Coronavirus vaccine shots given worldwide

[ghazi52]

Face masks compulsory again in some French schools next week

Face masks will again become compulsory from next week for French school children in 39 regional departments where the Covid-19 has been ramping up, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said, according to Reuters.

French health authorities reported 7,360 daily new Covid-19 infections on October 30, which was the first time the tally topped 7,000 since September 21.

 

[ghazi52]

GENEVA (AP) — The number of coronavirus cases has risen in Europe for the fifth consecutive week, making it the only world region where COVID-19 is still increasing, the World Health Organization reported Wednesday.

In its weekly report on the pandemic, the U.N. health agency said new cases jumped by 6% in Europe compared to an 18% increase the previous week. The weekly number of new infections in other regions either fell or remained about the same, according to the report.

The sharpest drops were seen in the Middle East, where new cases decreased by 12%, and in Southeast Asia and Africa, where they fell by 9%.

Overall, 3 million new weekly cases were reported globally, the report states. The number of deaths from COVID-19 worldwide rose by 8%, driven mainly by Southeast Asia, where deaths spiked by 50%.

The coronavirus infection rate was by far the highest in Europe, which reported about 192 new cases per 100,000 people, followed by the Americas, which had about 72 new cases per 100,000.

Several countries in Central and Eastern Europe have seen daily case numbers shoot up in recent weeks. Infections in the Czech Republic soared by 9,902 in one day, the Czech Health Ministry reported Wednesday. That was about 60% more than a week earlier and the highest daily increase since March 23, the ministry said.

The country had a 7-day infection rate of 386 people per 100,000, almost double the figure from a week ago. The government has said the virus is spreading mostly among people who are unvaccinated.

Poland’s Health Ministry on Wednesday reported the country’s highest daily number of new cases since April, with over 10,400, or 20% more than a week earlier. The ministry said more than 120 people with COVID-19 died over 24 hours.

In Germany, the head of the national disease control center said that infection rates have risen “rapidly,” with significantly more patients in intensive care and deaths rising above 100 per day on some recent occasions.

“Unfortunately, the fourth wave is developing exactly as we had feared, because not enough people are vaccinated and because measures … are no longer being implemented sufficiently,” Robert Koch Institute President Lothar Wieler said in Berlin. He cited measures such as mask-wearing and distancing, and restrictions on people who haven’t been vaccinated or tested using some facilities.

Wieler’s Robert Koch Institute reported 20,398 new cases over the past 24 hours, putting the rate of new infections at 146.6 per 100,000 residents over the past week. Another 194 deaths were reported, pushing Germany’s total so far above 96,000.

WHO said the continuing rise in confirmed cases across Europe has been driven mostly by Britain, Russia, Turkey and Romania, the report showed.

Leading British medical authorities have called for the government to again require infection precautions such as mask-wearing and social distancing, but the government has insisted the health system can handle the increasing caseload.

Some scientists worry that waning immunity from vaccinations across Europe could allow even more people to fall ill from COVID-19 during the winter season.

WHO nevertheless has slammed rich countries for rolling out booster vaccine programs while the majority of poor countries have yet to administer shots to their most vulnerable populations; the agency said last week that about 1 million booster shots are administered every day, about three times the number of COVID-19 doses given in poor countries.

WHO said the easier-to-spread delta variant remains predominant worldwide and continues to mostly crowd out other variants; more than 99% of COVID-19 samples sequenced by an international database were the delta variant.

It said delta’s spread has been slightly slower in some parts of South America, where other variants, including the mu variant, account for a large proportion of cases.

 

[ghazi52]

EXPLAINER:
What to know about vaccines for kids aged 5-11

By LAURAN NEERGAARD





A child's dose of the COVID-19 vaccination is shown, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, at Children's National Hospital in Washington. The vaccine, one-third the dose for teens and adults, requires two shots three weeks apart.

The U.S. enters a new phase Wednesday in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, with shots now available to millions of elementary-age children in what health officials hailed as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Vaccinations finally are available to U.S. children as young as 5, to the relief of some parents even as others have questions or fears.

Late Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final OK for youngsters age 5 to 11 to get kid-size doses of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. Pediatricians and other doctors’ groups praised the move and are gearing up to help families decide whether to vaccinate their children.

Like COVID-19 vaccines for adults and teens, they are free.

Here are some things to know:

SHOULD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN GET VACCINATED?

Yes, according to U.S. health authorities and leading doctors’ groups. Even though the virus tends to be more severe in adults than children, COVID-19 is causing plenty of preventable suffering among youngsters. About 1.9 million kids ages 5 to 11 have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Some 8,300 have been hospitalized, about a third needed intensive care, and at least 94 deaths have been verified.

That’s not counting the risk of a serious complication called multisystem inflammatory syndrome that can hit kids several weeks after they recovered from even a mild infection.

 

[ghazi52]

Turkey to start booster shots for Pfizer COVID vaccine recipients -minister

Reuters

Syringe and vial labelled "coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine" and small toy figures are seen front of displayed new Pfizer logo in this illustration taken, June 24, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

ANKARA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Turkey will begin administering boosters to people who have received two shots of the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech (PFE.N)(22UAy.DE) coronavirus vaccine, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Wednesday.

 

[ghazi52]

Britain approves Merck's Covid-19 pill in world first

• This is the first oral antiviral treatment to get approved, with the green light coming ahead of potential US regulatory clearance

Reuters
04 Nov 2021

Britain on Thursday became the first country in the world to approve a potentially game-changing COVID-19 antiviral pill jointly developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, in a boost to the fight against the pandemic.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recommended the drug, molnupiravir, be used as soon as possible following a positive COVID-19 test and within five days of the onset of symptoms.

This is the first oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 to get approved, with the green light coming ahead of potential US regulatory clearance. US advisers will meet this month to vote on whether molnupiravir should be authorized.

The drug, to be branded Lagevrio in Britain, has been closely watched since data last month showed it could halve the chances of dying or being hospitalised for those most at risk of developing severe COVID-19 when given early in the illness.

The British government and the country's National Health Service will confirm how the treatment will be deployed to patients in due course.

Last month, Britain agreed a deal with Merck to secure 480,000 courses of molnupiravir.

In a separate statement, Merck said it was expecting to produce 10 million courses of the treatment by the end of this year, with at least 20 million set to be manufactured in 2022.

 

[ghazi52]

England sees record Covid-19 prevalence in October:

Covid-19 prevalence in England rose to its highest level on record in October, Imperial College London said, led by a high number of cases in children and a surge in the south-west of the country.

Nearly six per cent of school-aged children had Covid-19, the researchers found, although there was a drop in prevalence towards the end of the study's period coinciding with the closure of schools for half-term holiday, according to a Reuters report.

Despite that dip, researchers said rates had doubled in older groups compared to September, a concerning sign as the government races to give booster shots to the most vulnerable.

“We did see a doubling in that group, and clearly that's the worry,” Paul Elliott, the Imperial epidemiologist who leads the programme, told reporters.

 

[ghazi52]

BUDAPEST, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Coronavirus infections are hitting record levels in many countries across Europe as winter takes hold, prompting a call for action from the World Health Organization which described the new wave as a "grave concern".

Reporting by Krisztina Than in Budapest and Nicolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen Additional reporting by Jason Hovet, Alan Charlish and bureaux worldwide Writing by Nick Macfie Editing by Frances Kerry

 

[ghazi52]

Eiffel Tower visitor numbers climb to pre-Covid levels


The Eiffel Tower is clocking up visitor numbers not seen since Covid-19 kept most tourists away and ripped a deep hole in its finances, the attraction's operator said.

A major paint job on the “Iron Lady” has resumed after an interruption during the pandemic due to high lead levels, it said, with the aim of having the landmark look its best in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Eiffel Tower had “a good month of October”, operator Sete told AFP, thanks to tourists returning to Paris, a top destination.

It received an average of more than 20,000 visitors per day in October, up from 13,000 during the summer when curbs kept down numbers allowed into the tower's lifts.

 

[jamal18]

Jimmy Dore on the phrase 'anti-vaxxer'. Essential viewing.

 

[ghazi52]

No decrease in effectiveness if Covid-19 jab and flu vaccine are taken together:

People can get inoculated against Covid-19 and seasonal influenza at the same time without compromising the vaccines' effectiveness, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said, according to Reuters.

"Anybody can get both the vaccines together — there is no decrease in [the] effectiveness of either of the vaccines when given together at one point of time," Siddhartha Datta, the WHO Europe's regional adviser for vaccines, told a news briefing.

 

[Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen]

No decrease in effectiveness if Covid-19 jab and flu vaccine are taken together:

People can get inoculated against Covid-19 and seasonal influenza at the same time without compromising the vaccines' effectiveness, a World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said, according to Reuters.

"Anybody can get both the vaccines together — there is no decrease in [the] effectiveness of either of the vaccines when given together at one point of time," Siddhartha Datta, the WHO Europe's regional adviser for vaccines, told a news briefing.

Novavax trial found there is decrease to effectiveness if taken together. These bureaucrats are evil men who care nothing other than profit.

 

[ghazi52]

Covid cases break records across Europe as winter takes hold

World Health Organisation describes the new wave as 'grave concern'


Reuters
November 04, 2021


BUDAPEST:Coronavirus infections are hitting record levels in many countries across Europe as winter takes hold, prompting a call for action from the World Health Organisation which described the new wave as a "grave concern".
Soaring numbers of cases, especially in Eastern Europe, have prompted debate on whether to reintroduce curbs on movement before the Christmas holiday season and on how to persuade more people to get vaccinated.

That conversation comes as some countries in Asia, with the notable exception of China, reopen their tourism sectors to the rest of the world.

"The current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European Region is of grave concern," regional WHO head Hans Kluge said, adding that the spread was exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant.

The virus spreads faster in the winter months when people gather indoors.
Kluge warned earlier that if Europe followed its current trajectory, there could be 500,000 Covid-related deaths in the region by February.


"We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of Covid-19, to preventing them from happening in the first place," he said.

The region saw a 6% increase in new cases last week, with nearly 1.8 million new cases, compared to the week before. The number of deaths rose 12% in the same period.
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, reported 33,949 new infections, the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic last year. Cases in Russia and Ukraine are soaring.

Austria's daily new coronavirus infections surged towards a record set a year ago, making a lockdown for the unvaccinated ever more likely.

Covid-19 prevalence in England rose to its highest level on record in October, Imperial College London said, led by a high numbers of cases in children and a surge in the southwest.
Slovakia reported 6,713 new cases, also a record, while daily new cases in Hungary more than doubled from last week to 6,268. Poland, Eastern Europe's biggest economy, reported 15,515 daily cases on Thursday, the highest figure since April. Croatia and Slovenia on Thursday both reported record daily infections.

China on alert ahead of Olympics

China is also on high alert at ports of entry to reduce the risk of Covid-19 cases entering from abroad, and has stepped up restrictions amid a growing outbreak less than 100 days before the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Authorities have also tightened curbs in the capital ahead of a major gathering of the top members of the Communist Party next week.

Since mid-October, over 700 locally transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms have been reported in China. While the number is tiny compared with other countries, it has led to a growing wave of restrictions under Beijing's zero-tolerance policy.

In Central Europe, Hungary has trimmed its 2021 GDP growth projection to 6.8% from 7.0-7.5% due to a rise in inflation, energy prices, and the risks stemming from Covid-19, the finance minister said, flagging the possibility of some new restrictions in a country where there are currently hardly any curbs in place.

Slovakia's Finance Ministry cut its forecasts for 2021 and 2022 growth in September, saying a new wave of Covid-19 cases will hit consumer demand and the labour market at the end of the year although the impact will not be as strong as earlier in the pandemic. Poland's central bank left its projections unchanged.

Fresh curbs

The Hungarian government has urged people to take up vaccines and last week announced mandatory vaccinations at state institutions, also empowering private companies to make jabs mandatory for employees if they believe that is necessary.

Romania - where hospitals cannot cope with a surge in Covid-19 patients - the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland have all tightened rules on mask wearing and introduced measures to curb infections.

The Czech Republic has introduced a requirement for restaurant customers to show proof of vaccination or a test. It also has tough mask regulations and some children are again being tested in schools in areas where cases are higher.

In Poland, mask wearing is mandatory in enclosed public spaces while cinemas, theatres and hotels have a 75% capacity limit. The Hungarian government has not replied to Reuters questions on potential measures.

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

WASHINGTON: Pfizer said Friday that a clinical trial of its first pill to treat Covid-19 shows it is highly effective.

The drug called Paxlovid achieved an 89 percent reduction in risk of hospitalization or death among adult patients with Covid who are at high risk of progressing to severe illness, Pfizer said.

The results from this middle-to-late stage clinical trial are so good that Pfizer will stop recruiting new people for the trial, the company said.

It will submit the data to the Food and Drug Administration as soon as possible as part of its "rolling submission" for Emergency Use Authorization.

"Today's news is a real game-changer in the global efforts to halt the devastation of this pandemic," said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.

"These data suggest that our oral antiviral candidate, if approved or authorized by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients' lives, reduce the severity of Covid-19 infections, and eliminate up to nine out of 10 hospitalizations," he added.

The main analysis of the data looked at numbers from 1,219 adults in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Several companies are working on so-called oral antivirals, which would mimic what the drug Tamiflu does for influenza and prevent the disease from progressing to severe.

Pfizer started developing its drug in March 2020.

Other companies are also testing existing oral antivirals against Covid -- but Pfizer's is the first specifically designed against the coronavirus.

It is known as a "protease inhibitor" and has been shown in lab testing to jam up the virus' replication machinery.
If it works in real life, it will likely only be effective at the early stages of infection.


By the time Covid progresses to severe disease, the virus has largely stopped replicating and patients suffer from an overactive immune response.

 

[ghazi52]

WORLDCountries rush to buy Merck, Pfizer's experimental Covid-19 pills

Merck & Co Inc has signed nine deals to sell more than about 3 million courses in total of its experimental...

Reuters
05 Nov 2021

Merck & Co Inc has signed nine deals to sell more than about 3 million courses in total of its experimental COVID-19 pill molnupiravir to governments around the world as nations scramble to tame the pandemic.

Merck's COVID-19 treatment is, however, not the only one in the game. On Friday, the company's US peer Pfizer Inc halted early a trial of its antiviral drug after it proved to cut the risk of severe COVID-19 by 89%, outdoing the results seen with Merck's product.

Pfizer said it expects to submit interim trial results for its pill to US Food and Drug Administration before the US Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 25.

The United States has secured "millions of pill doses" of Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment pill, President Joe Biden said on Friday.

While Merck's drug approval in the United States is also still pending, Britain has become the first country in the world to approve the pill. The UK has already secured 480,000 courses of Merck's drug and procured 250,000 courses of Pfizer's.