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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States will begin to offer Covid-19 vaccines at pharmacies from February 11, part of efforts to rapidly increase the rate at which shots reach arms. The White House’s Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters on Tuesday that because of supply constraints, the program would initially be limited to 6,500 participating pharmacies nationwide, before eventually expanding to 40,000. “This will provide more sites for people to get […]
But none of 29 poorest countries has formally started vaccination drive by Jean-Philippe CHOGNOT Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — More than 100 million Covid-19 vaccines have been given around the world, an AFP tally from official sources found Tuesday. But none of the world’s 29 poorest countries has formally started mass vaccination drives, while the richest nations have given more than two-thirds of jabs administered. Israel leads the race by far, with […]
by Leo RAMIREZ / Hector RETAMAL Agence France Presse WUHAN, China (AFP) — A team of WHO experts investigating the origins of the coronavirus toured a propaganda exhibition celebrating China’s recovery from the pandemic in Wuhan on Saturday, after a meeting at the hospital that treated the first confirmed Covid-19 cases over a year ago. Details of the trip have been scant so far, with the media kept at arm’s length and information on […]
by Jan HENNOP with AFP Bureaus Agence France Presse The European Union on Friday approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for use on all adults, as concerns grow around the world over the effectiveness of different jabs against new strains of Covid-19. Brussels’ announcement after a green light from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) marks the third vaccine approved for use in the EU, following the jabs made by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The pharma giant’s […]
Vaccine also prevented 85 percent of severe Covid-19 cases across all regions by Issam AHMED Agence France Presse Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine has an overall efficacy of 66 percent, the company said Friday after a huge multi-continent trial, but the shot does not protect as well against a variant first detected in South Africa. Encouragingly, the vaccine was able to prevent 85 percent of severe Covid-19 cases across all geographical regions however — […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus jab has no link to reported post-vaccination deaths and no new side effects, the EU’s medicines regulator said Friday based on the first data from the vaccine’s rollout. The European Medicines Agency said it had looked at the deaths, including a number in the elderly, and “concluded that the data did not show a link to vaccination with Comirnaty (the vaccine) and the cases do not raise […]
by Agence France Presse Bureaus WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States demanded a “robust and clear” international probe into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, as a team of World Health Organization experts in China waited Thursday for the green light to begin its long-awaited Covid-19 probe. The call came as coronavirus infections shot past 100 million and governments scrambled to get their hands on scarce vaccine doses, with a bitter row […]
PRETORIA, South Africa (AFP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday lashed “vaccine nationalism,” accusing rich countries of bulk-buying coronavirus vaccines and hoarding them to the detriment of others. Addressing the all-virtual 2021 World Economic Forum (WEF), Ramaphosa said low- and middle-income countries were being shouldered aside by wealthier nations able to acquire “up to four times what their population needs”. “We are concerned about vaccine nationalism,” he warned. “Rich countries in the world are […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Air pollution is likely to increase the risk of irreversible sight loss, according to the results of a long-term study published Tuesday. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among over-50s in richer nations, with roughly 300 million people predicted to be affected by 2040. Known risk factors include age, smoking and genetic make-up. Now researchers have drawn a link between AMD and air pollution, which is […]
by Jan FLEMR Agence France Presse In a dog training centre built inside a shipping container located in a Czech mountain village, Renda, Cap and Laky are being put to the test. They sniff at six vessels, each containing a piece of cloth with scent from patients with Covid-19, negative donors, or fake samples. “Good boy!” exclaims Lenka Vlachova, a trainer working at Prague’s fire brigade, as jagdterrier Renda sits down by one sample, wagging […]
by Julie CHARPENTRAT with AFP bureaus in Europe Agence France Presse PARIS France (AFP) — Despite dozens of deaths of people shortly after they were vaccinated against coronavirus, scientists say the evidence available so far does not incriminate the new anti-Covid vaccines. Health agencies stress however that the vast majority of post-vaccination fatalities were elderly, already vulnerable and often sick. Here’s a review of the situation: – Elderly, vulnerable – Norway sparked alarm last […]
MONTREAL, Canada (AFP) — A major clinical trial shows that an inflammatory drug called colchicine is effective in treating Covid-19 and reduces the risk of complications from the disease, doctors in Canada said. The results of the study are a “major scientific discovery” and make colchicine — a medicine used to treat gout — “the world’s first oral drug that could be used to treat non-hospitalized patients with Covid-19,” the Montreal Heart Institute said in […]
