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SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Thursday joined a growing number of countries halting the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for younger people over fears it can cause serious blood clots. In a further setback for Australia’s already halting coronavirus vaccine rollout, officials said the AstraZeneca shot should no longer be given to people under the age of 50, unless they had already received a first dose without any ill effects. Prime Minister Scott […]
by Callum PATON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain moved Thursday to reassure the public over the safety of its coronavirus vaccine campaign, after deciding to offer alternatives to an AstraZeneca jab amid blood clot concerns. Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged people to keep getting inoculated, a day after Britain’s medicines regulator said the vaccine developed by the British-Swedish firm was linked to 79 cases of rare clotting and 19 deaths. But those under 30 […]
by Martine PAUWELS LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Richer countries are failing a “rudimentary” test of global solidarity by hoarding Covid vaccines, Amnesty International said Wednesday as it accused China and others of exploiting the pandemic to undermine human rights. In its annual report, the campaigning rights organisation said the health crisis had exposed “broken” policies and that cooperation was the only way forward. “The pandemic has cast a harsh light on the world’s inability […]
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany’s Bavaria region has signed a provisional agreement to buy doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine once it is approved by European regulators, state premier Markus Soeder said Wednesday. The southern state has “signed a memorandum of understanding today… for the supply of Sputnik,” Soeder told reporters in Munich. If the Sputnik vaccine is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Bavaria is set to receive around 2.5 million doses […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States will soon be able to ramp up vaccine assistance abroad and will not seek “favors in return,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, putting a veteran aid administrator in charge. Blinken said the top US priority was to fight Covid-19 at home but that the goal would be achieved soon, pointing to President Joe Biden’s promise that 90 percent of Americans will be near a […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain will on Monday set out plans to restart international travel, using a “traffic-light” system as the country cautiously emerges from lockdown. The announcement comes as the UK has set a tentative date of May 17 to relaunch international travel. Travel destinations will be ranked green, amber or red according to virus risk, Downing Street said in a statement late Saturday, with the government to provide more details on Monday. […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — France’s government deficit will deepen and public debt rise after a lingering Covid crisis smashed hopes of a rapid economic rebound, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. The annual deficit, which has spiralled as President Emmanuel Macron’s government tries to prop up the struggling economy with massive spending, is now expected to reach nine percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, he told reporters. This compares to […]
MUMBAI, India (AFP) — Bollywood star Akshay Kumar said Sunday he has tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the latest Indian celebrity to contract the virus as the vast nation battles a new wave of cases. India reported 93,249 new daily infections on Sunday, according to health ministry data, the highest increase since September, taking the total known cases to almost 12.5 million. “I wish to inform everyone that, earlier this morning, I have tested positive […]
by Adam PLOWRIGHT PARIS, France (AFP) — In the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the Antony Private Hospital south of Paris, no bed stays free for long and medics wonder when their workload will finally peak. As one recovered elderly patient is being wheeled out of the ward, smiling weakly, boss Jean-Pierre Deyme is on the phone arranging the next arrival and calling out instructions to staff. Louisa Pinto, a nurse of nearly 20 years’ […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia on Friday reported a decline in virus-related deaths in February on the previous month, as authorities say the worst of the pandemic has passed and aim to lift remaining curbs by the end of the summer. The figures published by the Rosstat statistics agency showed 14,171 Russians died due to the coronavirus in February, while a further 9,198 people died with the virus but primarily of other causes. That […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The UK medical regulator said Saturday that out of 30 people who suffered blood clots after receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, seven have died. The British acknowledgement of deaths comes as several European countries have paused the use of the AstraZeneca jab over a potential link to blood clots. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said in a statement that “Out of the 30 reports up to and including […]
by Shaun Tandon with AFP bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States reaped the fruits Friday of its vaccination campaign against Covid-19 as it became the first nation to reach 100 million people, but Europe’s rollout faced fresh impediments and South America tightened restrictions in the face of Brazil’s soaring infections. The United States reported surging job growth and loosened travel curbs as it reached around half of its adult population with at […]
