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PARIS, France (AFP) — France recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases in nearly four months on Wednesday, with the hard-hit Paris region bracing for a possible weekend lockdown to stem the rising tide of cases. In the past 24 hours, 38,501 new infections were registered, up from 29,975 the day before, and the highest number since November, the public health authority said. The “positivity” rate — the proportion of positive results compared to […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will lift a virus state of emergency in the Tokyo area, the prime minister said Wednesday, less than five months before the postponed Tokyo Olympics are due to begin. Yoshihide Suga said the measure would not be extended past Sunday, when it is due to end, because indicators including daily new cases and hospital bed occupancy “pointed towards lifting the state of emergency”. The official decision to end the state […]
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s incoming health minister vowed Wednesday to implement science-based policies against Covid-19 and said he may make “adjustments” to far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s widely criticized management of the pandemic. Bolsonaro, who has defied expert advice on handling the new coronavirus, is facing pressure to contain an explosion of cases that is pushing Brazil’s hospitals to the brink and threatening his own chances at re-election next year. In a change […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The WHO’s expert vaccine advisers on Wednesday recommended Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 jab for use in countries where coronavirus variants of concern are circulating. The World Health Organization gave its seal of approval on Friday to the vaccine, which has the advantages of being a single-shot jab that can be stored at regular refrigeration rather than ultra-cold temperatures. After meeting on Monday, the WHO’s […]
by Taylor Thompson-Fuller in Sydney and Holly Robertson in Brisbane Agence France Presse PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — Papua New Guinea’s health minister on Wednesday told AFP the country’s record wave of coronavirus infections will “spike” further in coming weeks, calling on drug-maker AstraZeneca to urgently deliver one million vaccine doses to staunch the looming crisis. Jelta Wong warned his under-resourced nation was already “running at full throttle” to prevent a wave of […]
PGH appeals for public to strictly observe health protocols to prevent further infections https://youtu.be/QcTPSQR6jVE (Eagle News) – The Philippine General Hospital said that around 80 percent of its COVID-19 hospital beds are now occupied, and its ICU beds are also all occupied. Dr. Jonas del Rosario, PGH Spokesperson, said that the PGH is not yet overwhelmed with cases, but they are concerned because this high occupancy rate is the highest they had in four […]
DOH and FDA: “No indication for the PHL to stop rollout of AstraZeneca vaccines” despite suspension of AstraZeneca use in Europe (Eagle News) – The current 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines will be used as the first dose for health care workers to further expand the coverage of the country’s vaccine roll-out, according to the Department of Health (DOH). The DOH also assured that it would be closely monitoring the vaccines used in the […]
by Nina Larson with Agence France Presse bureaus GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — WHO safety experts prepared to meet Tuesday over the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine whose rollout has been halted in several European countries over blood clot fears, imperilling the pandemic fight as infection rates surge. The three largest EU nations — Germany, Italy and France — joined others in suspending the shot Monday, dealing a blow to the global immunisation campaign against a disease […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro announced Monday that he will appoint cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga as health minister, the fourth to hold the post during the pandemic, as the country’s health system staggers amid surging Covid-19 cases. “It was decided now in the afternoon to appoint physician Marcelo Queiroga to the Ministry of Health,” Bolsonaro said in a brief meeting with his supporters at the Alvorada presidential palace. The transition process “should take […]
MONTREAL, Canada ( AFP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday urged Canadians to take the AstraZeneca vaccine, in response to reports of hesitancy after several nations halted its rollout over fears of blood clots and other side effects. “Our experts and scientists have spent an awful lot of time making sure that every vaccine approved in Canada is both safe and effective,” Trudeau told a news conference in Montreal, where he toured a Covid-19 […]
LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — Portugal has followed the lead of other EU countries and stopped rolling out AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine after reports of “serious but rare” side effects, health chief Graca Freitas said on Monday. The decision was taken “as a precaution” pending advice from the EU’s regulator, said Freitas, head of Portugal’s public health agency the DGS. The European Medicines Agency will hold a special meeting on Thursday to decide whether measures are needed […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil has ordered 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine and another 38 million of Johnson & Johnson’s, the health minister said Monday, seeking to accelerate the hard-hit country’s lagging immunization campaign. Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said Brazil had secured a total of 563 million vaccine doses by the end of the year — some single- and some double-dose vaccines — and defended his handling of the pandemic, as rumors […]
