A healthcare worker wearing protective gloves fills a syringe with a dose of the Moderna Inc. COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Richmond, California, US, on April 15, 2021. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)
ROME / LONDON / WASHINGTON / LJUBLJANA / HAVANA / VALLETTA / QUITO / BUENOS AIRES / BOGOTA / RIO DE JANEIRO / ADDIS ABABA / GENEVA / BRUSSELS / VIENNA / MOSCOW / KIEV / PRAGUE / MADRID / STOCKHOLM / LUSAKU / MAPUTO / WARSAW – Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine was highly effective in 12 to 17 year-old adolescents in a large study, paving the way for regulatory submissions around the world by early June.
In a news release, the company said its vaccine was between 93 percent and 100 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in a study of teenagers, depending on whether very mild cases are included in the count. The study met its primary goal of showing that immune responses to the vaccine in 12 to 17 year-olds were as good as those produced in adults, and no significant safety concerns were observed, according to the company.
The results put Moderna’s vaccine, currently authorized in the US for people 18 and up, on track to soon become the second shot authorized in the US for younger teens.
Moderna said it will submit the findings of its adolescent study to the US Food and Drug Administration and other regulators for emergency use authorization in early June.
EU
The European Union expects to have received more than a billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of September from four drugmakers, a document presented to EU leaders on Tuesday shows.
The document, seen by Reuters and prepared by the European Commission, shows the EU is confident of having enough vaccines to immunize its entire eligible population of 450 million by the end of September, well beyond the initial goal of inoculating 70 percent of the adult population by the end of the summer.
More precisely, the EU expects to get 413 million doses in the second quarter of this year, and another 529 million in the July-September period. It received 106 million vaccines in the first quarter.
The estimates take into account only vaccines from four drugmakers: Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Moderna.
EU leaders at a meeting confirmed that commitment in a joint document but did not make it more ambitious after the Commission's estimates on deliveries. Vaccines could also be used for a third shot or against variants.
The EU has said it plans to share this year at least 100 million doses with poorer nations outside the bloc.
In another development, the infrastructure for a digital vaccination certificate, intended to make traveling in the European Union easier, will be ready at EU level from June 1, according to the Commission.
Member states then would be able to connect to the system from mid-June, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a meeting of the leaders of the 27 nation bloc in Brussels.
South Africa
South Africa said on Tuesday that consensus has been reached to hold a special session of the World Health Organization's (WHO) decision-making body this year to consider negotiating a new international treaty on pandemic preparedness.
The WHO, under fire for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, has endorsed a proposal, initially made by the EU, to negotiate a global treaty as a way to ensure countries' political commitment to fighting disease outbreaks.
The WHO's World Health Assembly will meet from Nov 29 to Dec 1.
Denmark
Denmark, which has suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson and the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from its national program, will donate 3 million shots to countries outside of Europe this year, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, according to the Ritzau newswire.
Denmark will most likely give the vaccines via the World Health Organization’s COVAX program, Frederiksen said, according to Ritzau. The final number of vaccines to be donated has not yet been decided, she said.
The Nordic country had ordered more than 10 million vaccines from the two producers and has now started a voluntary system that will allow some Danes to receive the shots outside of the national program.
Austria
Austria is banning direct flights and tourist visits from Britain because of the prevalence there of a highly infections coronavirus variant first found in India, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Britain was added overnight to Austria’s list of “virus variant states”, joining Brazil, India and South Africa, from which arrivals are only allowed in a limited number of cases, the ministry said in a statement.
While the immigration rules take effect on Tuesday, the ban on direct flights will go into force on June 1, it added. The statement referred specifically to the World Health Organization and Public Health England having classified the B.1.617.2 variant first found in India as a “variant of concern”.
Austria’s move follows a similar step by Germany, which said on Friday it was declaring Britain a virus variant region. Austria has had a small number of cases of the Indian variant and overall infections have been falling.
Spain
Spain will receive nearly 94 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech between December 2021 and June 2023 as part of a European Union purchase, the government spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
Maria Jesus Montero said the total was equivalent to twice the target population in Spain, where around 8.1 million people have already received a full course of vaccines.
Sweden
Sweden has registered 6,034 new coronavirus cases since Friday, health agency statistics showed on Tuesday, the lowest weekend-figure for more than six months.
The figure compared with 10,017 cases during the corresponding period last week.
The country of 10 million inhabitants registered 30 additional deaths, taking the toll to 14,396. The deaths registered have occurred over several days and sometimes weeks.
Sweden will donate 3 million doses vaccine to the COVAX facility in 2021, up from a previous pledge of 1 million doses, the government said in a statement on Monday.
Czech Republic
Czech Health Minister Petr Arenberger resigned on Tuesday after less than two months in office after coming under media scrutiny over property holdings and other business dealings, becoming the fourth health minister to exit in eight months.
Arenberger has denied wrongdoing. On Tuesday he said an incorrectly completed asset declaration had probably triggered speculation.
Arenberger’s portfolio is going back to Adam Vojtech, who was replaced last September when the epidemic situation deteriorated sharply after a summer of relaxed restrictions.
France
France will likely decide on Wednesday whether additional restrictions are needed at its border with the UK to fend off a coronavirus variant first identified in India.
The UK is trying to make a case to France that extra curbs aren’t necessary, citing the large share of its vaccinated population, a person familiar with the discussions said.
Currently, people traveling from the UK to France don’t need to justify the reason for their trip, but must show a negative PCR test and commit to self-isolate for a week, even if they’ve been vaccinated.
WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) is mired in a funding shortage that is already hampering operations, its top emergency expert told health ministers on Tuesday.
Mike Ryan, noting the WHO's appeal in February for US$1.96 billion for its pandemic response this year, said in remarks at the annual assembly: "The funding shortfall of more than 70 percent when only received funds are considered has left the organization in real imminent danger of being unable to sustain core functions for urgent priorities."
“This underfunding and earmarking of funds risks paralyzing WHO's ability to provide rapid and flexible support to countries and is already having consequences for current operations," he said.
In another development, the WHO and the Swiss Confederation will launch the first facility to share rapidly virus and pathogen samples between laboratories worldwide, as the WHO BioHub Facility was approved through a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday.
The BioHub Facility will be used as a center for storing, sequencing and preparing pathogens to be distributed to laboratories across the world.
According to plan, the BioHub will start with a pilot phase to share samples of COVID-19-related materials. The WHO predicted that it will share other pathogens and connect laboratories by 2022.
Mozambique
Mozambique plans to start performing tests for new variants of COVID-19 in October this year, the national radio RM reported on Tuesday.
Work is expected to kick off as soon as conditions are created for the installation of a reference laboratory for testing variants of COVID-19 and other diseases in the country, the Director of Laboratories at the National Health Institute, Sofia Viegas, told the radio.
The official said Mozambique has not yet registered any COVID-19 cases with the Indian variant in the country.
Daily new cases of COVID-19 in Mozambique have decreased about two thirds, with the current month of May registering only 689 cases against 2,072 cases registered in April.
Zambia
Health authorities in Zambia on Tuesday warned that heightened political campaigns ahead of this year's general elections will fuel the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary in Charge of Technical Services Kennedy Malama said the political activities posed high risks as the country was expected to experience increased cases, admissions and deaths due to the unlikely failure to adhere to public guidelines.
He said in a statement on the COVID-19 update that the positivity rate which has been around one percent for most of this month has increased to three percent while active cases have increased to 900 from 400 at the start of the month.
In the last 24 hours, the country recorded 149 new cases out of 5,144 tests done, bringing the cumulative tally to 93,428 cases, along with 1,271 deaths.
Poland
Poland will launch a lottery with prizes of as much as 1 million zlotys (US$273,000) to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the minister in charge of the immunization program said on Tuesday.
Every 2,000th person taking part in the lottery will win 500 zlotys, with two participants winning one million zlotys and a hybrid car.
Municipalities will also be encouraged to compete to get the highest vaccination rates, with the first 500 to reach a rate of 75 percent being awarded 100,000 zlotys.
Global tally
Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 167.34 million while the global death toll topped 3.47 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Russia
Russia on Tuesday reported 7,884 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the national infection tally to 5,017,795 since the pandemic began.
The government coronavirus task force said that 393 people had died, pushing the national death toll to 119,194. The federal statistics agency has kept a separate toll and has said that Russia recorded around 250,000 deaths related to COVID-19 between April 2020 and March 2021.
Russia's consumer health watchdog in the Yakutia region said all employers must organize COVID-19 vaccines for their employees. Staff personnel could refuse to be vaccinated by providing their employer with a written justification, it said.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, the regional government said employers could face fines of at least 200,000 roubles (US$2,730) for failing to provide employees with vaccines.
Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in fighting off and neutralizing the aggressive coronavirus variant first discovered in Brazil, according to Russia's Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and a study conducted by researchers in Argentina.
Brazil's P1 coronavirus variant, behind a deadly COVID-19 surge in Brazil, has spread throughout hard-hit Latin America. Scientists in Brazil have found that the variant's mutations could make it more resistant to antibodies, raising international concern over its potential to render vaccines less effective.
The Argentina-based study, carried out by the Dr. Vanella Institute of Virology of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), however, found a strong immune response against the variant in those vaccinated with Sputnik V.
"The study confirmed that the immunity developed in people vaccinated with 'Sputnik V' neutralizes the Brazilian strain after having received two doses, and even after the first," the RDIF said in a statement on Monday.
United States
More than half of all American adults have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the White House said, roughly six weeks before US President Biden's July 4 goal of a 70 percent inoculation rate.
The halfway mark comes as federal, state and local leaders press ahead with delivering COVID-19 shots to people who have not yet received them, while also battling vaccination hesitancy, fears and misinformation.
At least 25 states reported that more than half of their adult population had been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, according to the latest data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Nationwide, 49.6 percent of people aged 18 and older have been fully vaccinated and more than 61 precent have received at least one shot, the CDC's latest figures showed.
New coronavirus infections nationwide have settled into a sustained decline as more people become vaccinated.
The number of new US infections fell to a seven-day average of 22,877 on Sunday, the lowest since June and less than one-tenth of its post-holiday peak of more than 250,000, according to CDC data.
The total number of infections in the week ended Sunday, 175,990, was the lowest since the seven days ended June 14. Sunday’s total of 13,310 new cases was the lowest for any single day since March 25, 2020, as the nation was heading toward lockdowns.
US government officials monitoring the airways said they won’t tolerate passengers who refuse to don masks as airline travel surges ahead of the summer season.
A recent spike in unruly passenger reports, many of them involving people refusing to cover their faces, prompted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday to issue a stern warning to travelers.
Malta
Malta's Health Minister Chris Fearne said on Monday that 70 percent of the country's adult population have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We have reached herd immunity," the minister announced on social media hours after saying that the target would be reached during a press conference earlier the same day.
"Malta is the first country in Europe to achieve herd immunity," he said at the press conference.
So far, 42 percent of the country's adult population have been fully vaccinated.
A woman is being vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a Poliambulatorio Health Canter in the southern Italian Pelagie Island of Lampedusa on May 15, 2021. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP)
Italy
All Italian regions turned to "yellow" on Monday, indicating a low risk of contagion, and the lowest level of anti-COVID-19 restrictions, according to national health authorities.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza announced this last Friday following the latest monitoring report by the National Institute of Health (ISS).
During the week from May 10 to May 16, the national COVID-19 reproduction number (R number), an indicator used to determine how fast the COVID-19 is spreading, dropped to 0.78 from 0.86 registered in the previous ISS weekly survey.
Overall, the R number below 1 shows the pandemic is in a regressive phase.
The coronavirus incidence rate also dropped to 66 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the week from May 10 to May 16, against 96 in the previous week.
Britain
The British government warned people to avoid traveling to hot spots in England where the variant first identified in India is spreading.
The guidance applies to eight areas including Hounslow in west London, the central England city of Leicester and the northwest towns of Blackburn and Bolton. People there should not meet up indoors or travel outside their districts, the government said.
Another 2,439 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,464,900, according to official figures released Monday.
The country also reported another three coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,724. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
The latest data were revealed as the British government suggested it may need to wait longer to announce its review of social distancing rules and its proposals for COVID-19 certification due to concerns about the India-related variant.
The final step of easing the coronavirus lockdown in England on June 21 is "not inevitable", a British government adviser said Tuesday.
A Downing Street spokesman on Monday said the review of social distancing rules would be published "as soon as possible based on the latest data, which will help inform us what measures we can take around certification".
Ireland
Ireland is set to announce this week that it will remove the requirement for travelers arriving from the UK to self quarantine for 14 days, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported, even amid increasing concern about the spread of the variant first identified in India.
Authorities are watching the variant’s spread in the UK “very carefully,” Prime Minister Micheal Martin told reporters in Brussels. Irish officials declined to comment on the Telegraph report.
In this photo Nov 30, 2020 file photo, the logo of French drug maker Sanofi is picture at the company's headquarters in Paris. (THIBAULT CAMUS / AP)
Mexico
Mexico should in June begin vaccinating against COVID-19 the people in the country aged between 40 and 49, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday.
On the same day, a senior official said Mexico will release its first batches of locally-produced AstraZeneca vaccines against COVID-19 this week.
Speaking at a regular government news conference, Alejandro Svarch, head of medical regulator Cofepris, said the first four batches would be released this week.
Mexico Foreign Minister Marcel Ebrard said on Monday the country will soon begin phase three trials for COVID-19 vaccines by France's Sanofi and China's Walvax.
Mexico's health regulator Cofepris gave approval on Monday for trials of the Sanofi vaccine, which uses a recombinant protein-based technology, Ebrard added.
Phase three trials of the vaccine by China's Walvax Biotechnology are also about to begin in Mexico. Walvax, which uses similar technology to the shots by Moderna and Pfizer, will use about 6,000 volunteers for the late-stage trials, the government said previously.
Mexico's own "Patria" COVID-19 vaccine will soon enter phase two trials, Ebrard said. The government has said the vaccine could be granted approval for emergency use this year.
Patria is being developed with technology from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and a HexaPro protein developed by the University of Texas at Austin.
Chile
Chileans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to move more freely within the country, the government said on Monday, although the nation's borders will remain closed through mid-June to tamp down a fresh spike in infections.
People in Chile who have completed their vaccination cycle will be able to move between communities that are both in and out of quarantine for some activities, as well as travel more freely inside the country starting on Wednesday, the government said.
All other sanitary measures, including mask wearing and social distancing, will remain in place for the group.
Chile has inoculated more than 50 percent of its population, or 7.7 million people, with two doses of vaccine, a tally that places it among the world leaders in vaccination against COVID-19.
Brazil
Brazil's Healthy Ministry on Monday registered 790 new COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours and 37,498 new cases of coronavirus.
The country has confirmed 449,858 deaths from the virus out of more than 16 million confirmed cases since the pandemic began, according to ministry data.
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for global solidarity in the fight against the pandemic.
"COVID-19 cannot be beaten one country at a time," said Guterres, calling for coordinated global action in three areas: respond in solidarity to stop the virus, bolster primary health care systems and universal health coverage, prepare for the next global health emergency.
World leaders must urgently step up with a global plan for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments, he said in a video message to the World Health Assembly, which is under way in Geneva. "This starts with funding the ACT-Accelerator and its COVAX Facility, to deploy life-saving tools to the poorest countries on a global scale."
He repeated his appeal for a Group of 20 (G20) task force that brings together all countries with vaccine production capacities, the World Health Organization (WHO), the ACT-Accelerator partners and international financial institutions, and other key stakeholders.
Slovenia
Slovenia further eased its COVID-19 restrictions on Monday as fairs and conventions are allowed to reopen.
Indoor events may be held provided visitors have either recovered from COVID-19, been vaccinated or tested, according to a decree released by the Slovenian government. In addition, one-way movement of visitors will have to be ensured, and the number of people will be limited to one visitor per 10 square meters. There are exceptions for minors and those in need of escort, or those visiting to the fair with a close family member or guardian.
Additional changes come into effect regarding indoor activities of offering and selling goods and services. The number of persons inside an individual store is now limited to one customer per 10 square meters, rather than formerly per 20 square meters.
ALSO READ: US toll lays bare scale of virus battle
Cuba
Cuba once again surpassed 1,000 new COVID-19 infections in one day, reporting 1,155 in the last 24 hours, for a total of 134,208 cases, as well as 13 more deaths, to a total of 890, the Ministry of Public Health said on Monday.
In his daily report, the ministry's director of hygiene and epidemiology Francisco Duran reiterated the high-level alert of transmission in the 15 provinces of the Caribbean island.
Havana continues to be the epicenter of the pandemic, with another 607 cases in the last day and an incidence rate of 441.7 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in the country.
Ecuador
Former banker Guillermo Lasso took office on Monday as the new president of Ecuador, and announced the launch of a nationwide vaccination campaign against COVID-19.
The nation of over 17 million inhabitants faces a new wave of infections, with just 2 million doses of vaccines applied to date by the outgoing government.
Lasso said his vice president, Alfredo Borrero, a doctor by profession, will work directly with the Health Ministry to meet the government's goal of vaccinating 9 million people.
"We will vaccinate without rest because the virus does not rest, we will do it seven days a week in each province, in each town," Lasso said, adding that the National Electoral Council will support the plan by supplying the electoral roll and polling places.
The government has "tough months" ahead to resolve such urgent issues as the health, economic and social crises batter the country due to the pandemic, said Lasso.
Meanwhile, Ecuador inched closer to an accumulated 420,000 cases of the novel coronavirus disease on Monday, after tests detected 347 new cases in 24 hours, for a total of 419,198 infections since the start of the outbreak in February 2020.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, nine more people died of the disease in the same period, raising the pandemic death toll to 14,773.
Argentina
Argentina reported 22,651 new COVID-19 cases, taking the national tally to 3,562,135, the Ministry of Health said Monday.
The ministry said that 417 more deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 74,480.
Meanwhile, Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers Santiago Cafiero on Monday urged authorities in the country's 24 provinces to ensure that residents comply with measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
"Starting with the second wave (of COVID-19 infections), measures were taken that were not supported and much less controlled by local jurisdictions and here are the consequences," the Argentine official said.
The South American country is facing a second wave of infections that is putting a strain on the health system, leading to a government order for a lockdown from May 22 to 30, in order to mitigate the circulation of people and thus reduce the spread of the virus.
Canada
The government of Canada said it was preparing to deploy a number of healthcare resources for the province of Manitoba that is reeling under a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This comes after Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister last week said he had asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to supply critical care nurses, respiratory therapists and contact tracers to battle the raging health crisis in the province.
Canada will provide federal health human resources, medical staff through the Canadian Red Cross and support from the Canadian Armed Forces, a statement from the government said.
ALSO READ: Russia virus infections top 3m, allows Sputnik V for elderly use
Pfizer Inc
Pfizer Inc said on Monday it began testing fully vaccinated adults over 65 in a new study that uses the company's 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (20vPnC) candidate with a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot.
The aim of the study is to understand if the combination of the vaccines is safe, and the immune response after adding the pneumonia vaccine to the existing COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer said.
The vaccine candidate, 20vPnC, is being developed to help protect adults against 20 serotypes responsible for the majority of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumonia.
The new study will include 600 adults who will be recruited from the two companies' late-stage COVID-19 vaccine study, after having received their second dose of the vaccine at least six months before entering the co-administration study.
Seychelles
Seychelles, which has vaccinated a greater proportion of its people against COVID-19 than any other nation, said active cases of the disease fell 38 percent in the week to May 22 as a recent surge in infections continues to abate.
The Indian Ocean archipelago has 1,179 active cases, the health ministry of the nation of 98,000 people said in a statement on Monday. Hospitalizations declined and to date no one who has been fully vaccinated has died of the disease, it said.
Colombia
Colombia reported 483 more deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, raising the nationwide death toll to 85,207, the country's ministry of health and social protection said Monday.
The ministry said 16,977 new infections were reported, bringing the national tally to 3,249,433.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia registered 306 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 269,500 as of Monday evening, the country's health ministry said.
Eight new deaths were reported, bringing the national death toll to 4,084, the ministry said.
Ukraine
A downward trend in the incidence of COVID-19 cases is being observed in Ukraine and all epidemic indicators are improving for a ninth week in a row, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Monday.
When briefing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the situation at a conference call, Shmyhal noted that the number of patients with COVID-19 is systematically decreasing and all 24 regions of Ukraine are now considered "yellow" zones when it comes to assessing the danger posed by COVID-19, according to the president's office.
