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Retrieved from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
A patient looks on as a nurse administers a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine booster during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Emily Elconin
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday it would review Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) request to authorize booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine in all adults "as expeditiously as possible," with the New York Times reporting that the regulatory nod could come as soon as Thursday.
The agency said it does not plan to hold a meeting of the outside experts on Pfizer's request, concluding the request does not raise questions that would benefit from additional discussion by the members of the committee.
The decision from the FDA will likely come before a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel meets on Friday to discuss expanding the eligibility for booster doses of Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine, currently allowed for select groups of people.
Earlier this month, Pfizer had requested the FDA to authorize booster doses of the vaccine in all adults, presenting recent data showing the shot would help prevent disease across ages.
The company's third dose has been authorized for immunocompromised individuals, people aged 65 and above, all those at high risk of severe disease, and people who are regularly exposed to the virus.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration in August announced plans to roll out booster doses for all adults in September.
The CDC sets U.S. adult and childhood immunization schedules based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cdc-advisers-review-data-wider-use-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-2021-11-16/
By Maria Caspani
New York City's Times Square will once again fill with revelers ringing in the new year on Dec. 31, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Tuesday, but only if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Last year, the still-raging coronavirus pandemic allowed only a handful of invited guests, including essential workers, to witness in person the dropping of the iconic New Year’s Eve ball, signaling the start of the new year.
"We can finally get back together again," de Blasio told reporters, touting New York City's recovery after more than a year of pandemic hardship. "It's going to be amazing, it's going to be a joy for this city."
Confetti flies around the ball and countdown clock in Times Square during the virtual New Year's Eve event following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., January 1, 2021. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Visitors to the area will be asked to provide proof of vaccination and a valid photo ID, de Blasio said. Security checkpoints will be in place to check documentation of those seeking to enter Times Square for the festivities.
"We will require spectators five and older who are eligible to be fully vaccinated," said Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance. "If you are unable to get vaccinated because of a disability, we will require a proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours."
Masks will be required for those unable to get vaccinated, he added.
Earlier this month, U.S. health authorities authorized the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech for children aged 5 to 11.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/new-york-welcomes-back-fully-vaccinated-revelers-new-years-eve-times-square-2021-11-16/
The Dutch government's plan to scrap the "corona pass" for people not vaccinated against COVID-19 faced strong opposition in parliament on Tuesday, including from within the ruling coalition.
The pass, which grants access to indoor public venues, is now available to people who have been vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 or have tested negative for the virus. Under a proposal put forward by caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday, the last option would be dropped.
But in an evening debate, even one of Rutte's own four-party coalition government partners expressed concerns that it would cause social division.
Lawmaker Joba van den Berg of the Christian Democrats said her party, which would be needed to usher a new law on the proposal through the lower house, wanted to weigh less divisive alternatives. "Polarization will not get us out of this crisis," she said.
It was unclear whether the coalition government would be able to scrape together a majority of seats given criticism that it would turn some people into "second-class citizens" and infringe upon civil liberties.
The government was reviewing a draft law, which would not be put to a vote on Tuesday.
The Netherlands re-imposed some lockdown measures last weekend for an initial three weeks in an effort to slow a resurgence of coronavirus contagion, but infections have continued to spread.
The National Institute for Health (RIVM) on Tuesday reported a record of more than 110,000 cases in the week ended Nov. 16, an increase of 44% from the week before, with the strongest rise among children aged 4-12.
Hospitals have been forced to scale back regular care to make space for a surge in COVID-19 patients. About 70% of those in intensive care last month were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, RIVM figures show.
Among measures in place since Saturday are the early closure of supermarkets, bars and restaurants, social distancing, restrictions on sporting events and a recommendation that people work from home.
Nearly 85% of the adult Dutch population has been fully vaccinated. Since the start of the pandemic, the Netherlands has recorded 2.27 million COVID-19 cases and 18,695 related deaths.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/dutch-debate-dropping-corona-pass-indoor-venues-unvaccinated-2021-11-16/
A sunny day at Zurriola beach in the Basque region of northern Spain last month.Credit...Juan Herrero/EPA, via Shutterstock
Spain’s Basque region on Tuesday announced new restrictions on gatherings to control its latest coronavirus wave, after months in which Spain stood out as a country that had largely reined in the pandemic, in particular thanks to a high vaccination rate.
The virus has spread unevenly in Spain in recent weeks, and the infection rates in the Basque region and neighboring Navarra are now more than twice the national average. Lawmakers in the worst-hit regions are leading a nationwide debate over whether Spain should reintroduce more restrictions to prevent a serious Covid-19 resurgence this winter.
The Basque regional government said that all areas in which the infection rate exceeds 150 cases per 100,000 inhabitants should suspend mass events and other gatherings, in particular those where food and drinks were served and where social distancing could not be guaranteed. The region’s 14-day average infection rate climbed just above 180 per 100,000 inhabitants this weekend, compared with a nationwide rate on Monday of 82 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, according to Spain’s health ministry.
The regional government said it would also ask the Basque judiciary to mandate proof of Covid-19 vaccination for people seeking to enter restaurants and nightclubs.
“We are not doing well,” Gotzone Sagardui, the regional health minister, told a news conference, adding that the virus was again spreading “with a worrying speed of growth.”
Spain’s health regulators lowered the country’s status to “low risk” in October after a plunge in the nationwide infection rate from a summer peak of over 700 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in late July. That improvement was largely attributed to a successful vaccination campaign, and 79 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated.
Booster shots are now being given to people who are over 70 or living in nursing homes, and Spain’s government is expected to soon offer vaccinations to children under 12.
At the same time, however, the country’s pandemic response has recently involved a patchwork of restrictions put in place by regional governments, which are responsible for health care.
Iñigo Urkullu, the Basque region’s leader, has led a push to require vaccination in certain business sectors — as has happened sweepingly in Italy and some other countries — and has urged Spain’s central government to set nationwide rules.
Ximo Puig, the leader of the eastern region of Valencia, also said recently that his government was considering whether to require vaccination passes for entry into some venues.
Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/15/world/europe/austria-covid-vaccine.html
By Damien Cave
Administering a coronavirus vaccination at a hub in Sydney, Australia, in October.Credit...Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
More than 10,000 Australians have registered for compensation claims linked to complications from coronavirus vaccinations, a situation that could leave the government paying out tens of millions of dollars in public money for rare occurrences of serious problems.
A government program will offer no-fault payouts for factors including extended periods of missed work, and the minimum amount for such claims is 5,000 Australian dollars ($3,670). Applicants will be expected to provide medical bills and other evidence, and the registration surge has already occurred a month before an online portal launches.
In a country where nearly 85 percent of residents over 16 have been fully vaccinated against the virus, Australia’s main medical regulator has recorded 78,880 adverse events said to be linked to Covid vaccination. That amounts to just 0.21 percent of the nearly 38 million doses given to over 18 million people in the country by early November.
Most of those adverse events involved mild side effects like headache, nausea and sore arms. The regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, has received 288 reports of heart inflammation among people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, as well as 160 reported instances of a rare clotting complication linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The regulator noted in a report last week that new illnesses or deaths within a few days or weeks of inoculation were “often coincidental, rather than being caused by the vaccine.” Nine deaths have been linked to Australia’s inoculation program, nearly all of them among people age 65 or older.
It is unclear how a few hundred recorded cases of adverse effects have led to 10,000 registrations of interest in the compensation program. For the most part, Australia’s vaccination program has been a slow and then rapid success: After initial setbacks, an outbreak of the Delta variant pushed the country to move quickly to vaccinate its population.
The country’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, recently emerged from lengthy lockdowns, and case numbers have been declining nationwide to fewer than 1,500 per day.
Here’s a round-up of the day’s leading Covid stories:
· Auckland, New Zealand, is set to lift Covid travel restrictions in December.
· Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases public official in the US, said on Tuesday that if America further ramps up vaccination rates and those already immunised take booster shots that it is feasible Covid-19 could be reduced from a pandemic emergency to endemic status next year.
· Pfizer has announced it is asking US regulators to authorise its experimental antiviral Covid-19 pill, Paxlovid, which has been shown in clinical trials to cut the risk of hospitalisation and death for adults by almost 90%.
· The Philippines has approved the emergency use of the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine, Reuters reports.
· India’s daily Covid-19 deaths rose by 301, bring the total death toll to 464,153 the health ministry said.
· Germany reports another 52,826 confirmed coronavirus cases and 294 death, the Robert Koch Institute reports.
· Slovakia is planning new restrictions on unvaccinated people in an effort to tame the latest surge of coronavirus infections that has caused a “critical” situation in the country’s hospitals, the prime minister said Tuesday.
· People in Ireland are being asked to work from home where possible from Friday and bars, restaurants and nightclubs will introduce a midnight closing time on Friday as a raft of new restrictions is agreed by the government in the face of rising hospitalisations.
· Thousands of restaurant owners in Greece shut their businesses in a nationwide protest against recent measures that fine establishments for serving customers without proper documentation of their vaccination or test status.
· The UK has recorded another 37,243 Covid cases in the last 24 hours, and a further 214 deaths within 28 days of a positive test. That is compared with 39,705 infections and 47 deaths reported the day before.
· Scotland’s Covid passport scheme could be extended to cinemas, theatres and bars next week if that helped avoid a harsher lockdown closer to Christmas, Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.
· Portugal may bring back some measures to stop the spread of Covid in the run-up to the holiday season as infections soar across Europe, prime minister Antonio Costa said.
· In Germany, plans are under way for the introduction of tighter restrictions on people who have so far chosen not to be vaccinated. Munich became the first major German city to cancel its upcoming Christmas market, blaming the “dramatic” coronavirus resurgence. Berlin introduced restrictions for those who are unvaccinated on Monday.
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