Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine generates antibody responses three-and-a-half times larger in older people when a second dose is delayed to 12 weeks after the first, a British study said.

The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in England has prevented nearly 12,000 deaths and more than 30,000 hospitalisations in older people, an analysis by government agency Public Health England (PHE) said on Friday.

In a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people on Thursday, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings.

Some wealthy nations that were most praised last year for controlling the coronavirus are now lagging far behind in getting their people vaccinated — and some, especially in Asia, are seeing COVID-19 cases grow.

A committee of experts, set up by the Indian government, has recommended doubling the gap between the two doses of Covishield (Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India) -- from 6-8 weeks to 12-16 weeks, official sources said today.

The European Union's executive on Wednesday called on countries of the bloc to temporarily halt non-essential travel from India, to limit the spread of a Covid-19 variant.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Wednesday for the need to double the capacity of Covid-19 vaccine production and for fairer redistribution of the shots in the developing world, which faces new waves of the coronavirus.

Antibody developed in 92 percent people a month after taking the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, while it developed in 97 percent people two months after receiving the vaccine, said IEDCR.

Nearly 2709 returnees from India who entered through Benapole check post will celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr at residential hotels in quarantine this time. They returned to the country between April 26 and May 11.

The catastrophic scale of the Covid-19 pandemic could have been prevented, an independent global panel concluded Wednesday, but a "toxic cocktail" of dithering and poor coordination meant the warning signs went unheeded.

More clinical and real-world data is needed on how well and for how long Covid-19 vaccines are protective before any decisions should be made on offering third or booster doses, Europe's drug regulators said on Wednesday.

Local administration in Narayanganj today locked down the house of a man, who tested positive for Covid-19 after his return from India.

Forty people have died from Covid-19 during 24 hours (till 8am today), according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Extending thanks to the Chinese government for providing five lakh doses of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine as gift, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today said Bangladesh wants a larger amount of vaccine doses from China.

The head of the main Indian health agency responding to the coronavirus has said districts reporting a high number of infections should remain locked down for another six to eight weeks to control the spread of the rampaging disease.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque today said China may send the next batch of Covid-19 vaccine in June or July.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that a variant of Covid-19 behind the acceleration of India’s explosive outbreak has been found in dozens of countries all over the world.

Scores of bodies are washing up on the banks of the Ganges as Indians fail to keep pace with the deaths and cremations of around 4,000 people a day from the novel coronavirus.

India’s indigenous Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, manufactured by Bharat Biotech, has been approved by the government’s panel of experts for phase 2/3 clinical trial on children aged 2-18, official sources said today.

Five lakh doses of China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine have been handed over to Bangladesh today.