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by Anna MALPAS LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British capital faces tougher Covid-19 measures within days, the UK government said on Monday, with a new coronavirus variant emerging as a possible cause for rapidly rising infection rates. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said London, and parts of three surrounding counties, would move into the highest of three levels of restrictions in force across England from Wednesday. Pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues will have […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — One in four health centres worldwide lacks access to water, putting around 1.8 billion people at increased risk of contracting the coronavirus, the World Health Organization said Monday. The lack of this basic amenity endangers patients and staff alike at such centres, the WHO said in a joint report with the UN children’s agency UNICEF. The study was based on data from 165 countries. “Working in a healthcare facility without water, […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Shops selling non-essential goods, hair-salons and schools in Germany will close from Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, to halt an “exponential growth” in new coronavirus infections in Europe’s biggest economy. The partial lockdown will apply until January 10, with companies also urged to allow employees to work from home or offer extended company holidays, under the new measures agreed by Merkel with regional leaders of Germany’s 16 states on Sunday. Alcohol […]
by Issam Ahmed with AFP bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was to begin leaving the company’s Michigan factory on Sunday, ready to be injected into the arms of millions of the most vulnerable Americans as the global death toll topped 1.6 million. Doses will be shipped out in boxes containing dry ice that are capable of staying at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit), the frigid temperature needed to preserve […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US said Friday it was purchasing 100 million more doses of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by Moderna, amid reports the government passed on the opportunity to secure more supply of the Pfizer jab. The agreement brings the total number of Moderna doses bought by the US to 200 million, enough to immunize 100 million people with the two-shot regimen. “Securing another 100 million doses from Moderna by June […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s Russian branch said Friday it would use part of Russia’s homemade Sputnik V vaccine in further clinical trials. “Today we announce a clinical trial programme to assess safety and immunogenicity of a combination of AZD1222, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, and Sputnik V, developed by Russian Gamaleya Research institute,” AstraZeneca said in a statement published on its website in English and Russian. The pharmaceutical company said […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — America’s billionaires have seen their wealth rise by more than $1 trillion since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study Wednesday, fueling a debate about higher taxes on the rich. The collective wealth of the 651 billionaires in the United States soared from $2.95 trillion on March 18 to $4.01 billion on Monday, said the Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF). […]
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 […]
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 […]
BANGLORE, India (AFP) — Traces of heavy metals such as lead and nickel have been found in samples taken from 550 people stricken by a mystery illness in a southern Indian town where some victims have collapsed in the street, officials said. The government has rushed medical experts to Eluru in Andhra Pradesh state to investigate the illness, which first appeared Saturday. One man died after showing the symptoms of seizures, nausea and chronic pain. […]
by Nina LARSON GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said Tuesday he understands concerns around the speed at which pharmaceutical companies have produced Covid-19 vaccines, but insisted that no corners had been cut. As Britain on Tuesday became the first Western country to start a mass coronavirus vaccine campaign, using the new Pfizer-BioNTech jab, Bourla said people should feel confident that it is safe and effective. “We didn’t cut any corners,” he […]
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 […]
