to impose new virus restrictions to battle fourth wave
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong will ban evening dining at restaurants and close fitness centres, the city’s leader said Tuesday, as part of new measures aimed at stemming a fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the rules aim to reduce the “number of people on the streets”, echoing moves taken by authorities when cases spiked earlier this year. Dining out will be banned after 6 pm, beauty and massage […]
WHO against mandatory Covid-19 vaccines
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said Monday that persuading people on the merits of a Covid-19 vaccine would be far more effective than trying to make the jabs mandatory. The WHO said it would be down to individual countries as to how they want to conduct their vaccination campaigns against the coronavirus pandemic. But the UN health agency insisted making it mandatory to get immunized against the disease would […]
Pfizer to deliver first vaccine doses to Canada in December: PM
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Pfizer and BioNTech will deliver the first doses of their Covid-19 vaccine to Canada this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday, with inoculations to start as early as next week. Another vaccine candidate developed by Moderna could also be shipped “as soon as December,” the American company said. At a news conference, Trudeau said a deal was signed with Pfizer and BioNTech “to begin early delivery of doses of their […]





