Tag: vaccine

Japan to issue vaccine passport for travel abroad

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan said on Thursday it will make a vaccine passport available from a next month for Japanese travellers, as governments around the world experiment with ways to relaunch tourism and business trips. “We are preparing to issue a certificate of vaccination for those who need one… when they visit foreign countries,” top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato told reporters. The certificate will be paper-based rather than digital and will be issued by […]

Japan to donate AstraZeneca vaccines to the PHL

https://youtu.be/_7AnDK1bOpo   (Eagle News) — Japan will be donating AstraZeneca vaccine doses to the Philippines, according to the Japan’s ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko. In his twitter post, the Ambassador said that the Japanese government will deliver the vaccine donations “at the soonest possible time.” “Glad to be the bearer of good news today! Japan will donate AstraZeneca vaccines to the Philippines, and we’ll make sure to deliver them at the soonest possible time […]

AstraZeneca hits snag in Covid drug development

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Tuesday revealed it had hit a setback in trials of a treatment for Covid-19 symptoms. The drug, made from a combination of two antibodies, failed its main goal to treat symptoms in exposed patients, the company said in a statement. The treatment has been undergoing phase 3 or final-stage clinical trials to assess its safety and efficacy. AstraZeneca said that 1,121 unvaccinated adults had been exposed […]

NCR plus areas to ease into “normal GCQ”, says NTF special adviser’s “fearless forecast”

  (Eagle News) — Metro Manila plus areas could ease into a normal General Community Quarantine (GCQ) protocol by Wednesday, June 16, National Task Force against COVID-19 special adviser Dr. Ted Herbosa. “I think tonight mag-aannounce ang ating Presidente. Ang aking fearless forecast ay normal GCQ na lang,” Dr. Herbosa said in an interview with the Eagle News Service program Balitalakayan on Monday, June 14. Herbosa said that the slow easing of restrictions was followed […]

Africa likely to miss September vaccination deadline: WHO

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP) — Nearly 90 percent of African countries will miss a target of vaccinating a tenth of their population by September unless they urgently receive more than 200 million jabs, the WHO warned Thursday. “Only seven African countries (out of 54) are likely to reach the target,” the World Health Organization’s director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said in an online briefing. At least 225 million jabs are urgently required if the majority […]

Moderna seeks US authorization for Covid vaccine in teens

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — American biotech company Moderna said Thursday it was asking the US Foods and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine to be given to adolescents. The move was widely expected after the company announced in May-early results from a trial of 3,700 12-to-17-year-olds that found the two-dose regimen was safe and highly effective. On Monday, Moderna made similar requests to the European and Canadian regulators. “We […]

G7 to provide 1 billion Covid vaccine doses ‘to world’: UK

by AFP bureaus FALMOUTH, United Kingdom (AFP) — G7 leaders will agree to expand global Covid vaccine manufacturing to provide at least one billion doses to the world through sharing and financing schemes, Britain said Thursday. The announcement came after the United States said it would donate 500 million jabs to 92 poor and lower-middle-income nations. The UK, which is hosting the big powers’ gathering in southwest England, added it would donate at least 100 […]

Macron calls for vaccine makers to donate 10% of doses

PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron called Thursday for pharma groups producing vaccines against Covid-19 to donate 10 percent of their production to poor nations. “Donations of doses by states have to be supplemented by donations of doses by pharmaceutical companies,” Macron told a news conference, adding that states had helped fund vaccine research and it was “legitimate” to ask for a contribution from the companies. Macron also called for leaders of the […]

US approves shelf-life extension for J&J Covid vaccine: company

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Johnson & Johnson said Thursday the US Food and Drug Administration had authorized an extension for the shelf life of its Covid-19 vaccine from three months to four-and-a-half months. The news comes as millions of doses of the single-shot vaccine, which is stored at refrigerator temperatures, were in danger of expiring and being tossed. “The decision is based on data from ongoing stability assessment studies,” the company said in a […]

US ‘to buy 500 million doses for world’ as curbs ease in Europe

by Anouk Riondet, with AFP bureaus PARIS, France (AFP) — The United States is set to buy 500 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to distribute around the world, media reported Wednesday, as France and Belgium relaxed virus restrictions to allow restaurants and cafes to serve indoors. The Washington Post and New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, said President Joe Biden was due to formally announce the huge donation of Pfizer-BioNTech doses at a […]

Norway offers Johnson & Johnson vaccine to volunteers

OSLO, Norway (AFP) — Norway will offer the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine to volunteers under strict conditions from mid-July, the government said Wednesday, flouting the advice of various health authorities who say the risks outweigh the benefits. The Nordic country, which has dropped the AstraZeneca jab from its vaccination programme amid concerns about rare but severe blood clots, had also suspended the use of the J&J vaccine over similar concerns earlier this year. But […]

Vietnam begs public for ‘vaccine fund’ donations after virus surge

HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam, once a model for its successful handling of the pandemic, has started asking for public donations to buy vaccines as it struggles to contain a new coronavirus wave. The Southeast Asian country has vaccinated only about one percent of its population of nearly 100 million, and authorities have become increasingly alarmed by a recent spike in cases. Since last week, mobile phone users have received up to three text messages […]