Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
by Ivan Couronne Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — To find out whether experimental Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective, researchers design clinical trials involving thousands of volunteers, divided into groups that receive either the drug under investigation or a placebo. Data from such trials have shown that two vaccines — one developed by Pfizer and BioNtech, the other by Moderna and the US National Institutes of Health — are about 95 […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan is on “maximum alert” after logging a record number of daily coronavirus infections, the prime minister said Thursday, though no immediate restrictions are planned. More than 2,000 cases were recorded nationwide on Wednesday, with nearly 500 in the capital Tokyo alone. While small compared to figures seen in some other countries, the numbers represent a sharp rise in cases for Japan, where testing is often less wide-scale than in other […]
APIA, Samoa (AFP) — Samoa announced its first case of Covid-19 on Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to spread to previously untouched Pacific island nations. Prime Minister Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi called for calm in the nation of 200,000 after confirming a man who flew into the country last Friday tested positive while in managed isolation. “We now have one case and will be added to the countries of the world that have […]
by Issam Ahmed WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday a completed analysis of their experimental Covid-19 vaccine found it protected 95 percent of people against the disease and announced they were applying for US emergency approval “within days.” The news from the US pharmaceutical company and its German partner brought further hope to a world upended by the coronavirus pandemic, and follows an announcement last week in which they said a […]
KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — The Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday declared the end of the country’s latest Ebola epidemic, after the outbreak killed 55 people over the past five months. “I am happy to solemnly declare the end of the 11th epidemic of the Ebola virus in Equateur province” in the vast country’s northwest, Health Minister Eteni Longondo told journalists. The World Health Organization said the latest outbreak had killed 55 people […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Health authorities say the most widespread anti-Covid weapon — surgical masks — must be thrown away after a single use, but environmental concerns are pushing some scientists to question this recommendation. As the coronavirus continues to spread, masks have in many places become mandatory on public transport, in shops and at work. But cost has become an issue, as has the fact so many disposable plastic masks wind up in […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer is “very close” to applying for an emergency use approval for its Covid-19 vaccine after collecting safety data to submit to US regulators, the company’s CEO said Tuesday, according to a report. The pharmaceutical giant announced last week preliminary results from a late-stage clinical trial showing the injections it had co-developed with Germany’s BioNTech was more than 90 percent effective after the second dose. “We are very close to […]
by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech firm Moderna on Monday announced its experimental vaccine against Covid-19 was almost 95 percent effective, a result hailed by the country’s top infectious disease scientist as “stunningly impressive.” Moderna’s early results from a clinical trial with more than 30,000 participants marks a second major breakthrough in the quest to end the pandemic. Last week, American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German […]
by Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States’ top infectious disease scientist on Monday hailed early results from Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine trial as “stunningly impressive,” calling the findings an emphatic validation of experimental mRNA technology that some had doubted. “I must admit that I would have been satisfied with 70 or at the most 75 percent efficacy,” he told AFP. “The idea that we have a 94.5 percent effective vaccine is stunningly […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The coronavirus vaccine being developed by Sanofi won’t need to be super-cooled and a normal refrigerator will suffice, the Paris-based drugmaker’s France chief Olivier Bogillot said Sunday. His comments came days after American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced that their vaccine had proven 90 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 infections in ongoing Phase 3 trials involving more than 40,000 people. The companies said they expect to […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US has surpassed 11 million coronavirus cases, adding one million new cases in less than a week, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The dizzying rise came as cities and states across the United States were implementing new restrictions to try to halt the spread of the virus, with stay-at-home orders set to be imposed on Chicago Monday. The US had crossed the 10 million case […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The Belgian government said Monday it intends to make any coronavirus vaccine available to around 70 percent of the population, some eight million people, and free of charge. The jab will not be compulsory, added Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke as he and regional counterparts attended an interministerial health conference. “The objective is to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the population. Priority groups will be determined on the basis of scientific […]
