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 […]
Tag: vaccine
Israel gets first delivery of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine
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 […]
J&J readies 500 mn vaccine doses for poor countries
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it plans to provide 500 million doses of its vaccine for poor countries once results of clinical trials are announced by the end of January. It plans to sell the vaccine at cost price and will provide the doses to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the group’s scientific director Paul Stoffels told a virtual round table in Geneva. The vaccine is currently undergoing final-stage […]
Pfizer chief insists no corners cut on vaccine testing
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 […]
Oxford/Astra first to publish final-stage vaccine trial results
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 […]
WHO against mandatory Covid-19 vaccines
by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said Monday that persuading people on the merits of a Covid-19 vaccine would be far more effective than trying to make the jabs mandatory. The WHO said it would be down to individual countries as to how they want to conduct their vaccination campaigns against the coronavirus pandemic. But the UN health agency insisted making it mandatory to get immunized against the disease would […]
Pfizer to deliver first vaccine doses to Canada in December: PM
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Pfizer and BioNTech will deliver the first doses of their Covid-19 vaccine to Canada this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday, with inoculations to start as early as next week. Another vaccine candidate developed by Moderna could also be shipped “as soon as December,” the American company said. At a news conference, Trudeau said a deal was signed with Pfizer and BioNTech “to begin early delivery of doses of their […]
Millions of Californians locked down, UK to start vaccinating
by Agence France Presse bureaus An overwhelming majority of California’s residents went into lockdown Monday, putting 33 million people under stay-at-home orders as the United States battles record Covid deaths and Britain readied to vaccinate the elderly and frontline staff. The lockdown in America’s most populous state forced most offices to close and banned gatherings among different households, while bars and services such as hair salons were shut and restaurants only allowed to serve […]
Sao Paulo to launch vaccination campaign in January: governor
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AFP) — Sao Paulo state, Latin America’s coronavirus epicenter, will launch a Covid-19 vaccination campaign in January, the governor said Monday, though a political battle with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro could derail those plans. Governor Joao Doria said large-scale immunization using Chinese-developed vaccine CoronaVac would begin with health care workers, the elderly and other vulnerable groups on January 25. “The target public for this initial phase was chosen based on the incidence […]
Indonesia receives over a million Chinese Covid-19 vaccine doses
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia has received 1.2 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine made by China’s Sinovac, officials said, as the world’s fourth most populous nation struggles to get soaring case rates under control. The doses arrived in Jakarta late Sunday on a flight from Beijing, with another 1.8 million expected to be sent again next month. Although Chinese regulators have yet to clear any of country’s vaccines for mass distribution, they have approved […]
Chinese Covid-19 vaccine maker gets $500 million funding boost
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech has secured half a billion dollars in extra funding to produce its Covid-19 vaccine, it said Monday, as the country races to roll out a jab for general use. Beijing has largely brought the virus under control, with only 281 active cases still receiving treatment, according to official figures. But it has promised to make its vaccines available as a “global public good” as it seeks […]
Pandemic sends hunger rising in America, and children bear the brunt
by Chris Stein Agence France Presse Before the pandemic closed her middle school and US immigration agents deported her father to El Salvador, Kimberly Orellana did not fear going hungry. But with her mother now alone and cleaning houses for pay that isn’t enough to reliably feed Orellana and her two younger sisters, the 14-year-old is left to trek to a nearby school for a handout of groceries organized by a non-profit. “Everyone in our […]





