Health

A coronavirus variant which Vietnam authorities thought was a combination of the Indian and U.K. strains is not a new hybrid but part of the existing Indian strain, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) representative in Vietnam told Nikkei. “There is no new hybrid variant in Vietnam at this moment based on WHO definition,” Kidong Park said in an online interview with …

GENEVA: The Covax vaccine programme secured another $2.4 billion from donors on Wednesday, but underlined it was still struggling to get enough doses to help poorer countries fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The scheme is trying to get enough vaccines for 30 percent of the population in 92 of the poorest participating territories — 20 percent in India — with donors …

ISLAMABAD: While under 2,000 new Covid-19 cases and less than four per cent positivity rate were reported on the second consecutive day on Wednesday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided to launch a campaign to vaccinate 70 million people by the end of current year. The campaign is aimed at reducing adverse effects of the viral disease to …

GENEVA: The Covax vaccine programme secured another $2.4 billion from donors on Wednesday, but underlined it was still struggling to get enough doses to help poorer countries fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The scheme is trying to get enough vaccines for 30 percent of the population in 92 of the poorest participating territories — 20 percent in India — with donors …

GENEVA: The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed more than 100 million more workers into poverty, the UN said on Wednesday, after working hours plummeted and access to good-quality jobs evaporated. And the labour market crisis created by the pandemic was far from over, the UN’s International Labour Organisation warned in a report. Employment was not expected to bounce back to pre-pandemic …

NEW DELHI: More than 100 Jews from India’s Manipur state have had to delay plans to emigrate to Israel as family members fell ill with Covid and were placed in quarantine in New Delhi. Soizagin, 40, who will soon renounce his Indian citizenship, calls his permanent move to Israel a “golden opportunity”. “We have been very excited,” said Soizagin, who …

GENEVA: Coronavirus variants with clunky, alphanumeric names have now been assigned the letters of the Greek alphabet to simplify discussion and pronunciation while avoiding stigma. The World Health Organisation revealed the new names on Monday amid criticism that those given by scientists to strains such as the South African variant — which goes by multiple names including B.1.351, 501Y.V2 and …

The highly infectious Covid-19 variant first detected in India threatens to rapidly spread in the Asia Pacific region, including areas inhabited by refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said, as it warns of vaccine shortages in the region. UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic, at a press briefing in Geneva, said fragile health systems in many countries in the Asia …

RAWALPINDI: Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has exempted diplomats, their staff and families from rapid antigen testing (RAT) on arrival in Pakistan. “Rapid Antigen Testing will not be mandatory on arrival there, however, diplomats, diplomatic staff and their families opting for RAT and testing negative, will be exempted from mandatory home quarantine requirement in the future,” a notification issued by the …

RAWALPINDI: As vaccination drives across the country continue amid the third wave of Covid-19, a shortage of the Sinopharm vaccine has been reported in several vaccination centres of Rawalpindi. Mohammad Rafiq, 45, a resident of Yousaf Colony, visited the vaccination centre established at Jan Marriage Hall on Chaudhry Bostan Khan Road for the second dose of Sinopharm but he was …