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PARIS, France (AFP) — Health authorities say the most widespread anti-Covid weapon — surgical masks — must be thrown away after a single use, but environmental concerns are pushing some scientists to question this recommendation. As the coronavirus continues to spread, masks have in many places become mandatory on public transport, in shops and at work. But cost has become an issue, as has the fact so many disposable plastic masks wind up in […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer is “very close” to applying for an emergency use approval for its Covid-19 vaccine after collecting safety data to submit to US regulators, the company’s CEO said Tuesday, according to a report. The pharmaceutical giant announced last week preliminary results from a late-stage clinical trial showing the injections it had co-developed with Germany’s BioNTech was more than 90 percent effective after the second dose. “We are very close to […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France said Tuesday it was preparing to kick off a nationwide Covid vaccination campaign in January when it hopes virus shots will be approved and available. The government is worried that millions of French people will refuse coronavirus shots, even after a vaccine was found to be nearly 95 percent effective on Monday, bringing optimism to a world facing surging infections and a raft of new stay-at-home orders. US biotech […]
by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Moderna on Monday announced its experimental vaccine against Covid-19 was almost 95 percent effective, a result hailed by the country’s top infectious disease scientist as “stunningly impressive.” Moderna’s early results from a clinical trial with more than 30,000 participants marks a second major breakthrough in the quest to end the pandemic. Last week, American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States’ top infectious disease scientist on Monday hailed early results from Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine trial as “stunningly impressive,” calling the findings an emphatic validation of experimental mRNA technology that some had doubted. “I must admit that I would have been satisfied with 70 or at the most 75 percent efficacy,” he told AFP. “The idea that we have a 94.5 percent effective vaccine is stunningly […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The coronavirus vaccine being developed by Sanofi won’t need to be super-cooled and a normal refrigerator will suffice, the Paris-based drugmaker’s France chief Olivier Bogillot said Sunday. His comments came days after American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced that their vaccine had proven 90 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 infections in ongoing Phase 3 trials involving more than 40,000 people. The companies said they expect to […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Dozens of companies, from biotech start-ups to Big Pharma, are racing to develop a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine, both to meet urgent medical need and for the potential payday. Here’s an update on the quest for a magic bullet against the coronavirus that has already killed more than a million people worldwide. How many in the pipeline? The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified 42 “candidate vaccines” at the stage […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US has surpassed 11 million coronavirus cases, adding one million new cases in less than a week, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The dizzying rise came as cities and states across the United States were implementing new restrictions to try to halt the spread of the virus, with stay-at-home orders set to be imposed on Chicago Monday. The US had crossed the 10 million case […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The Belgian government said Monday it intends to make any coronavirus vaccine available to around 70 percent of the population, some eight million people, and free of charge. The jab will not be compulsory, added Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke as he and regional counterparts attended an interministerial health conference. “The objective is to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the population. Priority groups will be determined on the basis of scientific […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Sunday that his government has agreed to buy 10 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19. The vaccines will come in the first quarter of 2021, Maduro said at an event in Caracas broadcast on government television, adding that “Venezuela will manufacture the Russian vaccine in the Venezuelan laboratories.” In August, Russia became the first country to register a vaccine against Covid-19, which it […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday failed to push through additional curbs to combat the coronavirus, as she said ongoing restrictions have helped to halt a runaway rise in infection numbers. Speaking after talks with the leaders of Germany’s 16 states, Merkel said the country had managed to “break the dynamic of new infections” after restaurants, leisure facilities and cultural sites were ordered to close again from the start of November. But […]
by Joseph SOTINEL Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Bitcoin’s rally above $15,000 has reignited debate over whether the cryptocurrency is so-called digital gold or a perilously risky bet as investors grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s most popular virtual unit has gained over 30 percent in value in almost three weeks up to Friday (November 6), taking it close to its December 2017 peak when it reached nearly $20,000. After […]
