Tag: covid

Deadly pandemic surge in US as regulators meet on Pfizer vaccine

  by Agence France Presse Bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — American regulators were due to meet Thursday to assess the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for emergency approval, as the country logged one of its worst-ever daily Covid-19 death tolls with more than 3,000 people lost to the pandemic. Other northern hemisphere countries were also grappling with a winter virus surge, as the number of global infections raced towards 70 million with more than 1.5 million […]

UK issues allergy warning over Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

  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 […]

Indonesia holds nationwide poll despite virus warnings

  by Agnes ANYA Agence France Presse JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia held nationwide regional elections Wednesday with more than 100 million voters eligible to cast a ballot, despite warnings the poll would worsen the nation’s Covid-19 crisis. The archipelago of nearly 270 million — the world’s third-biggest democracy and fourth most populous nation — delayed the vote originally set for September as it struggled to contain soaring infection rates. From the capital Jakarta to […]

Israel gets first delivery of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine

TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — Israel received its first batch of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring the pandemic’s end was “in sight” and vowing to get the first jab. “This is a great celebration for Israel,” he said on the tarmac at Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv, as a fork-lift truck started unloading the cargo from a red and yellow DHL air freighter. The shipment was the first […]

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 […]

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 […]

Millions of Californians locked down, UK to start vaccinating

  by Agence France Presse bureaus An overwhelming majority of California’s residents went into lockdown Monday, putting 33 million people under stay-at-home orders as the United States battles record Covid deaths and Britain readied to vaccinate the elderly and frontline staff. The lockdown in America’s most populous state forced most offices to close and banned gatherings among different households, while bars and services such as hair salons were shut and restaurants only allowed to serve […]

Pandemic sends hunger rising in America, and children bear the brunt

by Chris Stein Agence France Presse Before the pandemic closed her middle school and US immigration agents deported her father to El Salvador, Kimberly Orellana did not fear going hungry. But with her mother now alone and cleaning houses for pay that isn’t enough to reliably feed Orellana and her two younger sisters, the 14-year-old is left to trek to a nearby school for a handout of groceries organized by a non-profit. “Everyone in our […]

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth to get Covid-19 vaccine ‘in weeks’: reports

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine within weeks, after UK regulators granted emergency approval and the world’s first roll-out begins next week, reports late Saturday said. The monarch, 94, and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip are in line to get the jab early due to their age and will not receive preferential treatment, the Mail on Sunday reported. The newspaper said Britain’s most senior royals would […]

Moscow starts inoculating vulnerable workers against coronavirus

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Moscow on Saturday began vaccinating workers at high risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus at newly opened clinics across the city. Health officials said they had opened 70 coronavirus vaccine centres in the Russian capital that would initially offer jabs for health, education and social workers. “Citizens from the main risk groups who in connection with their professional activities come into contact with a large number of people can get […]

Decreasing trend in PHL COVID cases noted; 934 add’l cases on Dec. 4, lowest rate in recent months

(Eagle News) – The Philippines recorded only 934 additional COVID-19 cases as of Friday, Dec. 4, representing the lowest number so far of additional virus cases reported in the last five months. Based on an analysis of COVID-19 cases added daily for the past few months by the Department of Health, it was on July 14 that the DOH reported less than 900, or 634 cases to be exact. On Dec. 3, there were 1,061 […]

Coronavirus cases worldwide top 65 million: AFP tally

  PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 65 million cases of the novel coronavirus have been detected worldwide, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 0750 GMT on Friday. In total, 65,084,394 cases, leading to 1,504,984 deaths, have been recorded around the world since the virus emerged in China late last year. The rise can be explained only in part by increased testing, with Europe and the United States confronted by […]