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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Novavax said Thursday its Covid vaccine was 82 percent effective among adolescents during the period when the Delta variant was dominant, and the US biotech now plans to submit for regulatory approval in this age group. The two-dose vaccine, which is based on synthetic proteins that mimic the spikes that dot the surface of the virus, was found to be safe and effective among more than 2,200 adolescents aged […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) – The Omicron variant coronavirus entered Tonga for the first time in the wake of last month’s volcanic eruption, officials confirmed Thursday, as the number of Covid-19 cases in the kingdom almost doubled to 64. Health Minister Saia Piukala said 31 new cases had been detected in the previous 24 hours, a record for the island nation which was virus-free until last month’s blast. Piukala said samples sent to Australia confirmed the […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Johnson & Johnson has temporarily suspended production at a key plant manufacturing the Covid-19 vaccine, the New York Times reported Tuesday. The facility in the Dutch city of Leiden halted output late last year, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the decision. J&J, without confirming or denying the report, said it has continued to fulfill delivery commitments, a company spokesman said. The factory, which is currently […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization lamented Tuesday that half a million Covid-19 deaths had been recorded since the Omicron variant was discovered, calling the toll “beyond tragic”. The WHO’s incident manager Abdi Mahamud said that 130 million cases and 500,000 deaths had been recorded globally since Omicron was declared a variant of concern in late November. It has since rapidly overtaken Delta as the world’s dominant Covid variant because it is […]
by John BIERS NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Pfizer forecast more than $50 billion in 2022 sales for its Covid-19 vaccine and therapeutic on Tuesday as the pharmaceutical giant reported a more than doubling of annual profits on strong sales of its innoculation. Pfizer, whose vaccinee developed with German company BioNTech was the first approved in the United States to counter the deadly virus, sees slightly lower 2022 revenues for the vaccine compared with […]
by Lucie AUBOURG WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Oxford researchers announced Thursday the discovery of a highly virulent strain of HIV that has been lurking in the Netherlands for decades, but because of the effectiveness of modern treatments, is “no cause for alarm.” Their analysis, published Thursday in the journal “Science,” showed that patients infected with what they call the “VB variant” had 3.5 to 5.5 times higher levels of the virus in their blood […]
by Fred Ooko SAIYA, Kenya (AFP) — Lucy Akinyi’s three children were infected with malaria so often she would be at their local health clinic in western Kenya every other week getting them treated. When offered the chance to protect her children with the world’s first vaccine against the deadly parasitic disease, Akinyi jumped at the chance. More than 100,000 children in malaria-endemic western Kenya have received the new vaccine against the disease, which kills […]
by Lucie AUBOURG WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer and BioNTech said Tuesday they are seeking emergency authorization from US health regulators for use of their Covid vaccine for children aged over six months and under five years. If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes the two-shot regimen, it will become the first Covid vaccine available to this age group in the United States. The companies said Tuesday that they started submitting their […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — A sub-variant of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus strain, which some studies indicate could be even more infectious than the original version, has been detected in 57 countries, the WHO said Tuesday. The fast-spreading and heavily mutated Omicron variant has rapidly become the dominant variant worldwide since it was first detected in southern Africa 10 weeks ago. In its weekly epidemiological update, the World Health Organization said that the variant, which […]
by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse The World Health Organization chief warned Tuesday that it is too early for countries to either declare victory over Covid-19 or give up attempts to halt transmission. “It is premature for any country to either surrender or to declare victory,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. “This virus is dangerous, and it continues to evolve before our very eyes.” His comments came as Denmark on Tuesday became […]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) – A sub-variant of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus strain is even more infectious than the original version, according to a Danish study published on Monday. Sub-variant BA.2 — also called “stealth Omicron” — was detected earlier this year and has displaced the first Omicron variant, known as BA.1, as the dominant strain in Denmark. A person infected with BA.2 has a 39 percent chance of transmitting the virus to someone else […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Monday that it has granted full approval to Moderna’s Covid-19 “Spikevax” vaccine, which had previously received an emergency use authorization in the United States. “The public can be assured that Spikevax meets the FDA’s high standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality required of any vaccine approved for use in the United States,” acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement. […]
