Health

A new study is raising concerns about effectiveness of mRNA vaccines like Pfizer, which has been effective against the fast spreading Delta variant of COVID-19 only 42 percent in US. The data was from the month of July, when Delta was the dominant variant of the coronavirus, according to the …

Dr. Anthony Fauci says an additional COVID-19 booster shot will be recommended for previously vaccinated people with weakened immune systems. He told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that he expects the booster recommendation to come “imminently.” People have compromised immune systems for a variety of reasons, including organ transplants, cancer, …

Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine shows great results against the Delta coronavirus strain, with its effectiveness against it reaching around 83%, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said on Wednesday. “Today, the Sputnik V vaccine shows the most effective results in preventing and fighting the Delta strain. The latest data show that its …

New data showing vaccines still allow transmission of the virus means herd immunity may not be possible Herd immunity “is not a possibility” because the delta variant can spread among vaccinated individuals, according to experts including the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group. In a parliamentary panel on Tuesday, Professor …

Health officials in Guinea have confirmed West Africa’s first case of Marburg, a highly infectious disease that’s in the same family as the virus that causes Ebola. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the virus needed to be “stopped in its tracks”. Marburg virus disease is transmitted to people from …

A cholera outbreak in southern Niger has killed 12 people and infected 201 others across three regions, with heavy rains helping to further spread the disease, the country’s health minister said on Monday. Niger’s southern neighbor Nigeria is also dealing with a cholera outbreak, which has killed at least 653 …

The prevalence of the lambda COVID-19 variant, deemed a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization, has increased in the US. “There are currently more than 1,300 lambda sequences in the US as of August 4, 2021, and the lambda variant has been identified in 44 states,” Centers for …

The World Health Organization suggested, on Sunday, to carry new types of mutant virus Corona emerging names of constellations, when the letters of the Greek alphabet run out. WHO expert Maria Van Kerkhove said in an interview with the Telegraph: “The new mutated types of the emerging corona virus may …

Over 11 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses are needed to fully inoculate around 70 percent of the world against the novel coronavirus, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM). At the first International Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine Cooperation held on Thursday, Guterres said that vaccines …

Big pharma giant Moderna says people who received its two-dose Covid-19 vaccine would need a booster shot in the fall to keep strong protection against the raging Delta variant. Drugmaker Moderna said Thursday that its coronavirus vaccine is 93 percent effective only six months after injection. In a statement regarding …

However, a booster dose will be necessary prior to the winter season as antibody levels are likely to wane, Moderna said. Moderna said on Thursday its Covid-19 shot was about 93 percent effective through six months after the second dose, showing hardly any change from the 94 percent efficacy reported …

South Korea has detected its first two cases of the new Delta Plus COVID-19 variant, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Tuesday, as the country battles with its fourth wave of infections. The Delta Plus variant is a sub-lineage of the Delta variant first identified in …

The UK drew up a blueprint to respond to a COVID-19-type outbreak in 2005 – but the contingency plan was apparently “lost” and never considered when the coronavirus surged across the world, according to a new report. The Independent reported on Wednesday that the document, drawn up in response to …

Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as the more infectious Delta variant threatens areas with low vaccination rates and strains healthcare systems. The global surge in cases is highlighting the widening gap in inoculation rates between wealthy and poor nations. Cases are rising …

A doctor based in the United States shared X-ray images of the lungs of two COVID-19 patients, one who was vaccinated against the virus and one who was not, indicating a significant difference in infections. When examining the two images, the ICU director at the Saint Louis University Hospital (SSM) …

The WHO called Wednesday for a moratorium on Covid-19 vaccine booster shots as China tightened overseas travel curbs after recording its highest number of infections in months, while Tokyo reported the Olympic Games’ first cluster. The World Health Organization said halting booster shots until at least the end of September …

The largest clinical trial investigating the best gap between first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses for pregnant women has been launched in the UK. Following 130,000 pregnant women being vaccinated in the US and no safety concerns being raised, the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were recommended by the independent experts …

The US Forest Service has announced it is closing several sites at California’s scenic South Lake Tahoe after discovering bubonic plague in the chipmunk population. The agency announced this week that “based on positive plague tests” in the rodent population around hiking areas, it would close popular hiking spots including …

With a new wave of COVID-19 infections fueled by the Delta variant striking countries worldwide, disease experts are scrambling to learn whether the latest version of coronavirus is making people – mainly the unvaccinated – sicker than before. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that Delta, first …

A day after it recorded the newest daily cases since the start of the pandemic, Florida on Sunday broke a previous record for current hospitalizations set more than a year ago before vaccines were available. The Sunshine State had 10,207 people hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported …