With Tunisia’s health system close to collapse after being overwhelmed by a surge of Covid-19 cases, other countries and even individuals have stepped in to stem the crisis. European and Gulf nations, Tunisians abroad and ordinary citizens have organised equipment and vaccine donations that are now helping to battle the pandemic. The small North African […]
Vaccines
Jordan to open Covid vaccinations for 12-year-olds
Jordan’s health ministry announced Saturday that Covid-19 vaccines will now be available for children aged 12 and above. The ministry “has decided to lower the Covid-19 vaccination age to 12 years, starting from Sunday July 25” and without requiring an appointment, the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page on Saturday. “Vaccination will […]
EU says vaccine rate now higher than in US
European Union leaders on Saturday celebrated their coronavirus vaccination programme reaching a higher proportion of its people than in the US, which had outpaced the bloc for months. “We promised it and it’s done. The EU this week overtook the US as the continent with the most first doses in the world,” Commissioner Thierry Breton […]
Argentina surpasses 100,000 Covid-19 deaths
Argentina on Wednesday became the fifth Latin American country to record more than 100,000 deaths from Covid-19, according to data from the health ministry. The South American country registered 614 new deaths over the last 24 hours taking its total to 100,250 among a population of 45 million. It has now had more than 4.7 […]
World Bank boosts Covid-19 vaccine funding
The World Bank announced Wednesday it has increased its Covid-19 vaccine fund for developing countries by $8 billion to $20 billion. In addition, the bank’s private financing arm secured a 600 million euro ($710 million) package for a South African vaccine manufacturer to ramp up production, the institution announced. “Together the actions announced today on […]
NCOC expresses satisfaction over Covid vaccine availability
ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) expressed satisfaction over the corona vaccine availability in the country on Tuesday. The development came during an NCOC session with National Coordinator Lt General Hamood-uz-Zaman Khan as the chair. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan and Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) […]
India approves Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use
India on Tuesday authorised the emergency use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine as it seeks to ramp up its vaccination drive in the wake of a record-breaking surge in infections and deaths. The vast nation of 1.3 billion people was hit by a massive spike in coronavirus cases in April and May that pushed the healthcare […]
Greece boosts test demands for Russian tourists
Athens on Sunday announced that all Russian travellers, vaccinated or not, would have to show a negative PCR or rapid test result on arrival in Greece. According to a statement from the Ministry of Tourism on Sunday “because of the propagation of the Delta variant in Russia from June 30th travellers arriving in Greece from […]
WHO spots problems at Russian vaccine plant
The World Health Organization said Wednesday it had uncovered problems at a Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine production site which Moscow insisted had been resolved. WHO approval has been sought for the Sputnik V jab created by Russia’s Gamaleya research institute, which is already being used in 40 countries. The UN health agency inspected four Sputnik […]
India tests longer-range drone flights, eyes Covid-19 vaccine deliveries
An aviation firm has carried out the first tests in India of longer-range drone deliveries, as hopes grow that they could deliver medicines as well as Covid-19 vaccines to remote areas. Greater use of drones could be a game-changer for medical services in the South Asian nation’s hard-to-reach rural areas where healthcare is limited and […]