Covid-19 has infected more than 248 million people and killed over 5 million globally. Here are the virus-related updates for November 3.
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Indian home-grown shot wins WHO emergency use approval
The World Health Organization has granted approval for Indian drugmaker Bharat Biotech’s home-grown Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use listing, paving the way for it to be accepted as a valid vaccine in many poor countries.
The WHO tweeted that its technical advisory group had ruled that benefits of the shot, known as Covaxin, significantly outweighed the risks and that it met WHO standards for protection.
WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation also recommended Covaxin’s use in two doses, with an interval of four weeks, in age groups 18 and above.
Germany experiencing ‘massive’ pandemic of unvaccinated
Germany has been experiencing a “massive” pandemic of the unvaccinated, Health Minister Jens Spahn said, calling for curbs targeting those not inoculated to tame a resurgence in cases.
The fourth wave is raging “with exceptional force”, Spahn said.
“We are currently experiencing mainly a pandemic of the unvaccinated and it is massive,” he added, warning that “in some regions in Germany intensive care beds are running out again.”
UK records over 41,000 new cases
Britain has reported 41,299 new cases and 217 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, official data showed.
Italy reports over 5,000 new cases
Italy has reported 63 deaths, against 41 the day before, the Health Ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 5,188 from 2,834.
Italy has registered 132,224 deaths since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the ninth-highest in the world.
The country has reported 4.8 million cases to date.
Saudi Arabia approves Pfizer’s vaccine for age group 5-11
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority has said it gave its approval to use Pfizer’s vaccine for those between five and eleven years of age.
The authority added in a statement its decision was “based on data provided by the company, which showed the vaccine met the special regulatory requirements”.
World Economic Forum postpones China event
The World Economic Forum has said that it is postponing its event planned for later this month in the Chinese city of Tianjin due to the outbreak of cases in the country, where new locally transmitted cases hit a near three-month high.
“Regretfully, due to the circumstances around the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and recent cases in major cities and provinces in China, the Annual Meeting of the New Champions will be rescheduled,” the WEF said in an email to participants.
Covid pandemic in Britain is not over, says UK official
The Covid-19 pandemic is not over in Britain and there are hard months to come as winter nears, England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam has said.
“The caution that people take or don’t take in terms of interacting with each other: That is going to be a big determinant in what happens between now and the darkest months of the winter,” he said.
Anti-vaccination protest blocks traffic in Ukrainian capital
Several hundred people blocked traffic in the centre of the Ukrainian capital Kiev in a protest against coronavirus restrictions and mandatory vaccinations, which the government introduced to curb new infections.
Vaccines have become mandatory for some state workers, and in “red” zone areas including Kiev, only vaccinated people or those with negative Covid test results are allowed into restaurants, gyms and on public transport.
Ukraine lagged behind other European countries in obtaining coronavirus vaccines this year and is now struggling to persuade a sceptical public to take them.
Slovakia reports second-highest daily Covid cases
Slovakia reported 5,361 new Covid-19 cases through standard PCR testing, the Health Ministry said, its second-highest daily tally since the pandemic started.
The ministry said 69 percent of the new cases were among the unvaccinated. The country has one of the European Union’s lowest vaccination rates, with just 52.9 percent of the adult population fully vaccinated.
Russia’s daily Covid-19 death toll hits new record high
Russia’s daily Covid-19 death toll rose to a record high of 1,189 amid a surge in cases that has forced officials to impose a nationwide workplace shutdown.
The government coronavirus task force also reported 40,443 new infections in the last 24 hours, including 6,827 in Moscow.
Poland adds over 10,000 cases
Poland reported more than 10,400 Covid-19 cases, a 24 percent rise week on week, government spokesman Piotr Muller said.
The last time the number of daily infections in Poland was above 10,000 was in late April.
“Unfortunately over 10,400 infections have been reported today, that’s over 24 percent more than last week,” Muller told.
Hong Kong launches vaccine booster campaign from next week
Hong Kong will roll out booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines from next week, Health Secretary Sophia Chan said, as authorities ramp up efforts to convince Beijing to allow crossborder travel to mainland China.
The vaccination campaign in the global financial hub has lagged many other developed economies, with about 65 percent of the eligible population fully vaccinated with shots from either China’s Sinovac, or Germany’s BioNTech.
The elderly will get priority for the booster shots, along with health workers, cross-border truck drivers and others in categories deemed to be at higher risk of getting the disease.
US gives final approval of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine for children aged 5-11
US health officials gave the final signoff to Pfizer’s kid-size Covid-19 shot, a major expansion of the nation’s vaccination campaign.
The Food and Drug Administration already authorised the shots for children ages 5 to 11 – doses just a third of the amount given to teens and adults. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends who should receive FDA-cleared vaccines.
The announcement by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky came only hours after an advisory panel unanimously decided Pfizer’s shots should be opened to the 28 million youngsters in that age group.
Mexico reports 269 deaths
Mexico’s health ministry reported 269 confirmed coronavirus fatalities, bringing the country’s overall death toll from the pandemic to 288,733.
Officials have said the ministry’s figures likely represent a significant undercount of both cases and deaths.
Brazil registers 149 deaths
Brazil registered 149 new deaths due to the virus and 6,431 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to data released by the Health Ministry.
Brazil has reported a total of 608,071 deaths due to the virus, the world’s second highest toll behind only the United States.
Netherlands tightens measures
Faced with sharply rising coronavirus cases, the caretaker prime minister of the Netherlands said that the Dutch government is reinstituting an order to wear face masks in public places like stores and libraries and mandating an extension for the use of the virus passes.
“It won’t surprise anybody that we again have a tough message this evening,” Mark Rutte said in a nationally televised press conference.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
WHO grants India’s domestic Covaxin jab emergency approval – latest updates
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