MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The makers of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine Tuesday demanded an apology from the EU’s medicines regulator after a senior official warned member states against hastily authorizing the jab, comparing emergency rollouts to “Russian roulette”. Several EU countries have already begun distributing Sputnik V ahead of approval in the bloc, a move criticized by board chair of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Christa Wirthumer-Hoche Monday. “We demand a public apology from EMA’s […]
Tag: Virus
AstraZeneca doses from COVAX strictly for priority health workers, says Palace
Misuse of doses to non-priority individuals may lead to termination of COVAX deal (Eagle News) – The country’s task group on immunization against COVID-19 has issued its strict recommendation to give AstraZeneca doses to priority health care workers nationwide, and issued revised guidelines in the administration of vaccines. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque announced on Tuesday, March 9, the issuance of the revised guidelines contained in the resolution no. 5 of the National Immunization Technical […]
Palace: Some 35,700 medical workers already vaccinated, over 463,500 doses deployed nationwide
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque holds a press briefing on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 (Screenshot of PCOO video) (Eagle News) – Malacanang said that around 35,700 medical frontliners have already received vaccines, as it urged more health workers to get immunized against COVID-19 amid increasing number of cases. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday, March 9, said that at least 35,669 health workers have received vaccines, and more are getting vaccinated as there is higher confidence […]
US daily virus toll below 1,000 for first time in months
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — For the first time in nearly three and a half months, the United States recorded fewer than 1,000 deaths in a day from Covid-19 on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University. In 24 hours, 749 people died from the coronavirus, far below the peak of 4,473 deaths recorded on January 12. The daily US death toll has not been below the thousand mark since November 29, when 822 people died […]
Italy’s virus death toll tops 100,000
by Alvise ARMELLINI ROME, Italy (AFP) — Italy on Monday surpassed the grim milestone of 100,000 official coronavirus deaths, amid warnings the spread of new variants is fuelling a fresh wave of infections. Just over a year since it became the first European country to be overwhelmed by Covid-19, Italy’s health ministry recorded another 318 virus-related deaths, taking the total to 100,103. The figure is almost certainly an underestimate of the true toll but is […]
Australian PM plays down Italy vaccine blockade
by Andrew BEATTY SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s prime minister on Friday played down the impact of Italy’s landmark decision to block the export of 250,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses due to be delivered. Scott Morrison insisted the blocked shipment of the AstraZeneca jabs was understandable and would not affect Australia’s vaccine program. “This particular shipment was not one we’d counted on for the rollout, and so we will continue unabated,” Morrison said. Italy explained the […]
France donates 15,000 vaccine doses to Slovakia
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AFP) — Slovakia, a country suffering the world’s highest mortality rate from Covid-19, has received a donation of 15,000 coronavirus vaccine doses from France, Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic said on Sunday. Matovic described the Oxford-AstraZeneca doses as a “very kind and useful gift” and a “great gesture of friendship”, at a news conference with French Ambassador Christophe Leonzi, local press agency TASR reported. Speaking in Bojnice, western Slovakia, the premier added that […]
Israel re-opens restaurants, bars with 40% of country fully vaccinated
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel took another step towards post-pandemic normalcy on Sunday, opening restaurants, bars and cafes to vaccinated “green pass” holders, with about 40 percent of the population fully inoculated against the coronavirus. “We are coming to life,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, as he cut into a pastry at a Jerusalem cafe, according to a video posted on Facebook. Israel, which launched its vaccination campaign in December, has given the recommended two […]
More AstraZeneca doses arrive in PHL from COVAX facility
With arrival of 38,400 add’l doses, total AstraZeneca doses in PHL reach 525,600 (Eagle News) – The second batch of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the COVAX facility of the World Health Organization arrived on Sunday night, March 7, completing the promised 525,600 initial doses of the vaccine. There were 38,400 AstraZeneca doses that arrived on Sunday night, shortly after 7 p.m. Added to the March 4 delivery of 487,200 doses, the total AstraZeneca doses […]
PHL logs almost 3,500 new COVID cases marking 2nd straight day of over 3k add’l cases
(Eagle News) – The number of COVID-19 cases added today Saturday, March 6, reached 3,439, the highest number of daily cases so far this year. This is also the second consecutive day that the Philippines logged more than 3,000 daily cases. On Friday, March 5, the Department of Health noted 3,045 new cases. As of Saturday, March 6, total active cases in the country so far reached 43,323 as more highly infectious new variants […]
Denmark approves AstraZeneca vaccine for over-65s
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Following several other European countries, Danish health officials on Friday approved the use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for people over 65, citing evidence from a study on the vaccine in Scotland. Until now, the Scandinavian country has argued there was insufficient evidence for the effectiveness of the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company’s vaccine to recommend to people over the age of 65. “The results from Scotland are pleasing. They show a strongly […]
Japan to extend virus state of emergency in Tokyo area
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will extend a coronavirus state of emergency in the Tokyo area by a fortnight, officials said Friday, less than five months ahead of the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics. The emergency measure, which primarily calls for bars and restaurants to close from 8pm, was supposed to end on Sunday and has been lifted early in other regions. It has brought infections down in the capital but the rate of decline is slowing […]





