Tag: vaccines

Cameroon launches historic large-scale malaria jab campaign

SOA, Cameroon, Jan 22, 2024 (AFP) – Cameroon on Monday launched the first malaria vaccination programme to be offered nationwide and as a matter of routine, AFP journalists saw, in a step the WHO has described as “historic”. The mosquito-borne disease kills more than 600,000 people a year, mainly in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. Children under five years old account for more than 80 percent of deaths on the continent. Following a […]

EU drug watchdog approves updated Pfizer Covid jab

THE HAGUE, Aug 30, 2023 (AFP) – The EU’s drug watchdog on Wednesday approved an updated version of Pfizer and BioNTech’s anti-Covid jab to counter an infectious subvariant of the virus as winter approaches. The World Health Organisation in May said it no longer considered Covid-19 a global health emergency, but the virus is still circulating — and new variants are being tracked. The European Medicines Agency said it “has recommended authorising an adapted Comirnaty […]

Positive results for potential first chikungunya vaccine

PARIS, June 12, 2023 (AFP) — French-Austrian drugmaker Valneva’s vaccine candidate against chikungunya, a mosquito-borne virus which causes occasional outbreaks across the world, showed promising results in a large new trial, a study said on Tuesday. While the results were hailed as good news in the fight against chikungunya, the trial was carried out on people in the United States where the virus is extremely rare, with experts saying more research was needed. There are […]

WHO says medium-risk adults don’t need extra Covid jabs

by Robin MILLARD The World Health Organization said Tuesday it is no longer recommending additional Covid-19 vaccine booster doses for regular, medium-risk adults as the benefit was marginal. For such people who have received their primary vaccination course and one booster dose, there is no risk in having further jabs but the returns are slight, the WHO’s vaccine experts said. The UN health agency’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) issued updated recommendations […]

Covid infection gives similar immunity to vaccination: study

Paris, France | AFP | Thursday 2/17/2023 The protection against Covid-19 from being previously infected lasts at least as long as that offered by vaccination, one of the largest studies conducted on the subject said on Friday. Ten months after getting Covid, people still had an 88 percent lower risk of reinfection, hospitalisation and death, according to the study published in the Lancet journal. That makes this natural immunity “at least as durable, if not […]

EU watchdog approves first Omicron jabs

The Hague, Netherlands (AFP) by Danny KEMP The EU’s drug regulator on Thursday approved Covid-19 vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna adapted for the Omicron variant, paving the way for a booster campaign this winter. The so-called “bivalent” jabs target both the original virus that emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and the BA.1 subvariant of Omicron, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said. The vaccines are not updated for the newer and more […]

CHED says even unvaccinated students, school personnel can participate in face-to-face classes in HEIs

CHED chair De Vera cites recent data on vaccine coverage, nature of the virus, and advice of experts for change in policy   (Eagle News) – Even students and school personnel who are not vaccinated can join face-to-face classes in higher education institutions, according to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). This was after CHED removed the vaccination requirement for in-person classes. “We’re allowing vaccinated and unvaccinated students, employees and faculty members to now go […]

Heart issues after Covid jabs very rare but research lacks clarity

  Paris, France | AFP by Julien DURY Research shows that the risk of developing heart conditions after a messenger RNA Covid vaccine is very low, and should not call into question the value of life-saving vaccination campaigns rolled out across the world. But the risk is “non-negligible”, and the available evidence is difficult to assess precisely, researchers have said, calling for better data on the subject. “That we are now more than a year […]

Queen gives UK’s health service top award, praises Covid vaccine rollout

  London, United Kingdom (AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE) Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday awarded the George Cross to the state-run National Health Service (NHS) for its work over the past 74 years and praised its Covid-19 vaccine rollout. The George Cross is the highest non-military award for gallantry bestowed by the British government. The queen presented the medal to health leaders from across the UK. They were joined at the ceremony by frontline workers, who nursed the […]

Covid vaccines saved 20 million lives in first year: study

PARIS, France (AFP) — Covid vaccines prevented nearly 20 million deaths in the first year after they were introduced, according to the first large modelling study on the topic released Friday. The study, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, is based on data from 185 countries and territories collected from December 8, 2020 to December 8, 2021. It is the first attempt to estimate the number of deaths prevented directly and indirectly as a result […]

US approves Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for youngest children

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization Friday for the use of Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines in the youngest children, the final age group awaiting immunization in most countries. The agency, whose approval is considered the global gold standard, authorized Moderna’s two-dose vaccine for children aged six months to five years, and three doses of Pfizer’s shots for those between six months and four years old. […]

Palace says full capacity for all activities, all establishments under Alert Level 1 under amended guidelines

 But still subject to presentation of proof of full vaccination for “entry into indoor establishments” Areas under Alert Level until June 15 released (Eagle News) – Malacanang said all establishments and activities are now allowed at full capacity under the modified and more relaxed Alert Level 1 subject to presentation of proof of full vaccination. This was after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases revised the guidelines on the nationwide […]