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Retrieved from: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
By Jiraporn Kuhakan and Jonathan Barrett
Travellers arriving on the first quarantine free international flights are embraced by family at Sydney International Airport, November 1, 2021. AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi via REUTERS
Thailand, Australia and Israel eased international border restrictions significantly on Monday for the first time in 18 months, offering a broad test of demand for travel worldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The relaxation contrasts with tightening lockdowns elsewhere, notably in eastern Europe where infections have hit record numbers, and in parts of China, which has taken a zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 despite relatively few cases.
Hundreds of vaccinated foreign tourists arrived in the Thai capital for quarantine-free travel after the Southeast Asian nation approved visitors from more than 60 countries, including China and the United States.
Several European nations are also on the list as Thailand, one of Asia's most popular holiday destinations, looks to capitalise on the approach of winter in the northern hemisphere.
"We just picked this flight and it is quite surprising that we are the first flight to arrive," said German tourist Simon Raithel, 41, who planned to head to the Thai south.
In Sydney, hundreds of citizens were greeted by family and friends as they became the first since April 2020 to arrive from abroad without a permit or the need to quarantine.
"(It's a) little bit scary and exciting," said Ethan Carter, who flew in from Los Angeles. "I've come home to see my mum 'cause she's not well."
While travel is initially limited to just a few states and to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and New Zealand nationals, it heralds a plan to re-open to international tourists and workers. read more
'WE MISSED YOU GUYS'
Israel also relaxed travel rules on Monday but tourists should read the fine print before booking.
"Welcome to Israel," the government said in a tweet next to a big blue heart. "We missed you guys."
Individual tourists are allowed in if they have received vaccine boosters - but not if more than six months have lapsed since their last dose, with some exceptions.
That has tempered excitement among hoteliers.
"How many tourists out in the world have actually gotten boosters or are sitting in that six-month period following their second dose?" Israel Hotel Association CEO Yael Danieli said in the days leading up to the relaxation.
"Even if both parents in a family are vaccinated, their children under 12 are not, so they mostly can't come to Israel."
Members of tour groups are exempted from the six-month rule but will have to take PCR or antigen tests every 72 hours for the first two weeks of their stay.
Despite the eased curbs, world travel in full swing is a long way off.
China's tourism sector is suffering from the country's zero tolerance for COVID-19 as cities with infections, or even with concerns about infections, close entertainment venues, restrict travel or delay cultural events. Shanghai Disneyland stopped admitting visitors on Monday.
Eastern Europe is grappling with its worst outbreak since the pandemic started. read more The Russian capital introduced its strictest lockdown measures in more than a year last Thursday as the daily tally of cases and deaths nationwide hit new highs.
But many Russians have decided that now is an ideal time to fly off for a foreign holiday, with a sharp increase in bookings to destinations where Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is recognised or where COVID entry requirements are cheap and easy.
"Don't quarantine, but holiday on the beach!" travel company Orange Sun Tour proclaims on its website osttour.ru, which offers breaks in Cyprus, Egypt, Cuba and elsewhere.
Rules aimed at moving South Korea towards "living with COVID-19" came into effect on Monday, with the easing of a range of curbs and the introduction of vaccine passports at gyms, saunas and bars.
"The return path to everyday life, to which we're taking the first step today, is a path we've never been on," Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol told an intra-agency COVID-19 meeting.
The Netherlands will impose new coronavirus restrictions this week in a bid to curb a recent surge in infections, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said, without giving details.
Britain on Monday removed the last seven countries on its coronavirus "red list", which required newly arrived travellers to spend 10 days in hotel quarantine.
The United States will lift international travel restrictions for vaccinated travellers on Nov. 8.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailand-australia-ease-international-border-curbs-spurred-by-pandemic-2021-11-01/
People walk past restaurants and bars in Amsterdam, Netherlands October 14 2020. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
The Netherlands will impose new coronavirus restrictions this week in a bid to curb a recent surge in infections, health minister Hugo de Jonge said on Monday.
"We can't escape having to take new measures", De Jonge said. "The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals is rising fast."
De Jonge did not give details of the new measures, which he said would be decided on Tuesday. Broadcaster NOS said the government was likely to require face masks in many public places and broaden the use of a "corona pass" showing proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or recent negative coronavirus test.
Coronavirus infections in the Netherlands have been rising for a month, and reached their highest level since July in the past week. Cases on Monday were 45% higher than a week ago at 7,700. More than 1,200 COVID-19 patients were in hospital, the most in five months.
Many hospitals are cutting back on regular care again to make room for urgent COVID-19 cases.
Most coronavirus restrictions in the Netherlands were dropped on Sept. 25, as the "corona pass" was introduced as a requirement for visitors to bars, restaurants, clubs or cultural events. read more
Most coronavirus patients in hospital have not been vaccinated, Dutch health authorities said last week. According to government data, around 84% of the Dutch adult population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/netherlands-impose-new-coronavirus-curbs-infections-jump-2021-11-01/
By Carl O'donnell and Dania Nadeem
A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a "Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine" sticker and a medical syringe in front of displayed Novavax logo in this illustration taken, October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
Novavax Inc (NVAX.O) expects regulators in India, the Philippines and elsewhere to make a decision on its COVID-19 vaccine within "weeks," its chief executive told Reuters, after the shot on Monday received its first emergency use authorization (EUA) from Indonesia.
Novavax shares were up about 13% after the company also said it had filed an application for emergency use of the vaccine to Canada and the European Medicines Agency.
For Indonesia, the shot will be manufactured by the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute in India (SII), and sold under the Indian company's brand name, Covovax. Novavax said initial shipments into Indonesia are expected to begin imminently.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is also reviewing Novavax's regulatory filing and the U.S. drugmaker expects that review to be resolved in the coming weeks, Chief Executive Stanley Erck told Reuters in a phone interview on Monday.
A green light from the WHO would set the stage for Novavax to begin shipping doses to the COVAX program that supplies shots to low-income countries. Novavax and SII have together committed to provide more than 1.1 billion doses to COVAX, which is co-led by the WHO.
“I think we'll get some doses to COVAX this year," Erck said. "But I think (Novavax is) going to really start being able to ship large quantity to COVAX in the first quarter" of 2022.
Erck said Novavax has resolved all of its manufacturing challenges and does not expect regulators to have any further concerns about its production processes.
He said Novavax is “in dialogue with the U.S. FDA and ... we expect a full submission within the next several weeks.”
Novavax had delayed filing for U.S. approval, and Politico reported last month that the company faced production and quality problems.
SII is authorized to make the Novavax vaccine and the U.S. company said it will apply for regulatory authorization for other facilities, such as its plant in the Czech republic, in the coming weeks.
Indonesia is slated to receive 20 million doses of the protein-based vaccine this year, according to the government.
Penny Lukito, chief of the National Agency for Drug and Food Control of Indonesia, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Novavax has so far applied for EUA in various countries, including the UK, Australia, India and the Philippines.
“It will be weeks, not months, for them to review” Novavax’s regulatory submissions and potentially clear the shot for use, Erck said.
The company, along with Japanese partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Co (4502.T), said on Friday it was preparing to seek regulatory approval for a rollout in Japan early next year. read more
The Novavax shot was shown to be more than 90% effective, including against a variety of concerning variants of the coronavirus in a large, late-stage U.S.-based trial.
Retrieved from: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novavax-covid-19-vaccine-receives-emergency-use-authorization-indonesia-2021-11-01/
On Tuesday, CDC advisers will make more detailed recommendations on which children should get vaccinated
The FDA has approved the Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use for children ages 5-11. Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday paved the way for children ages five to 11 to get Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine.
After the FDA cleared kid-size doses – a third of the amount given to teens and adults – for emergency use, up to 28 million more American children could be eligible for vaccinations as early as next week.
One more regulatory hurdle remains: on Tuesday, advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will make more detailed recommendations on which children should get vaccinated, with a final decision by the CDC director expected shortly afterwards.
“With this vaccine, kids can go back to something that’s better than being locked at home on remote schooling, not being able to see their friends,” said Dr Kawsar Talaat of Johns Hopkins University. “The vaccine will protect them and also protect our communities.”
A few countries have begun using other Covid-19 vaccines on children under 12, including China, which just began vaccinations for three-year-olds. But many that use the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are watching the US decision. European regulators just began considering the companies’ kid-size doses.
With FDA’s action, Pfizer plans to begin shipping millions of vials of the pediatric vaccine – in orange caps to avoid mix-ups with the purple-capped doses for everyone else – to doctors’ offices, pharmacies and other vaccination sites. Kids will get two shots, three weeks apart.
While children are at lower risk of severe illness or death from Covid-19 than older people, five- to 11-year-olds still have been seriously affected, including more than 8,300 hospitalizations, about a third requiring intensive care, and nearly 100 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the FDA.
And with the extra-contagious Delta variant circulating, the government has counted more than 2,000 coronavirus-related school closings just since the start of the school year, affecting more than a million children.
Earlier this week, FDA independent scientific advisers voted that the pediatric vaccine’s promised benefits outweigh any risks. But several panelists said not all youngsters will need to be vaccinated, and that they preferred the shots be targeted to those at higher risk from the virus.
Nearly 70% of five- to 11-year-olds hospitalized for Covid-19 in the US have other serious medical conditions, including asthma and obesity, according to federal tracking. Additionally, more than two-thirds of youngsters hospitalized are Black or Hispanic, mirroring longstanding disparities in the disease’s impact.
The question of how broadly Pfizer’s vaccine should be used will be a key consideration for the CDC and its advisers, who set formal recommendations for pediatricians and other medical professionals.
A Pfizer study of 2,268 children found the vaccine was nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 infections, based on 16 cases among kids given placebo shots compared with just three who got vaccinated.
The dosage also proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary reactions – such as sore arms, fever or achiness – that teens experience.
But the study was not large enough to detect any extremely rare side-effects, such as the heart inflammation that occasionally occurs after the second full-strength dose, mostly in young men and teen boys. It is unclear if younger children getting a smaller dose also will face that rare risk.
Some parents are expected to vaccinate their children ahead of family holiday gatherings and the winter cold season.
But a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey suggests most parents won’t rush to get the shots. About 25% of parents polled earlier this month said they would get their children vaccinated “right away”. But the remaining majority were roughly split between those who said they will to wait to see how the vaccine performs and those who said they “definitely” won’t have their children vaccinated.
The similarly made Moderna vaccine also is being studied in young children, and both Pfizer and Moderna also are testing shots for babies and preschoolers.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/29/covid-19-vaccine-approved-children-latest
By Samantha Lock
The global death toll from Covid-19 has hit five million, according to figures released from the Johns Hopkins University, 19 months after the pandemic was first declared. Some experts, including those from the World Health Organization, believe the true toll may be two to three times higher than official figures suggest.
The number of deaths from Covid-19 far outstrip that of other viral epidemics in the 21st century and most from the 20th century, with the notable exception of the Spanish flu.
Since it was first recorded in China in late 2019, the coronavirus spread quickly to almost every corner of the world and was declared a pandemic in March 2020.
The virus has since mutated into more than a dozen new variants, including the highly infectious Delta strain. Dozens of countries have recorded more than 1,000 deaths, while case counts now stand at well over one million in some countries.
The US, Brazil, India, Mexico and the UK disproportionately account for more than half of all deaths worldwide.
· Eastern Europe is grappling with its worst outbreak since the pandemic started. Moscow is currently under its strictest lockdown measures in more than a year as the daily tally of cases and deaths nationwide hit new highs.
But many Russians have decided that now is an ideal time to fly off for a foreign holiday, with a sharp increase in bookings to destinations where Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine is recognised or where Covid entry requirements are cheap and easy.
· The United States is rolling out Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 this week, but most of the 15 million shots being shipped initially are unlikely to be available before next week.
· In New York 9,000 public workers have been put on unpaid leave for refusing Covid vaccine.
· Cambodia’s prime minister, Hun Sen, declared the country open and ready for a new way of life after hitting vaccination targets that made it one of the most vaccinated countries in south Asia.
· In the United States, as deadlines for jabs approach, military leaders are wrestling with the decision of how to treat soldiers who choose not to be vaccinated.
· A total of 49,987,325 first doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been delivered in the UK by 31 October, a rise of 27,402 on the previous day, government figures show.
· The UK recorded 40,077 new positive Covid tests on Monday, up from 38,009 the previous day.
· Of the 377 local areas in the UK, 64 have seen a week-on-week rise in rates while the majority – 313 – have seen a fall.
· Greece has recorded 5,449 new coronavirus infections in the latest 24 hour period, the highest single-day figure since the pandemic began. Officials are poised to implement a new round of restrictive measures for those who remain unvaccinated.
· The Netherlands will impose new coronavirus restrictions this week in a bid to curb a recent surge in infections, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said.
· Thailand, Australia and Israel eased international border restrictions significantly on Monday for the first time in 18 months.
· As Australia begins to reopen its international borders for fully vaccinated citizens, politicians are debating about the ongoing restrictions on internal travel.
· The US government has begun assembling and shipping millions of Covid-19 vaccines in preparation for getting the go-ahead to jab children aged five to 11.
· China’s leisure and tourism businesses are struggling under the country’s zero tolerance for Covid-19 as cities with infections, or have concerns about the virus, close entertainment venues, restrict tourism or delay cultural events.
· China locks down Shanghai Disneyland and tests 34,000 visitors after a single Covid case.
· Indonesia has given the world’s first emergency use authorisation for the Covid vaccine produced by Novavax. The company’s protein-based vaccine could prove hugely important for lower-income countries and the WHO-backed vaccine access scheme Covax.
Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/nov/01/coronavirus-news-live-australia-reopens-international-borders-france-records-jump-in-covid-hospitalisations?page=with:block-617f910a8f08fe3ad9f45c03#block-617f910a8f08fe3ad9f45c03
Medicine
