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JERUSALEM (AFP) — The South African coronavirus variant is better at “breaking through” the defences of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine than other forms of the virus, Israeli experts said Sunday. However, one of the authors told AFP that while the study showed the variant to be relatively successful in infecting vaccinated people, it did not provide any data on whether it could generate serious illness among vaccinees. The study by Tel Aviv University and Clalit […]
by Allison Jackson and Cecil Morella Agence France Presse Angelo Barrera’s father struggled to breathe from Covid-19 as he was driven around the Philippine capital in search of a hospital bed. After five hours he got on a waitlist, but died before he could get inside. More contagious variants of the coronavirus have been blamed for a record surge in infections in Metro Manila that has overstretched hospitals and sent the national capital region into […]
by Paul RICARD and Stuart WILLIAMS PARIS, France (AFP) — France on Friday said under 55s who received a first injection of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine should be given a second jab from a different producer, but the WHO warned there was not sufficient data to recommend the practice. France’s national health authority HAS last month said the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to those aged 55 and over because of reports of potentially […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government approved tighter coronavirus measures for the capital and other areas on Friday, weeks after lifting a state of emergency and with just over 100 days until the postponed Tokyo Olympics. The new restrictions are far less severe than the blanket lockdowns seen in other countries and mainly call for restaurants and bars to close at 8 pm, with the threat of fines for those that do not. They are […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York state will issue one-time payments of up to $15,000 to undocumented migrants who lost work during the pandemic under a multi-billion-dollar fund championed by progressive Democrats but opposed by Republicans. The payments, by far the largest of their kind in the United States, will help tens of thousands of people who arrived in America illegally and who are unable to collect unemployment insurance or federal stimulus checks. […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain on Wednesday announced it would reserve the AstraZeneca vaccine for those over 60 after an EU regulator said blood clots should be listed as a rare side effect of the jab. “We will continue to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine, but from the age of 60,” Health Minister Caroline Darias told a press conference as the country joined several other nations that have taken similar measures. The EU medicines regulator EMA […]
by Ammu KANNAMPILLY MUMBAI, India (AFP) — More than 700 million people across India were facing coronavirus vaccine shortages Thursday, local media reported, as infection numbers hit yet another daily record. Case numbers had eased in India but a second wave of the virus has since returned with a vengeance, with more than 126,000 new infections recorded in the past 24 hours, a new record. Several regions have tightened curbs on activity while Maharashtra, the […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Thursday joined a growing number of countries halting the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for younger people over fears it can cause serious blood clots. In a further setback for Australia’s already halting coronavirus vaccine rollout, officials said the AstraZeneca shot should no longer be given to people under the age of 50, unless they had already received a first dose without any ill effects. Prime Minister Scott […]
by Callum PATON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain moved Thursday to reassure the public over the safety of its coronavirus vaccine campaign, after deciding to offer alternatives to an AstraZeneca jab amid blood clot concerns. Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged people to keep getting inoculated, a day after Britain’s medicines regulator said the vaccine developed by the British-Swedish firm was linked to 79 cases of rare clotting and 19 deaths. But those under 30 […]
by Martine PAUWELS LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Richer countries are failing a “rudimentary” test of global solidarity by hoarding Covid vaccines, Amnesty International said Wednesday as it accused China and others of exploiting the pandemic to undermine human rights. In its annual report, the campaigning rights organisation said the health crisis had exposed “broken” policies and that cooperation was the only way forward. “The pandemic has cast a harsh light on the world’s inability […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany’s Bavaria region has signed a provisional agreement to buy doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine once it is approved by European regulators, state premier Markus Soeder said Wednesday. The southern state has “signed a memorandum of understanding today… for the supply of Sputnik,” Soeder told reporters in Munich. If the Sputnik vaccine is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Bavaria is set to receive around 2.5 million doses […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States will soon be able to ramp up vaccine assistance abroad and will not seek “favors in return,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, putting a veteran aid administrator in charge. Blinken said the top US priority was to fight Covid-19 at home but that the goal would be achieved soon, pointing to President Joe Biden’s promise that 90 percent of Americans will be near a […]
