Tag: vaccine

Russia seeks accelerated WHO registration for virus vaccine

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia has applied to the World Health Organization for accelerated registration and pre-qualification of its Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the country’s sovereign wealth fund said Tuesday. Russia announced in August that it had registered the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, named after the Soviet-era satellite. On Tuesday, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which finances the vaccine, said that accelerated registration would make Sputnik V “available globally in a shorter time frame than […]

Pres. Duterte: PHL to do gov’t-to-gov’t transaction for COVID-19 vaccine acquisition

  (Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte said that a government to government transaction would be done in the acquisition of vaccines for COVID-19 from China for the Philippines to prevent any incidence of corruption and delay. In his address to the nation aired on Tuesday, Oct. 27, Duterte said that he believes that the Chinese government already has a vaccine. He said that going through Chinese businessmen or private groups is not the way […]

Only China’s Sinovac vaccine has so far passed PHL vaccine expert panel’s pre-screening, says FDA

  (Eagle News) – Only the Chinese biotech firm Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine has so far passed the Philippine vaccine expert panel’s pre-screening for possible clinical trials in the country, according to the Food and Drug Administration. FDA Director General Eric Domingo said that only the vaccine from Sinovac has passed the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) vaccine expert panel, while two other COVID-19 vaccines – one by Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen pharmaceuticals, and Sputnik […]

Vaccine trials ‘can’t detect’ virus risk reduction: expert

by Patrick GALEY PARIS, France (AFP) — None of the trials of Covid-19 candidate vaccines can detect a reduction in serious outcomes such as hospitalization or death, a leading public health expert said Thursday. Writing in the BMJ medical journal, associate editor Peter Doshi warned that not even phase 3 trials under way in the race for a vaccine can prove their product will prevent people contracting Covid-19. In a sobering essay, Doshi said those […]

Brazil embraces Chinese Covid vaccine after row

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) — Brazil’s health minister said Tuesday the country would add the Chinese-made CoronaVac vaccine against Covid-19 to its national immunization program, despite a political and diplomatic row over whether to use it. Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said the federal government had reached a deal with Sao Paulo state, which is helping test and produce the vaccine, to buy 46 million doses to be administered starting in January. “This vaccine will […]

Pfizer plans to seek authorization for Covid-19 vaccine in November: company

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer expects to file for emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine in late November, around two weeks after the November 3 US presidential election, it said Friday. The company said it hopes to move ahead with the vaccine after safety data is available in the third week of November, immediately lifting the company’s shares two percent in the US. “So let me be clear, assuming […]

WHO warns Europe virus surge of ‘great concern’

  by Agence France Presse bureaus eausEuropean countries have unveiled tough new measures to try to curb a surge in coronavirus infections which the World Health Organization warned Thursday is of “great concern”. Underscoring the disruption wrought by Covid-19 even in the corridors of power, US presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris suspended travel after a staffer contracted the disease and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen abruptly left a summit in Brussels […]

Russia registers new Covid vaccine, EpiVacCorona, as cases hit record high

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday that Russia has registered its second coronavirus vaccine, while the country reported a record number of new infections. “The Novosibirsk Vektor centre today registered the second Russian vaccine against coronavirus — EpiVacCorona,” Putin said during a video conference with cabinet members. Vektor, a top-secret laboratory in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, conducted biological weapons research in the Soviet era and stockpiles viruses ranging from Ebola […]

Pres. Duterte says he has already secured funds to buy COVID-19 vaccines

  (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte said that he has secured the “source of funds” to buy vaccines for COVID-19, and that he would get more money to provide vaccines for the entire population. “But this I can assure you again na nakahanap na ako ng pera. I have the money already for the vaccine but hahanap pa ako ng maraming pera because you know there are now 113 million Filipinos,” President Duterte said […]

YouTube to remove Covid vaccine misinformation

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — YouTube said Wednesday it would take down content which contradicts expert consensus about Covid-19 vaccines, updating its policies on misinformation about the pandemic. The move is the latest by online platforms struggling to contain the spread of hoaxes and false information about the coronavirus and treatments. YouTube, the Google-owned video-sharing service, said it was expanding its medical misinformation policy “to remove claims about Covid-19 vaccinations that contradict expert consensus from […]

Indonesia FM calls for ‘equal access’ to Covid-19 vaccines

by Lucie GODEAU / Peter BRIEGER JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — Developing countries must have ‘equal access’ to future Covid-19 vaccines, Indonesia’s foreign minister warned, as wealthy nations scoop up billions of doses. Retno Marsudi said it was crucial for rich and poor nations to work together so “we can guarantee equal access to a safe and affordable vaccine”. “Can you imagine…if most vaccines go to developed countries?” Marsudi told AFP in a video interview from […]

Johnson & Johnson pauses Covid vaccine trial as participant becomes ill

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Johnson & Johnson said Monday it had temporarily halted its Covid-19 vaccine trial because one of its participants had become sick. “We have temporarily paused further dosing in all our Covid-19 vaccine candidate clinical trials, including the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial, due to an unexplained illness in a study participant,” the company said in a statement. The pause means the online enrollment system has been closed for the 60,000-patient clinical […]