Health

BRUSSELS: The European Union is offering only partial protection to vaccine makers against legal risks from side-effects of their potential COVID-19 shots, European officials said, in a move that is hampering deals and contrasts with U.S. policy. With vaccines being developed at record speed during the pandemic, there is potentially a greater risk they may have unexpected consequences or may …

BRUSSELS: European Union nations, Britain and EU partners have agreed on a blueprint for a COVID-19 vaccination plan envisaging inoculation of at least 40% of their populations, a step that may set back the World Health Organisation’s own vaccine blueprint. The EU target for early vaccinations is twice as high as the goal set by the WHO, which is aiming …

TOKYO: Japanese researchers said on Wednesday that low concentrations of ozone can neutralise coronavirus particles, potentially providing a way for hospitals to disinfect examination rooms and waiting areas. Scientists at Fujita Health University told a news conference they had proven that ozone gas in concentrations of 0.05 to 0.1 parts per million (ppm), levels considered harmless to humans, could kill …

President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed FDA authorization of a coronavirus treatment that uses blood plasma from recovered patients, a day after accusing the agency of impeding the rollout of vaccines and therapeutics for political reasons. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announcement of its “emergency use authorization” of the treatment came on the eve of the Republican National …

Most Britons reject COVID-19 “vaccine nationalism”, and say they would be willing to wait until health workers in other countries have had vaccines if that would help end the pandemic sooner, according to poll findings released on Monday. Conducted in mid-August by polling firm Savanta ComRes for anti-poverty organisation The ONE Campaign, the survey found significant public support for COVID-19 …

UNITED NATIONS: The Covid-19 pandemic has had some profoundly serious consequences for children’s health in Pakistan and Afghanistan, noted a report released this weekend by the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef). The document is based on statistics collected from 136 countries that responded to a recent Unicef survey about socio-economic impact of the viral disease that has killed more than 800,000 …

India’s coronavirus caseload topped three million on Sunday, with the country leading the world in new infections as the disease marched through impoverished rural areas in the north and the wealthier but older populations of the south. Health authorities reported 69,239 new cases and 912 deaths, bringing the total to 3,044,940. Cases have levelled off in India’s two largest cities, …

PARIS: The global death toll from coronavirus has surpassed 800,000, with numerous countries ramping up restrictions in an effort to battle an eruption of new cases. Western Europe, particularly Spain, Italy Germany and France, has been enduring infection levels not seen in many months, sparking fears of a fully-fledged second wave. And in Asia, South Korea, which had largely brought …

Drug developer Moderna Inc on Friday said it has so far enrolled 13,194 participants in the ongoing late-stage 30,000-volunteer U.S. trial testing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. In a tweet, the company also said that 18% of the participants currently enrolled are Black, Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, groups among the hardest hit by the coronavirus virus pandemic. Moderna began the …

GENEVA: The world should be able to rein in the coronavirus pandemic in less than two years, the World Health Organisation said on Friday, as millions of Lebanese wearily entered a new lockdown following a spike in coronavirus infections. Western Europe was also enduring the kind of infection levels not seen in many months, particularly in Germany, France, Spain and …