Health

Japanese officials have suspended the use of millions of doses of the Moderna Covid vaccine after foreign substances were found in a number of batches and two people died after receiving jabs from the affected lots. The Japanese government discovered the contamination over the weekend in a batch of the …

Scientists have raised concern regarding a new potential COVID-19 variant of interest in South Africa due to its “concerning constellations of mutations.” The new variant, dubbed C.1.2, was first identified in May 2021 and has since spread across South Africa and into seven other countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, and …

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday it feared another 236,000 COVID-19 deaths in Europe by December 1, expressing concern about stagnating vaccination rates and low uptake in poorer countries. “Last week, there was an 11 percent increase in the number of deaths in the region – one reliable projection …

Japan is looking into the possibility of mixing shots of AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine with those developed by other drugmakers in a bid to speed up its vaccine rollout, the minister in charge of vaccinations said on Sunday. Japan, which has previously relied on the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE and Moderna …

Health experts in the US are warning people against the use of Ivermectin, a drug that is often used to treat or prevent parasites in horses and other animals, as a home remedy for COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said recently of a growing trend interest in using …

Fatigue and shortness of breath still afflict many patients a year after their hospitalization for COVID-19, according to a new Chinese study calling for a better understanding of the pandemic’s long-term health effects. Around half of the patients discharged from hospital for COVID still suffer from at least one persistent …

Japan suspended the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, more than a week after the domestic distributor received reports of contaminants in some vials. Both Japan and Moderna said that no safety or efficacy issues had been identified and that the suspension was just …

China criticized Wednesday the US “politicization” of efforts to trace the origin of the coronavirus, demanding a US military laboratory be investigated, shortly before the release of a US intelligence community report on the virus. The US report is intended to resolve disputes among intelligence agencies considering different theories about …

Adults under 60 who spend most of their days sitting have a higher risk of stroke compared to those who spend more time being physically active, a new study finds. People who reported sitting eight or more hours daily and were not very physically active otherwise were seven times more …

The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday fully approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, a move expected to trigger a new wave of vaccine mandates as the delta variant batters the country. “The FDA’s approval of this vaccine is a milestone as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic,” acting FDA …

The US FDA is warning against the use of animal medications for human COVID-19 infections after multiple people were hospitalized after taking ivermectin, a treatment intended for horses. “There seems to be a growing interest in a drug called ivermectin to treat humans with COVID-19,” the food and drug administration …

While the world is unlikely to exit the COVID-19 pandemic any time soon, vaccines have given hope and freedom to millions around the world who have lived under tight restrictions for over 18 months. In the wake of their creation and approval by the relevant medical authorities, the roll-out of …

India’s drug regulator has granted emergency use approval for Zydus Cadila’s COVID-19 vaccine, the world’s first DNA shot against the coronavirus, in adults and children aged 12 years and above. The approval gives a boost to India’s vaccination programme, which aims to inoculate all eligible adults by December, and will …

UN health agency says West Africa faces complex challenge of multiple outbreaks that could strain healthcare systems. The World Health Organization has warned that on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, West Africa is facing new outbreaks of the viral haemorrhagic fevers Marburg and Ebola, risking huge strains on ill-equipped health …

Russia’s single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine against COVID-19 has demonstrated 93.5 percent efficacy in Paraguay, with data taken from the South American country’s vaccination campaign, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Wednesday. Developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, Sputnik Light had shown 79.4 percent efficacy when it was first authorized …

With governments around the world debating whether to authorize COVID-19 vaccine booster doses, Moderna Inc. co-founder Noubar Afeyan envisions a time when the shot could become routine. “Public health officials are going to have to decide if everybody should get a booster shot, he said in an interview on “The …

INTERPOL has issued a global alert to law enforcement across its 194 member countries warning them to prepare for organized crime networks targeting COVID-19 vaccines, both physically and online. The INTERPOL Orange Notice outlines potential criminal activity in relation to the falsification, theft and illegal advertising of COVID-19 and flu …

U.S. health experts say most people don’t need a COVID-19 booster shot — yet. But all three companies, which make the vaccines being used in the U.S., are studying whether, and when, they might be. The CEO of Pfizer says it appears a booster will be needed between eight and …

China has rejected the World Health Organization (WHO)’s calls for a new probe into the origins of the coronavirus, saying it supports “scientific” over “political” efforts to find out how the virus started. The rejection came on Friday after the WHO urged Beijing to share raw data from the earliest …

The number of COVID-19 cases in the world may exceed 300 million at the beginning of next year if the current rate of the spread of the infection is not stopped, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says. “Last week, the 200 millionth case of …