Covid-19: 15 die, 391 infected, 678 recovered in 24 hours

Fifteen people have died from Covid-19 in the country in 24 hours (till 8am today), according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
18 February 2021, 11:01 AM

10 countries have 75% of existing Covid-19 vaccines, 130 have none: UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sharply criticized the “wildly uneven and unfair” distribution of Covid-19 vaccines on Wednesday, saying 10 countries have administered 75 percent of all vaccinations and demanding a global effort to get all people in every nation vaccinated as soon as possible.
18 February 2021, 07:57 AM

Pfizer says South African variant could significantly reduce vaccine protection

A laboratory study suggests that the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccine by two-thirds, and it is not clear if the shot will be effective against the mutation, the companies said on Wednesday.
18 February 2021, 06:45 AM

India to gift 2 lakh Covid-19 vaccine doses to UN peacekeepers: External affairs minister

India will provide two lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine to UN peacekeepers as gifts, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has announced.
17 February 2021, 17:32 PM

Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine supply to the EU 30% below plans, sources say

Pfizer has not yet delivered to the European Union about 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses that were due in December, EU officials said, leaving it about one-third short of the supplies it had expected by now from the US company.
17 February 2021, 14:36 PM

Gaza to receive its first COVID-19 vaccine shipment, officials say

Gaza will receive its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday after Israel approved the transfer through its border with the Hamas Islamist-run territory, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
17 February 2021, 10:43 AM

South Africa to give first COVID-19 vaccine doses to president, health workers

South Africa will administer its first COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, with President Cyril Ramaphosa to get the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) shot alongside health workers.
17 February 2021, 10:36 AM

Covid-19: recovery rate 90.29 %

Sixteen people have died from Covid-19 in 24 hours (till 8am today), according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
17 February 2021, 10:13 AM

Indonesian firms sign up in droves to take part in proposed private vaccination scheme

Nearly 4,000 Indonesian firms, many of them textile companies, have signed up to take part in a proposed scheme that would allow the private sector to purchase Covid-19 vaccines procured by the government and inoculate their staff.
17 February 2021, 10:09 AM

Covid-19 vaccination: minimum age limit 40 for now, says health minister

The minimum age for Covid-19 vaccination will remain 40 for now, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said today.
17 February 2021, 08:28 AM

India to multiply vaccinations amid coverage concerns

India will increase the number of its Covid-19 vaccination sites by up to five times after administering nearly 9 million shots in a month, a government official said on Tuesday, amid concerns about the speed of coverage in the country.
16 February 2021, 15:02 PM

Mexico to present complaint at UN over unequal vaccine access

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday that his government will present a complaint at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday about the unequal access to COVID-19 vaccines globally.
16 February 2021, 14:05 PM

India detects South African, Brazilian Covid variants

India has detected both the South African and Brazilian coronavirus variants and people returning from those countries may be tested more aggressively, health officials said on Tuesday.
16 February 2021, 13:28 PM

Covid-19: 13 die, 396 infected, 751 recover in last 24 hours

Thirteen people have died from Covid-19 in the country in 24 hours (till 8am today), according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
16 February 2021, 10:15 AM

Australia approves AstraZeneca vaccine for use

Australia’s regulator on Tuesday approved the AstraZeneca vaccine as its second for use against Covid-19.
16 February 2021, 09:20 AM

COVID-19 shots might be tweaked if variants get worse

The makers of COVID-19 vaccines are figuring out how to tweak their recipes against worrisome virus mutations — and regulators are looking to flu as a blueprint if and when the shots need an update.
16 February 2021, 04:52 AM

WHO approves emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine through Covax facility

The World Health Organization has given emergency use approval to AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccines, allowing distribution to some of the world’s poorest countries to begin.
15 February 2021, 18:13 PM

UK auditing India’s Serum Institute’s vaccine manufacturing process for possible shipment: sources

Britain’s drug regulator is auditing manufacturing processes at Serum Institute of India (SII) which could pave the way for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine to be shipped from there to the UK and other countries, according to two sources close to the matter.
15 February 2021, 17:05 PM

China cracks down on spurious, illegal, pricey Covid-19 vaccines

China is cracking down on vaccine-related crimes, making dozens of arrests over the production and distribution of fake coronavirus vaccines, price gouging and illegal inoculations, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
15 February 2021, 14:29 PM

Second dose of Covid-19 vaccine to be given 8 weeks after first shot

The government has changed its original plan and will administer the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine eight weeks after the first dose.
15 February 2021, 12:33 PM