Tag Archives: COVID-19

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 …

Five states have intensive care units over 90% full. The United States is facing a COVID-19 surge this summer as the more contagious delta variant spreads. More than 622,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and over 4.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, according to real-time data compiled …

US authorities arrested a Chicago pharmacist Tuesday for selling dozens of official cards showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination on eBay, the Justice Department said. The department said Tangtang Zhao sold 125 official Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards for $10 each. Zhao worked at an unidentified chain of …

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation under strict lockdown on Tuesday after one new case of the coronavirus was reported in its largest city of Auckland, the country’s first in six months. All of New Zealand will be in lockdown for three days from Wednesday while Auckland …

The four parties concerned with running the Tokyo Paralympics agreed on Monday that the Games will be held generally without spectators, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters. Koike also said that municipalities and schools will still be able to have schoolchildren attend events as long as proper COVID-19 safety measures …

Australia’s biggest city of Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday as troops and police set up roadblocks to limit the movement of people, while Melbourne faced a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown. Sydney, which is in its eighth week of lockdown, …

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 …

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially announced on Sunday morning that Canada’s federal election will be held on September 20. Trudeau, also Canadian Liberal Party leader, made the announcement after his meeting with Governor-General Mary Simon, who approved his request to dissolve Parliament, triggering the issuing of the election writs …

India will launch a 100 trillion rupee ($1.35 trillion) national infrastructure plan that will help generate jobs and expand use of cleaner fuels to achieve the country’s climate goals, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday. The infrastructure program, called “Gati Shakti”, will help boost productivity of industries and boost …

Protesters have marched in cities across France for a fifth consecutive weekend against rules compelling them to show a COVID-19 health pass for daily activities, but in lesser numbers than a week ago. Crowds rallied through the streets of Paris, Marseille, Nice, Montpellier, and other towns, waving placards reading “Pass=Apartheid” …

Ministry of Health and Environment – MOH detected on Saturday, 7610 new cases of COVID-19. “10078 recovered cases were also detected among all the provinces of the country,” the statement included. 65 death cases were also recorded where 26210 were vaccinated in a matter of 24 hours.

Iran is to impose a one-week lockdown and a ban on road travel amid a fifth COVID-19 surge in the worst-hit country in the Middle East, state television reported on Saturday. All non-essential businesses and offices will have to close under the nationwide lockdown from Monday to Aug. 21, in …

The Philippine health minister, facing questions over more than $1 billion in COVID-19 spending, denied on Saturday that any money was “stolen”, as his department vowed to account for every peso. The country is battling one of Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, and the spread of the virulent delta variant is …

Iraq recorded, on Friday 9,967 new cases of Covid-19 to take its total to 1,761,143, the health ministry said. It reported 75 deaths to take its coronavirus death toll to 19,541. It also reported 9890 recoveries to take its total to 1,576,593 (89.5%). The COVID-19 intensive care patients count to …

Indonesia’s capital reopened its retail malls this week to an exclusive crowd – shoppers vaccinated against coronavirus. With restrictions still in place in much of Indonesia, Jakarta’s malls are allowed to operate at 25% capacity to try to keep the economy moving, but customers must prove via a smartphone application …

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 …

China’s newly appointed ambassador in Washington stressed the utmost importance of Taiwan in the Sino-U.S. relationship during his first meeting with a top U.S. official since assuming the job, according to Chinese state media. Qin Gang, 55, who has earned a reputation for pointed public defences of his country’s positions, …

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 on Thursday reported its highest daily coronavirus death toll since the start of the pandemic, as a third wave persists despite an intensifying vaccination drive. A government tally reported 808 fatalities over the past 24 hours — the first time Russia has crossed the 800-mark for daily virus deaths …