The UK is preparing to become the first country to roll out the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, initially making the shot available at hospitals before distributing stocks to the doctors’ clinics.
For the third day in a row, the US saw a record number of cases, with nearly 230,000 new infections on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Globally, more than 1.5 million people have died due to COVID-19, while 42 million people have recovered from it.
Here are the latest updates:
20 mins ago (10:13 GMT)
UK regulator who approved COVID jab says ‘we are ready’ for no-deal Brexit
The head of Britain’s medicines regulator asked whether the COVID-19 vaccine rollout risked being disrupted if the UK and the European Union fail to reach a trade deal before the end of the Brexit transition period, said: “we are ready”.
“We’ve practised, we are ready, we are fully prepared for any possible outcome,” said June Raine, head of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), on BBC television.
The MHRA approved the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 on December 2 and rollout is scheduled to begin in the coming days. The Brexit transition period ends on December 31.
1 hour ago (09:26 GMT)
COVID-19 hits England cricket tour of South Africa
Two members of England cricket’s touring party in South Africa have tested positive for Covid-19 and the re-scheduled first one-day international was cancelled.
The match in Paarl was to have opened the series after Friday’s scheduled first match in Cape Town was scrapped just before play was to begin after a South African player tested positive for coronavirus.
Cricket South Africa and the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a joint statement that two members of England’s touring party had now tested positive for the virus, although further tests were required.
Indonesia minister arrested over pandemic aid corruption
Indonesia’s social affairs minister has been arrested for allegedly taking $1.2m in bribes linked to food aid for those hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Juliari Batubara was named as a suspect after Indonesian anti-corruption agents seized suitcases, backpacks and envelopes stuffed with cash equivalent to $1.2m in a sting operation on Saturday.
Russia has reported a record high of 29,039 new cases, taking the national total to 2,460,770 since the pandemic began.
Authorities confirmed 457 deaths related to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, pushing the official national death toll to 43,141.
2 hours ago (08:42 GMT)
‘Millionaire’s tax’ for virus relief passes Argentina Senate
Argentina’s Senate has passed a tax on about 12,000 of the country’s richest people, to pay for coronavirus measures including medical supplies and relief for the poor and small businesses.
In a session streamed live on YouTube, and after a long and polarising debate, the so-called solidarity contribution was signed into law with 42 votes in favour and 26 against, as the pro-government alliance flexed its majority.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany have increased by 17,767 to 1,171,323, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed.
The reported death toll rose by 255 to 18,772, the tally showed.
People queue to get a swab test on the novel coronavirus outside the KitKatClub night club in Berlin [Tobias Schwarz / AFP]
4 hours ago (06:49 GMT)
UK prepares to roll out COVID-19 vaccine
The first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are set to be administered on Tuesday, with the National Health Service (NHS) giving top priority to vaccinating those over 80, front-line healthcare workers and care home staff and residents.
The UK granted emergency-use approval for the vaccine on Wednesday, the first country to do so. In total, the government ordered 40 million doses – enough to vaccinate 20 million people in the country of 67 million people.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will receive the vaccine within weeks, the Mail on Sunday reported. The monarch, 94, and her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip are in line to get the jab early due to their age and not receive preferential treatment, the report said.
4 hours ago (06:37 GMT)
China prepares large-scale rollout of vaccines
Provincial governments across China are placing orders for experimental, domestically made coronavirus vaccines, though health officials have yet to say how well they work or how they will be delivered to the country’s 1.4 billion people.
China’s pharmaceutical industry is testing at least five vaccines from four producers in more than a dozen countries including Russia, Egypt and Mexico.
Meanwhile, mainland China has reported 18 new COVID-19 cases, up from 17 on Saturday, the national health authority said. New asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to two from 12 a day earlier. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in mainland China stands at 86,619 to date, while the death toll is 4,634.
4 hours ago (06:43 GMT)
S Korea tightens social distancing rules: Report
South Korea’s government has tightened physical distancing requirements in the capital Seoul, Yonhap news agency said, as the country grapples with the highest coronavirus infections in nine months.
South Korea has reported 631 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total tally to 37,546, with 545 deaths.
South Korea grapples with the highest coronavirus infections in nine months [File:Heo Ran/Reuters]
4 hours ago (06:43 GMT)
Australian state eases restrictions for ‘COVID safe’ summer
Australia’s Victoria state has eased restrictions after the country’s pandemic hotspot recorded 37 days without any new coronavirus infections, moving towards a “COVID-safe” holiday season.
From midnight on Sunday, up to 100 people will be able to attend public gatherings such as weddings, with density rules of one person per two square metres remaining in place, while 50 percent of office workers will be able to return to workplaces by January 11, up from 25 percent now, the state’s premier said.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
