Health

The Chinese dad making medicine to treat his dying son

by Patrick Baert with Danni Zhu KUNMING, China (AFP) — Two-year-old Haoyang has likely just months to live — but the only medicine that can help his rare genetic condition is not found anywhere in China and closed borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic mean he cannot travel for treatment. Instead, his desperate father, Xu Wei, has created a home laboratory to create a remedy for the boy himself. “I didn’t really have time to […]

EU starts J&J Covid vaccine booster evaluation

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The EU’s drug watchdog on Monday said it was evaluating an application by Johnson & Johnson for its Covid vaccine booster shot to be used on people aged 18 and over in the bloc. If approved, the booster will be the third in the 27-nation European Union for adults and will be given at least two months after a first single-shot dose. “EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) will carry out […]

Pfizer says Covid shot 100% effective in adolescents after 4 months

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Pfizer and BioNTech said Monday their Covid-19 vaccine remained 100 percent effective in children 12 to 15 years old, four months after the second dose. The companies said that the new data, which involved 2,228 trial participants, will help support their applications for full approval in the United States and worldwide. No serious safety concerns were observed in individuals with at least six months of follow-up after the second dose. […]

US authorizes Covid boosters for all adults, recommends for over-50s

    by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States authorized the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccine boosters for all people aged 18 and older on Friday, as the world’s hardest-hit country enters a new winter wave of the pandemic. Boosters were previously available to the immune compromised, people over 65, those at high risk of severe disease, and people in high risk occupations. The new decision “helps to […]

US to buy 10 million Pfizer Covid-19 treatments for $5.3 billion

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced the United States is buying 10 million courses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 treatment pill, in a $5.3 billion deal he touted as “critical” to fighting the pandemic. Pfizer applied this week for US emergency use authorization for its Paxlovid antiviral pill, shown to be highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death among high-risk patients. While the deal hinges on the treatment’s approval by the Food […]

AstraZeneca announces ‘robust’ results from anti-Covid drug trial

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Thursday announced that clinical trials of an antibody-based Covid-19 drug had shown robust efficacy and long-term prevention. The Anglo-Swedish laboratory follows in the footsteps of US firms Merck and Pfizer, which announced in October and early November respectively that they had developed drugs that could prevent severe forms of the disease, and that could be taken at the first sign of symptoms. The AstraZeneca drug AZD7442, […]

Novavax files for EU Covid vaccine approval

by Jan HENNOP THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Pharmaceutical giant Novavax has applied for authorization for their coronavirus vaccine in the EU with a decision possible “within weeks”, Europe’s drugs regulator said Wednesday. The jab, if approved, would be the fifth authorized for use within the EU — the other four are made by Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The assessment of the vaccine, which goes under the brand name Nuvaxovid, would be […]

US wants to produce one billion doses of mRNA vaccine a year

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States wants to produce one billion more doses of mRNA vaccines each year, starting in 2022, both for the current pandemic and future threats, officials said Wednesday. “The goal of this program is to expand existing capacity by an additional billion doses per year, with production starting by the second half of 2022,” said Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator during a press conference. To reach […]

Covax hits 500 million Covid-19 vaccine dose deliveries

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The Covax scheme aimed at equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines has now delivered more than 500 million doses around the world, figures showed Wednesday. Covax was established to ensure poorer countries get Covid jabs but the facility has been hit by setbacks as wealthy nations hog doses straight off the production lines. Covax, co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic […]

It’s official: Science says grannies are good for you

by Issam AHMED Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Scientists say they have proven what many people fortunate enough to grow up with theirs have known all along: Grandmothers have strong nurturing instincts and are hard-wired to care deeply about their grandchildren. A new study published in the Royal Society B on Tuesday is the first to provide a neural snapshot of the cherished intergenerational bond. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers […]

Pfizer asks US to authorize Covid pill

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US pharmaceutical company Pfizer on Tuesday asked regulators to authorize its Covid pill after it was shown to cut hospitalization or death by nearly 90 percent among newly-infected high risk patients. The move comes a few weeks after Merck also approached the Food and Drug Administration seeking a green light for its antiviral capsule against the coronavirus. Experts see the oral medications as an invaluable addition to vaccines in the […]

‘Down’ but not ‘out’: Growth needs fuel India’s coal addiction

by Abhaya SRIVASTAVA Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) – Even as its capital was blanketed by toxic smog, India led the charge to weaken anti-coal pledges at the COP26 summit, with experts saying it is prioritising its economic growth over the planet’s future. The world’s third-largest emitter teamed up with China to water down language on fossil fuels at the Glasgow conference, forcing a compromise: a climate deal that bound countries to “phase down” […]