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LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The British government said on Friday it has asked its independent medicines regulator to assess AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine as part of the formal approval process for the drug to be rolled out by the end of the year. More than 1.4 million people have died since the novel coronavirus emerged in China late last year, and three drug developers — Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca/Oxford University — are currently applying […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — One of the developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine announced Friday that India-based drugmaker Hetero will produce over 100 million doses of the jab. “Hetero, one of India’s leading generic pharmaceutical companies, have agreed to produce in India over 100 million doses per year of the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection -– Sputnik V,” the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement, adding […]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — The World Health Organization on Thursday urged African countries to improve their capacity to vaccinate populations against Covid-19, warning the continent was still “far from ready” for mass immunization. With three coronavirus vaccines now showing efficacy rates of 70 percent or more, the UN body called on Africa to “ramp up” preparations for “the continent’s largest ever immunization drive”. The African region is so far only 33 percent ready to […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany on Friday saw its total number of coronavirus infections pass one million, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control said. The institute recorded more than 22,000 new daily cases, pushing the country’s total beyond the one million mark. Germany had largely contained the spread of the virus in the spring but has been hit hard by a second wave of infections. The number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care nationwide […]
by James PHEBY / Joe JACKSON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — More than 23 million people will be under the tightest restrictions once England’s nationwide coronavirus lockdown ends next week, but London will escape the toughest rules, the government said on Thursday. England will return to a regional tiered system when the national stay-at-home order ends on December 2, and 23.3 million residents in the worst-hit areas are set to enter the “very high” alert […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The head of British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca said on Thursday further research was needed on its Covid-19 vaccine after questions emerged over the protection it offers, but the additional testing is unlikely to affect regulatory approval in Europe. AstraZeneca and its partner, the University of Oxford, announced on Monday that it was seeking regulatory approval for the vaccine after it showed average 70 percent effectiveness. That rate jumped to 90 […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea reported its highest daily number of coronavirus cases since March on Thursday, with a surge of new infections sparking fears of a major third wave. Officials announced 583 new cases after several weeks of fresh infections ranging between around 100 and 300. The latest cases have mostly been clusters at offices, schools, gyms and small gatherings in the greater Seoul area, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Pfizer gave the office of Brazil’s health regulators results of the tests of their Covid-19 vaccine, a necessary step to approve and register the vaccine, the US-based pharmaceutical said Wednesday. “This is an important step so that the vaccine can be available in Brazil,” Pfizer said in a statement in Portuguese. Brazil, with a population of 212 million, has the highest Covid-19 death rate in the world after the United […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US plans to distribute 6.4 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the first week after it is cleared for emergency use, which is likely next month, officials said Tuesday. A committee of the Food and Drug Administration meets on December 10 to decide on whether to green light the medicine. General Gustave Perna, chief operations officer for the government’s Operation Warp Speed, told reporters some 40 million […]
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — With Covid-19 vaccines on the horizon, the planet’s poorest must not be trampled as countries scramble to get their hands on them, the World Health Organization said Monday. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the latest batch of promising results from final-phase candidate vaccine trials showed there was light at the end of the “long dark tunnel” of the coronavirus pandemic. But he said the world had to […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Staff at Shanghai’s biggest international airport are facing mass testing after a small outbreak of Covid-19 in the city was linked to several cargo handlers, with plans underway to vaccinate high-risk workers. Life in China — where the virus first emerged late last year — has largely returned to normal following strict testing and harsh lockdowns, but there has been a series of sporadic local outbreaks over recent months. Shanghai has […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British drugs group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford on Monday said their jointly-developed vaccine against Covid-19 has shown “an average efficacy of 70 percent” in trials. “This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against Covid-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency,” AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said in a statement. The results ranged between 62 and 90 percent efficacy […]
