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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Pacific Rim trade and foreign ministers agreed to push for a freeze on fossil fuel subsidies at a virtual summit Wednesday but host Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand said more “bold” action on climate change was needed. Ministers from the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group met online to discuss their Covid-19 response ahead of a meeting of national leaders on Saturday including US President Joe Biden and […]
by James PHEBY LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — All frontline workers in the National Health Service (NHS) in England will need to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 from April 1 or lose their jobs, Health Minister Sajid Javid said on Tuesday. “Having considered the… advice of my officials and NHS leaders including the chief executive of the NHS, I have concluded that all those working in the NHS and social care will have to be […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech announced Tuesday they have formally submitted a request asking US officials for emergency authorization of their Covid-19 booster vaccine for people aged 18 and older. The move follows research published by the companies in late October indicating a third shot is 95.6 percent effective against symptomatic infection, based on clinical trials carried out on 10,000 people. The companies asked the US Food and Drug Administration to […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization’s chief scientist said Tuesday she was looking forward to the “second generation” of Covid-19 vaccines, which could include nasal sprays and oral versions. Soumya Swaminathan said such vaccines could have advantages over the current crop as they would be easier to deliver than injections and could even be self-administered. Swaminathan said there were 129 different candidate vaccines that have got as far as clinical trials — being […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Moderna has applied to the European Union’s medicine regulator for approval of its Covid-19 vaccine for children aged six to 11, the US biotechnology company announced Tuesday. The dosage for the two injections administered four weeks apart has been adjusted to 50 micrograms, compared with the 100 micrograms for shot recipients in older age groups. “We are pleased to announce the submission of this variation to the EMA,” the European […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Thousands of demonstrators marched on the New Zealand parliament to protest against Covid-19 restrictions Tuesday, prompting a major police deployment at the Wellington building known as the Beehive. About 3,000 people, most not wearing masks, made their way through the capital’s city centre, including dozens of motorcyclists in biker gang regalia performing burnouts. Some attendees carried “Trump 2020” flags, while others bore signs carrying messages from Maori groups, those impacted […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A Covid-hit Chinese city is offering thousands of dollars for anyone giving clues in tracing the source of its latest outbreak, as part of a “people’s war” to stamp out one of the country’s largest resurgences in months. China reported 43 local cases on Tuesday in a Delta-driven surge that has fanned out to 20 provinces and regions, keeping new case numbers in the double-digits over the past three weeks. As […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 250 million Covid-19 infections have been recorded worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to an AFP count compiled from official reports at 2100 GMT on Monday. Globally, more than five million deaths from Covid-19 have been recorded so far, but the vast majority of those infected have recovered. Some, however, have continued to experience symptoms weeks or even months later. The figures are based on daily […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid has tested positive for Covid-19 and is expected to miss several games, US media reports said Monday. ESPN and The Athletic website said the Cameroon international returned a positive Covid-19 test early Monday and had entered the league’s health and safety protocols. The 27-year-old power forward was already due to be rested for Monday’s game between the Sixers and the New York Knicks, which […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US First Lady Jill Biden on Monday visited a school in Virginia to promote vaccinations for five- to 11-year-olds, the latest effort in the White House’s push to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. The president’s wife, a university professor, was the first senior personality sent out to advocate for the vaccine since it was approved for younger children in the United States on November 2. Visiting Franklin Sherman Elementary School in […]
by AFP bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States reopened its land and air borders Monday to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19, ending 20 months of travel restrictions that separated families, hobbled tourism and strained diplomatic ties. The ban, imposed by former president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, has been widely criticized and become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic. At airports in […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany’s incidence rate measuring the number of new coronavirus infections per 100,000 people over the last seven days soared to 201.1 on Monday, a record since the pandemic erupted more than a year ago. The last high had been 197.6, reached on December 22, 2020. With the vaccination rate in the country stagnating at under 70 percent, officials have pleaded in the last days for the population to get the jab. […]
