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by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Covax programme to ensure equitable worldwide access to Covid-19 vaccines on Wednesday published its first distribution list, with enough doses for countries to immunise more than three percent of their populations by mid-2021. The distribution plan comes with lower-income countries falling behind in the vaccination race — a problem Covax was set up to address. It broke down how the programme’s initial 337.2 million doses will be […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan passed a new law strengthening enforcement of its virus restrictions on Wednesday, allowing authorities to fine bars and restaurants that defy closure requests. People can also be fined up to 500,000 yen ($4,800) if they test positive for Covid-19 but refuse hospitalisation, although lawmakers scrapped plans to introduce prison sentences as punishment. With just six months until the pandemic-postponed Summer Olympics, Tokyo and other regions are currently under a state […]
by Robin MILLARD Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Covax programme for Covid-19 vaccines published its first distribution list Wednesday, planning enough doses for dozens of countries to immunise more than three percent of their populations by mid-year. The list comes with concerns over whether lower-income countries will be left out of the immunisation race dominated by rich nations, a problem Covax was set up to resolve. It broke down for the […]
by Laurie CHEN BEIJING, China (AFP) — There will be no quick answers into the origins of the coronavirus, one of the World Health Organization experts on a mission to the Covid-19 ground zero in central China told AFP. Hung Nguyen-Viet, who is visiting various virus-linked sites in the city of Wuhan with the team, said starting the investigation more than one year after the pandemic began was not ideal, but added that the mission […]
by Gina DOGGETT and AFP bureaus Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Final-stage trial results published on Tuesday placed Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on a par with its Western rivals, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced openness to its use in the European Union once it receives the regulatory nod. Sputnik V, which has already been rolled out in Russia and several other countries, was found to be 91.6 percent effective against […]
WUHAN, China (AFP) — World Health Organization inspectors visited a laboratory in China’s Wuhan city on Wednesday that American officials suggested could have been the source of the coronavirus. The inspection of the Wuhan virology institute, which conducts research on the world’s most dangerous diseases, will be one of the most-watched stops on the team’s probe into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic. The sensitive mission, which China had delayed throughout the first year […]
Saliva tests at 98 percent efficacy, officials assure https://youtu.be/YCl1EqoA4OI (Eagle News) — The Philippine Red Cross started its drive-thru saliva tests for COVID-19 which it would be conducting in selected malls in Metro Manila. This was made possible with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with SM Supermalls. More convenient COVID-19 tests would now be made more available to the public at less cost because of this. Test results would also be […]
PERTH, Australia (AFP) — At least 71 homes have been destroyed in a bushfire raging out of control near Australia’s fourth-biggest city Perth, authorities said Wednesday, as they told residents to ignore a virus lockdown and evacuate threatened areas. The blaze has torn through large swathes of land in the Perth Hills and was moving towards more densely populated areas. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported so far. “To the people who have […]
Galvez says PHL mass vaccine program won’t be delayed (Eagle News) — The Philippines will not be affected by the recent decision of the European Union to restrict exports of the AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured inside EU, since the vaccine supplies secured by the country’s negotiators would be coming from Asia, particularly from India and Thailand. This was assured by Philippine vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez himself. He said that there will be no delays in […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States will begin to offer Covid-19 vaccines at pharmacies from February 11, part of efforts to rapidly increase the rate at which shots reach arms. The White House’s Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters on Tuesday that because of supply constraints, the program would initially be limited to 6,500 participating pharmacies nationwide, before eventually expanding to 40,000. “This will provide more sites for people to get […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Sales of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech could reach up to $15 billion in 2021 and go higher if Pfizer signs additional supply contracts, Pfizer said Tuesday. The projections came as Pfizer projected full-year 2021 sales of between $59.4 billion and $61.4 billion, meaning that about one-fourth of estimated total sales will come from the Covid-19 vaccine. The forecast reflects “a continued recovery in macroeconomic […]
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — A fresh wave of coronavirus infections in Vietnam was caused by a more contagious variant spotted in Britain, authorities said Tuesday, as they rushed to contain the country’s most serious ever outbreak. Schools have been shut early ahead of the Lunar New Year and hundreds of thousands of people are in lockdown after more than 300 cases were detected in less than a week. The government said 12 cases have so […]
