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by Julie CHARPENTRAT PARIS, France (AFP) — Disinformation around Covid vaccines has existed as long as the jabs themselves. Unverified studies, unproven claims and out-of-context data are regularly shared on websites and social media across the globe — fuelling dangerous myths about the virus and the vaccines. As Austria becomes the first European Union country to make vaccines mandatory this week, AFP looks at some common disinformation surrounding the jabs: – Causation vs chronology – […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A “Freedom Convoy” of trucks joined by thousands of demonstrators brought Ottawa to a virtual standstill for a second day Sunday to protest Canada’s vaccine mandates, as other sympathetic truckers blocked a border highway into the United States. “This afternoon, a large presence of police continues throughout the downtown core and the movement of protestors and trucks continues to be managed,” the Ottawa police said in a statement. “These high-risk situations […]
Total active cases rise slightly to 231,658 (Eagle News) – For the second straight day, new Covid-19 cases inched higher on Friday, January 28, as the Department of Health recorded 18,638 new cases. The new cases were slightly higher than Thursday’s number of 18,191, and Wednesday’s (Jan. 26) 15,789 cases. But this time, it broke the six-day streak of new recoveries exceeding new Covid cases because on Friday, there were only 13,106 new recoveries. From […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines will re-open to fully vaccinated tourists from most countries on February 10 and lift quarantine requirements, officials said Friday, nearly two years after closing its borders to contain the coronavirus. Tourism operators across the archipelago nation famed for its beaches and dive spots have been devastated by a plunge in international visitors and restrictions on domestic travel. Their misery was worsened by a super typhoon that smashed into the […]
by Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s U-turn on its mandatory three-week quarantine for arrivals follows growing scrutiny of the strict policy after a coronavirus outbreak was traced to a woman infected during her hotel stay. Like mainland China, Hong Kong is one of the few places left in the world still pursuing a zero-Covid strategy that has largely kept the virus at bay but left the finance hub internationally isolated. On […]
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AFP) — Sweden’s health authority said Thursday that it would not recommend Covid-19 vaccinations for all children aged five to 11, the country again choosing a different coronavirus policy than much of Europe. The Scandinavian country, which controversially opted against any form of lockdown or school closures during the pandemic’s early days, recommended jabs only for children who were at risk. “The vaccines are safe, there are very good vaccines but we […]
by Heather SCOTT WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The world’s largest economy staged a solid recovery last year as it grew at the fastest pace since 1984, but damage from the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is imminent. Surging prices continue to pose a challenge, as inflation picked up speed in the final three months of the pandemic’s second year, according to official data released Thursday. That threatens to dampen the consumer demand that has underpinned […]
Total active Covid-19 cases decrease to 226,521 (Eagle News) – The country posted 18,191 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, January 27, slightly higher than the previous day’s 15,789 new cases. But even with the slight increase, the total active cases went down to 226,151 from 230,410 recorded the previous day, Wednesday. The total active cases on Thursday is 6.5 percent of the total confirmed Covid-19 cases of 3,493,447 in the country since the pandemic began […]
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The governor of New Mexico started work Wednesday as a substitute teacher, replacing one of the thousands of educators across the United States who have been forced off work by the Covid-19 pandemic. Michelle Lujan Grisham — a lawyer by training — swapped the governor’s mansion for the classroom as part of the “Supporting Teachers and Families” initiative designed to plug holes in staffing in schools and child care […]
BOSTON, United States (AFP) — A hospital in Boston refused to perform a heart transplant on a patient who had not been vaccinated for Covid-19, US television media reported Wednesday. A spokeswoman for Brigham and Women’s Hospital confirmed in a statement to AFP that vaccination against the coronavirus is “required” for organ transplant recipients there. The patient’s father, David Ferguson, appeared on news channels CNN and ABC to share the family’s story, saying his 31-year-old […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday formally withdrew the Covid vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses that was struck down by the Supreme Court. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said that although it was withdrawing the mandate it “strongly encourages vaccination of workers against the continuing dangers posed by Covid-19 in the workplace.” The conservative-dominated Supreme Court delivered a blow to Biden this month when it blocked his vaccination-or-testing […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US biotech company Moderna announced on Wednesday that it has begun clinical trials of a booster dose of vaccine designed specifically to combat the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The trials will involve a total of 600 adults — half of whom have already received two doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine at least six months ago, and half of whom have received two doses plus the previously authorized booster dose. […]
