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by Holmes CHAN Three years of democracy protests followed by a pandemic have devastated Hong Kong retailers who had grown used to relying on cash from mainland Chinese tourists. In a city that once boasted some of the world’s highest retail rents, the market has cratered. But a border town has seized the chance to evolve its local economy. Sheung Shui is the first town from the main overland border crossing and once thrived as […]
Covid infections in France hit six figures Saturday, health officials recording 104,611 cases over the previous 24 hours, the third consecutive day the numbers have been record highs. The latest figures, from France’s public health agency, come ahead of a video-conference meeting Monday in which President Emmanuel Macron and key members of his government will discuss new Covid safety measures. Officials are concerned about the effect of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Already […]
PHL FDA chief says EUA granted to Pfizer for administration to kids aged 5 to 11; vaccination could start in January next year depending on supplies (Eagle News) – The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of Pfizer vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 years old in the country. FDA Director-General Undersecretary Eric Domingo said that they have already approved the emergency use authority (EUA) for the administration […]
by Jing Xuan Teng, with Agence France Presse Bureaus BEIJING, China (AFP) — China shut down a city of 13 million people on Thursday in a bid to extinguish a tiny Covid-19 outbreak and chase its zero-case goal, as other nations around the globe battled huge infection surges driven by the Omicron variant. Early studies from South Africa and Britain gave some cause for hope, however, indicating Omicron infections appear to result in fewer […]
“No country can boost its way out of the pandemic,” warns WHO chief LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The WHO warned Wednesday that rich countries cannot use boosters to escape the coronavirus and France became one of the first nations to vaccinate children over five, as nations scrambled to contain Omicron surges. China meanwhile cracked down on the latest outbreak of the virus, shutting down a whole city. And Britain, which reported a record […]
by Issam AHMED Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – The United States on Wednesday authorized Pfizer’s anti-Covid pill for high-risk people aged 12 and up, as a surge of cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant threatened holiday plans and Americans struggled to find tests. Paxlovid, which comprises two types of tablet, was granted an emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after a clinical trial showed it to reduce […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Tuesday approved a Covid vaccine made by US pharma giant Novavax for emergency use, after the European Union medicines regulator gave it the green light. The European Medicines Agency had assessed and approved Nuvaxovid on Monday. It is made from a more conventional technology than others already approved, which has led officials in Brussels to express hope that this will help persuade those hesitant about […]
From the previous interval of 6 months, boosters can now be administered 3 months after second primary vaccine dose (Eagle News) — Effective December 22, the interval for the administration of booster doses shall be shortened — from at least six months to at least three months after the full or second dose of the primary vaccine, according to the Department of Health. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the shortened interval between the second […]
Thailand reimposed mandatory coronavirus quarantine measures for foreign tourists on Tuesday, nixing a quarantine-free travel scheme as the kingdom seeks to stifle the spread of the Omicron variant. The pandemic has clobbered the country’s tourism-dominated economy, which last year experienced its worst performance since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In early November Thailand reopened to fully vaccinated travellers — who had to isolate for a night until they received a negative PCR test — from […]
by Jan HENNOP There is “no answer yet” on whether vaccine makers will have to adapt their Covid shots to counter the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant, Europe’s medicines watchdog chief said on Tuesday. The highly-mutated variant, now present in dozens of countries, appears to be more contagious than previous strains and is driving new waves of infections globally. Scientists are also examining whether it is more resistant to vaccines than previous strains. But the head of […]
by Michelle FITZPATRICK Germany’s leaders on Tuesday limited private New Year’s parties to 10 people and banned spectators from football games to stem Omicron’s spread, stopping short of imposing new coronavirus curbs before Dec. 25. Speaking after talks with Germany’s 16 regional leaders, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the country was facing “a fifth wave” as the new, highly contagious Omicron variant sweeps the globe. “We are all tired of the pandemic, but that doesn’t help […]
Considered as the largest single donation of Pfizer vaccines to the PHL from the 500 million doses made available by US The United States, in partnership with the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, donated an additional 3,400,020 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippines as part of its continuing worldwide effort to help end COVID-19. The vaccines, delivered in two separate shipments to Manila on December 20 and 21, were part […]
