Ministerial meeting of World Trade Organization to extend into the fifth day. Efforts aimed at reaching agreements on fisheries subsidies, food security, and fighting Covid-19. WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said it seemed sticking points could be resolved. WTO ministerial meeting will extend into a fifth day on Thursday in the expectation of reaching hitherto elusive … Read more
Pfizer has asked a U.S. court to toss out an informant’s claim that the organization can’t be at fault for misrepresentation, misuse, and convention infringement in its COVID Vaccine clinical preliminaries. The informant, Brook Jackson, was the provincial chief for the Ventavia Research Group. The U.S. Division of Justice declined to mediate for the benefit … Read more
THE HAGUE, March 29, 2022 (AFP) – The EU medicines watchdog on Tuesday began a rolling review of a Covid-19 booster vaccine made by Spanish pharmaceutical firm HIPRA, saying early results showed it was effective against the Omicron strain. “Preliminary results suggest that the immune response with Covid-19 vaccine HIPRA may be effective against SARS-CoV-2, including … Read more
WASHINGTON: The United States has given more than 500 million coronavirus vaccines to other countries since the jabs were developed, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday in a statement obtained by AFP. “The United States has now shared over 500 million safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine doses, free of cost, to more than 110 … Read more
ULAN BATOR – Mongolia reported 164 new COVID-19 local cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 468,323, the country’s health ministry said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the country’s COVID-19 death toll stands at 2,105, with no new deaths reported for the sixth consecutive day by Wednesday. Currently, Mongolia has a total of … Read more
WASHINGTON – Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine greatly reduced the risk of Omicron infection among children aged 5 to 15, according to a study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday. Children and adolescents aged 5 to 15 were tested for SARS-CoV-2 weekly, irrespective of symptoms, during July … Read more
PARIS: French-Austrian biotech firm Valneva on Tuesday said its Covid-19 vaccine received emergency authorisation for use in Bahrain, the first approval for its jab. Valneva committed to supplying the Gulf kingdom with one million doses in an advance purchase agreement last year and plans to deliver the first batches at the end of March. The … Read more
SEOUL – South Korea’s drug safety agency on Wednesday authorized the use of COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 for the first time amid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. The two-dose vaccine, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, was approved for use among minors aged 5 through 11, with a lower dose level of … Read more
CANBERRA – Australia’s medical regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) said on Thursday that it has provisionally approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for use in individuals aged six years and older. The decision follows the provisional approvals granted by the TGA to Moderna for the use of the vaccine, SPIKEVAX, in individuals aged 12 years … Read more
SYDNEY – New data released by the Australian state of Queensland on Wednesday showed a concerning rise in COVID-19 cases among school-age children. There were 1,905 cases reported in Queensland’s children aged 5-17 on Wednesday, up from the previous day’s 1,587. Queensland’s Chief Health Officer John Gerrard admitted there has been “a bump in cases … Read more
JERUSALEM – The Israeli Ministry of Health on Tuesday approved the administration of AstraZeneca’s Evusheld COVID-19 drug to people with weakened immune systems. The antibody drug, which includes two injections of two types of long-acting antibodies given at the same time, is only authorized for those who are not currently infected or have not recently … Read more
ULAN BATOR – Mongolia’s COVID-19 tally rose to 459,368 after 834 new infections were reported over the past 24 hours, the country’s health ministry said Wednesday. Meanwhile, one more related death was reported in the past day, bringing the death toll to 2,077. So far, 66.8 percent of the country’s population of 3.4 million people … Read more
Saudi Arabia has made COVID-19 vaccine booster shot mandatory for the pilgrims coming on a tourist visa to perform Umrah and visit the two holy mosques, whose second dose exceeded eight months. A statement shared by Haramain Sharifain, a non-profit organisation which provides updates about the two holy mosques, states, “It is now mandatory to … Read more
TRIPOLI – Libya reported 3,648 new infections and 12 more deaths on Sunday, bringing the total caseload to 470,314 and the national death toll to 6,125, said the country’s National Center for Disease Control. The new cases were identified after 12,714 tests were carried out over the last 24 hours, the center said. Meanwhile, 5,409 … Read more
SYDNEY: Thousands of protesters marched through Australia’s capital to the parliament building on Saturday to decry Covid-19 vaccine mandates, the latest in a string of rallies against pandemic restrictions around the world. Demonstrators packed Canberra’s streets before massing outside the parliament, some waving the red Australian ensign flag associated with “sovereign citizens” who believe national … Read more
CANBERRA – Australia reported more than 25,000 new COVID-19 cases and more than 50 deaths on Thursday when the AstraZeneca vaccine was provisionally approved for use as a booster in the country. Medical regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Wednesday night announced it provisionally approved a booster dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for … Read more
SURABAYA: Indonesia began testing a homegrown Covid-19 vaccine on humans Wednesday after getting the green light from the drug regulator as the country faces a rising wave of virus cases. Research on the “Merah Putih” (“Red White”) vaccine — named after the colours of the Indonesian national flag — is led by Airlangga University and … Read more
VIENTIANE – The Lao Ministry of Health hopes to vaccinate 80 percent of the population in every district and province by the end of 2022 before the country can reopen for tourism to revitalize its economy. Local daily Vientiane Times on Monday quoted Rattanaxay Phetsouvanh, director-general of the Department of Communicable Disease Control under the … Read more
WASHINGTON: US biotech company Moderna announced on Wednesday that it has begun clinical trials of a booster dose of vaccine designed specifically to combat the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The trials will involve a total of 600 adults — half of whom have already received two doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine at least six months ago, … Read more
WASHINGTON: Pfizer and BioNTech have begun enrollment for a clinical trial to test the safety and immune response of their Omicron-specific Covid-19 vaccine in adults aged up to 55, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla previously said at a conference that the pharmaceutical giant could be ready to file for … Read more
CANBERRA – Australia approved the Novavax vaccine for people aged 18 and over on Monday, making it the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for use in Australia after AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended the Novavax vaccine be given in two doses, at least three weeks … Read more
TRIPOLI- The Libyan National Center for Disease Control on Tuesday announced that a total of 4,166 people have received a third booster shot for COVID-19. A total of 1,974,537 people in Libya have received one vaccine dose, while over 945,000 others have taken two doses, the center said. Read more: Australian states bring forward COVID … Read more
WELLINGTON, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) — New Zealand reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country’s current community outbreak to 11,337. Among the new infections, seven were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, six in the Lakes district and one in Wellington, … Read more
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) — Mongolia recorded 2,135 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 412,677, the country’s health ministry said Tuesday. The latest confirmed cases were all locally transmitted, and more than half of them were detected in the national capital Ulan Bator, the hardest-hit area by … Read more
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) — Mongolia reported 1,673 new local COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 410,542, the country’s health ministry said Monday. More than half of the latest confirmed cases were detected in the national capital Ulan Bator, the hardest-hit area by COVID-19 and home to over … Read more
Brussels – The World Health Organization has warned that more than half of the people in its European region will be infected with Covid-19 in the next two months as several countries report record numbers of new cases. The region, which covers 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, reported more than 7 million new … Read more
BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — Over 1.26 billion Chinese people, or nearly 90 percent of the country’s population, have received COVID-19 vaccine jabs as of Friday, said a health official on Saturday. Among them, more than 1.22 billion have completed their vaccination, said He Qinghua, the official with the National Health Commission, at a press … Read more
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — Mongolia has recorded 2,347 new COVID-19 infections, including 22 imported ones over the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 406,118, the country’s health ministry said Saturday. More than half of the latest confirmed cases were detected in the national capital Ulan Bator, the hardest-hit area by COVID-19 … Read more
