Tag: Virus

UK hunts for carrier of Brazil Covid strain

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Monday appealed for a person infected with a powerful Covid-19 strain from Brazil to come forward, as experts fretted about its impact on new vaccines. The public appeal came a week before England is due to start slowly unwinding its third Covid lockdown, with progress hinging on the vaccines’ ability to curtail the pandemic. The variant that emerged in Manaus, northern Brazil, has been detected in six people […]

France, Germany struggle to sell AstraZeneca vaccine safety

by Joseph Schmid with Michelle Fitzpatrick in Frankfurt PARIS, France (AFP) — Already facing a daunting Covid vaccination challenge, French and German authorities are fighting to convince more people that a jab from the pharma giant AstraZeneca is just as effective as others. Stocks of the vaccines from the British-Swedish firm are going unused in both countries despite the desire to end a pandemic that has sparked a social and economic calamity on a scale […]

Spain suffers second-worst month for virus deaths

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain suffered its second-worst month for coronavirus deaths in February with 10,528 fatalities, the worst figure since April last year, government figures showed on Monday. The overall toll now stands at 69,609, health ministry data showed. Although Spain’s third wave peak has passed — the 14-day cumulative case number has fallen from nearly 900 per 100,000 people in late January to 175 currently — the death toll has remained stubbornly high. […]

San Juan City mayor Zamora tests positive for COVID-19

  (Eagle News) — San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Zamora made the announcement in a Facebook post on Monday, March 1, citing results of a routine swab test made Sunday evening, Feb. 28. “I would like to announce that I have tested positive with COVID-19. My results came out today after a routine swab test yesterday evening, February 28, 2021,” he said in a Facebook post […]

UK aid charities warn of famine as Covid hits poorer nations

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — A coalition of UK aid agencies warned Monday that the Covid-19 pandemic is worsening the “dire humanitarian” crisis in fragile states and raising the risk of famine, including in Yemen. Parts of Yemen and South Sudan are already on the brink of famine, while Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are at risk, driven by the pandemic’s economic impact, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) said in a new report. […]

Ghana president receives world’s first free Covax jab

ACCRA, Ghana (AFP) — Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo on Monday became the world’s first recipient of a coronavirus vaccine from Covax, a global scheme to procure and distribute inoculations for free for poorer countries. Richer countries have surged ahead with inoculating their population, but many poorer countries are still awaiting their first vaccine doses. “It is important that I set the example that this vaccine is safe by being the first to have it, so […]

US children could receive vaccine by year-end: Fauci

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States could start vaccinating older children against Covid-19 by the fall and younger ones by year-end or early 2022, the White House’s top pandemic advisor Anthony Fauci said Sunday. The mass vaccination of school-age children will allow millions of children to return sooner to in-person learning and ease the burden on millions of parents now caring for their offspring at home. School reopenings, an intensely debated matter, […]

Over 20 million get first dose of covid vaccine in UK

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain announced Sunday that it has given more than 20 million people at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with the rapid rollout providing hope in a country with Europe’s highest death toll. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called it “a huge national achievement” while praising National Health Service staff and others involved for “tireless work”. Health Secretary Matt Hancock made the announcement in a video message on Twitter, saying: […]

US to distribute 4 million J&J Covid vaccines by Tuesday

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Four million doses of the latest Covid-19 vaccine to get US approval will be delivered across the country as early as Tuesday, a senior administration official said. The United States on Saturday authorized Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine for emergency use, boosting President Joe Biden’s plan to battle the outbreak that has killed more than 500,000 Americans. The single-shot vaccine — the third type to be authorized — is highly […]

New Zealand’s largest city back in lockdown as Covid lingers

  WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered New Zealand’s largest city back into lockdown on Saturday as Covid-19 cases continued to be detected in the community. The latest restrictions in Auckland will last at least seven days and come less than two weeks after a three-day shutdown in the city. Ardern said a new coronavirus case confirmed on Saturday could not be directly connected to other positive tests over the last […]

Pres. Duterte thanks China for Sinovac jabs, wants to personally thank Pres. Xi by year-end

Duterte says China’s Sinovac donations will greatly help PHL economy   (Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte thanked China for its vaccine donations of 600,000 Sinovac doses to the country, after personally witnessing the vaccines’ arrival on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 28. During the turn-over ceremonies at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Duterte said that he intends to make a “short visit to China” probably at the end of the year to personally thank […]

More than half a million AstraZeneca vaccine doses to arrive in PHL on Monday, March 1

President Duterte to witness vaccine turn-over   (Eagle News) – More than half a million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines will arrive in the country on Monday, March 1, according to Malacanang. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines that will be delivered on Monday, were part of the COVAX Facility of the World Health Organization (WHO). “We are pleased to inform that the Philippines will receive 525,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines […]