An inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the Institute of Medical Biology under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has entered phase-2 clinical trials in China, the Science and Technology Daily reported Saturday. The phase-2 trials, which further evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine in humans, are conducted …
Read More »6 staffers setting up for Trump rally positive for COVID-19
US President Donald Trump’s campaign says six staff members helping set up for his Saturday night rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have tested positive for coronavirus. The campaign’s communications director, Tim Murtaugh, said in a statement that “quarantine procedures” were immediately initiated and no staff member who tested positive would attend …
Read More »Waiting for Trump: Hats, Flags, Little Fear of the Virus
Public health experts issued dire warnings. Local officials expressed unease. The coronavirus cases continued to climb. And still, they came. President Trump’s most faithful supporters piled into tents or lounged in lawn chairs, some wearing masks, and others dismissing the need for face coverings, as they waited hours and, in …
Read More »Brazil becomes the second country in the world to surpass 1 million coronavirus cases
On Friday night, Brazil became the second country in the world to surpass 1 million cases of the coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The nation is on track to overshadow the U.S. for the most coronavirus deaths in the world by the end of July, according to …
Read More »UK Coronavirus: Review of 2m social distancing rule ‘to conclude within days’
A review into the 2m social distancing rule in England will conclude “within the coming days”, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has said. It comes amid warnings many businesses will not survive under the current guidance as the government prepares to ease more restrictions on 4 July. Pubs, restaurants and hotels …
Read More »Russian Covid-19 drug to be available in Iraq next week
The Iraqi Ministry of Health and environment announced today, Friday, that the Russian Covid-19 drug will be available in Iraq by the end of next week. The official Iraqi News agency quoted the minister of health, Hassan al-Tamimi, saying that, “the Russian drug is currently manufactured in Iraq and will …
Read More »Karbala: first Covid-19 patient to undergo a successful cesarean delivery
A specialized medical team performed today, in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Karbala, a successful cesarean delivery for a Covid-19 patient. The director of the hospital, Ibrahim Al-Rikabi, said in a statement received by Alghdeer that the hospital performed the first caesarean section for a 23-year-old Covid-19 patient, after …
Read More »China company says its vaccine could be complete by ‘autumn’
A China-based pharmaceutical company claims its COVID-19 vaccine candidate is proving to be safe and effective on humans so far, citing early research. A senior member of the company said the vaccine could finish the last phase of human testing as early as this fall. “The vaccine shows [protection] on …
Read More »WHO: The second wave of Covid-19 is not inevitable
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed today, Friday, that the second wave of Covid-19 is not inevitable; contrasting its previous warning of a possible second wave of the pandemic. “The situation today is not better than it was at the beginning of the year, while no vaccine or treatment were …
Read More »Study ties blood type to COVID-19 risk; O may help, A hurt
A genetic analysis of COVID-19 patients suggests that blood type might influence whether someone develops a severe disease. Scientists who compared the genes of thousands of patients in Europe found that those who had Type A blood were more likely to have severe disease while those with Type O were …
Read More »WHO comments on Iraq requesting Covid-19 drug from Russia
World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Iraq, Adham Ismail, revealed today, that COVID-19’s Russian drug, which Baghdad is intending to import, is not approved by international health committees yet. Ismail said that, “the Russian treatment improves the mortality, but does not reduce the severity of the symptoms”, stressing that, “the …
Read More »WHO testing interim data from COVID-19 trial on HIV drugs
The World Health Organization is looking at interim data from its large multi-country trial of the combination of HIV drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir to treat COVID-19 patients, the UN agency’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Thursday. Her comments come after the WHO on Wednesday stopped testing of the malaria …
Read More »Beijing tightens control of personnel flow to curb COVID-19 infections
Beijing has published a slew of measures to tighten the control of personnel flow after new clusters of COVID-19 infections emerged, according to a press conference Thursday. People belonging to three categories are not allowed to leave Beijing, according to Pan Xuhong, deputy head and spokesperson of the municipal public …
Read More »Beijing Cancels Flights, Closes Down Schools as New COVID-19 Cases Surge
Beijing’s two major airports canceled two-thirds of all their flights Wednesday, and the government has also shut down schools as the Chinese city faces a new COVID-19 outbreak. More than 60% of flights at Beijing Capital International Airport were canceled Wednesday, while around half of all flights were canceled at …
Read More »Opinion | Dexamethasone may be part of the Covid-19 puzzle, but it’s no magic bullet
Right now, we could all use some good news, and it came yesterday in the form of dexamethasone. This cheap steroid could significantly reduce deaths in critically ill Covid-19 patients by one-third for those on ventilators and by one-fifth for those on oxygen alone. The drug appears to stop the …
Read More »WHO criticizes some Iraqis for “Corona lie”
The World Health Organization criticized (WHO), on Wednesday, Iraqi citizens who question the existence of the Covid-19 and consider it a “lie”, which does not serve the efforts to contain the pandemic. The representative of WHO in Baghdad, Adham Ismail, said that, “Unfortunately, some Iraqi citizens are lying about the …
Read More »Eiffel Tower to reopen after longest closure since WWII
Workers are preparing the Eiffel Tower for reopening next week after the coronavirus pandemic led to the iconic Paris landmark’s longest closure since World War II. France’s tourism industry is opening back up, but the 324-meter (1,063-feet) tall wrought-iron tower won’t immediately welcome visitors the way it did before the …
Read More »Military takes over New Zealand border checks after new cases emerge
New Zealand’s prime minister has assigned a top military leader to oversee the nation’s border checks after two women who had flown from London were released from quarantine before being tested for coronavirus. Jacinda Ardern called the blunder an “unacceptable failure” and said: “It should never have happened and it …
Read More »Iran reports highest daily death toll from coronavirus in more than two months
Iran reports 120 new deaths from coronavirus over the past 24 hours, hitting the highest single-day death toll in more than two months. The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, Sima Lari, said in a press conference on Wednesday that the new deaths took Iran’s death toll to 9,185. She …
Read More »WHO moves to update COVID-19 guidance after ‘great news’ in drug study
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was moving to update its guidelines on treating people stricken with COVID-19 to reflect results of a clinical trial that showed a cheap, common steroid can help save critically ill patients. Trial results announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, used since the 1960s to …
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