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Brazil’s health ministry reported over 73,000 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, raising the total number of cases to more than 15 million since the start of the pandemic.
The ministry also reported at least 2,550 new Covid-19 fatalities, raising the country’s death toll to at least 416,949.
While Brazil’s outbreak continues to be severe and its vaccine rollout slow, the country saw some hope on the horizon with the announcement that the government will purchase an extra 100 million Pfizer vaccine doses. The money for the acquisition was released this Thursday and the new contract should be signed soon.
These doses are in addition to Brazil’s current contract to purchase 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, one of four approved for use in the country.
The first Pfizer doses arrived in Brazil last week.
Incentives, conveniences and requirements — such as cash, workplace clinics and mandatory shots before travel or large events — could be effective ways to encourage more people to get?Covid-19 vaccines, according to data published Thursday by Kaiser Family Foundation.
Three in 10 adults who don’t want to get vaccinated immediately — including nearly half of those who want to “wait and see” — said that they would be more likely to get vaccinated if it was offered to them somewhere they normally go for health care or if they only needed one dose, according to the poll, which was conducted April 15 to 29 and made up of 2,097 US adults.?
Other reasons that made people more likely to get vaccinated were if it was required to fly on a plane, to travel internationally or to attend large gatherings like sports events. At least a quarter of people who aren’t ready to get the vaccine straight away said that these reasons would make it more likely that they got vaccinated.?
Workplaces could also play a part.?
In adults who were not ready to get vaccinated right away, 28% said that paid time off to get the vaccine and recover from side effects would make them more likely to get vaccinated. About a quarter said that being offered a financial incentive of $200 would make them more likely to get vaccinated. And 2 in 10 said that having their employer arrange for them to get the vaccine at work would make them more likely.?
For the “wait and see” group, 47% said paid time off would make them more likely to get the vaccine, 39% said the financial incentive would work and 32% said being able to get their vaccine at their workplace would make them more likely to get the vaccine.?
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday that venues and businesses serving 1,000 people or less can operate at?75% capacity starting May 28.
“Businesses and venues that cater to fewer than 1,000 people, again, will be open to 75% capacity,” he said. “That includes retail, hair salons, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms. It also includes weddings, memorial services, all of those activities that will be under 1,000.”
Additionally, the governor said beginning May 28, indoor and outdoor events with more than 1,000 attendees will be increased to 60% capacity. During the news conference, he also clarified?that small groups of fully vaccinated people, for both private and business gatherings, are no longer mandated to wear?masks indoors.?
Beshear said he expects to end all state capacity restrictions by July.
About 252 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC reported that 251,973,752 total doses have been administered, about 78% of the 324,610,185 doses delivered.?
That’s about 2.4 million more doses reported administered since Wednesday, for a seven-day average of about 2.1 million doses per day.
About 149.5 million people – about 45% of the US population – have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and nearly 109 million people – about 33% of the US population – is fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.
Note: Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been given on the day reported.
The 11-day pause on Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine last month caused 9% of unvaccinated adults to say they’re less likely to want that vaccine, and 7% to say they’re less likely to want any Covid-19 vaccine, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation poll taken during and after the pause.
Among people who had not yet been vaccinated, 56% said the news didn’t have an impact on their decision about getting vaccinated and 21% said they hadn’t heard or read about the pause.?But about 1 in 5 unvaccinated adults changed their mind about getting a Covid-19 vaccine due to the pause, according to the survey.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration recommended pausing use of the J&J vaccine on April 13 due to six reported US cases of a “rare and severe” type of blood clot. The pause was lifted on April 23 and a warning about the rare events was added.
The KFF poll, released Thursday, was conducted April 15 to April 29 and consisted of a nationally representative sample of 2,097 US adults. It began after the pause was put in place and continued until after it was lifted.???
But confidence in the safety of the vaccine is low among key unvaccinated groups, the poll said. Fewer Americans, 46%, are at least somewhat confident the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe; for Pfizer and Moderna, 69% said the same.
Among people who say they are waiting to get a Covid-19 vaccine, 55% said the Pfizer vaccine is safe, 53% said Moderna is safe and only 28% said the J&J vaccine is safe.?
KFF found 39% of unvaccinated Hispanic women said they heard about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and changed their mind about the vaccine — 15% said it made them less likely to want J&J’s vaccine and 18% saying they were less likely to want any Covid-19 vaccine.
A majority of respondents, 78%, said that they had heard or read at least a little about the pause.?Unvaccinated women, 83%, were more likely to have heard or read about the pause than unvaccinated men, 73%. Unvaccinated women were also less confident in the safety of the vaccine. KFF notes that there was no gender difference in overall vaccine confidence.?
Concerns about Covid-19 vaccine side effects overall increased, particularly among women. In all adults who weren’t planning to get vaccinated right away, 81% were concerned they might experience serious side effects, compared with 70% last month. For women, 92% were concerned about serious side effects compared with 77% in March.?
Sixty-six percent of women have been vaccinated or will be as soon as possible, compared to 61% in March. For men, 63% have been or will be as soon as possible compared to 62% in March.
And J&J being a single-dose vaccine still appeals to people.?Three in 10 unvaccinated adults said they would be more likely to get a vaccine if they needed only one dose.
A New Jersey university is requiring all students living on-campus or attending classes in-person in the fall to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 — but they are also offering a hefty financial incentive in exchange.
Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, says full-time students who show proof that they have been fully vaccinated by Aug. 7 will receive a $500 credit towards their course registration and another $500 towards their housing costs.
The university says the incentive is proof?of its commitment to helping New Jersey reach its goal of fully vaccinating 70% of all adults.
“Residential students who are not vaccinated will be required to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. Other students, such as athletes and those who are in majors where there is close contact with others, still may be required to test, even if vaccinated,” according to a statement from University President Ali Houshmand released on Thursday.
The statement also said it plans to create incentives for employees to get vaccinated too.
Rowan University has approximately 20,000 students enrolled.
France will broaden access to its coronavirus vaccine program by allowing “all adults” to book a shot if there are vacant slots available the next day, French President Emmanuel Macron announced in a tweet on Thursday.
Currently, only people aged 55 or older and those with comorbidities are eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine. Starting May 12, all adults – without exception – will be eligible to book a vaccine for any slots that are still free 24 hours before the appointment.
In another tweet on Thursday, Macron added, “Vaccinating during the day. Vaccinating at night. Vaccinating on weekends. Vaccinating on public holidays. Thanks to all those who don’t count the hours worked to save lives. This is what this is all about.”
France is set to open Covid-19 vaccination to all adults over 50 years old on Monday, the next target group in their vaccination campaign.
According to the latest data from French authorities, nearly 17 million people have received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as of Tuesday, with 7.5 million fully vaccinated.
France has authorized four vaccines so far: Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday, according to a new schedule posted on the?CDC?website.
A draft agenda posted on the?CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices website for Wednesday includes discussion on the use of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in 12- to 15-year-olds, and an update on rare blood clotting events following the Johnson & Johnson vaccination.
The US Food and Drug Administration is considering a request to extend its emergency use authorization (EUA) for Pfizer/BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds. A federal official has told CNN that authorization should be straightforward and could be expected by next week.
If and when the FDA grants EUA, then the?CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would have to meet to vote on whether to recommend the use of the vaccine in the new age group, and the?CDC?director would then have to sign off on it.??
ACIP will not meet about the use of the Pfizer vaccine in adolescents until after the FDA expands the vaccine’s EUA to that age group.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says he expects results from tests of booster vaccines and newly formulated vaccines in the coming months.
Bourla spoke as part of a panel discussion with CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb. The discussion was pre-recorded on April 30 and was streamed on Thursday as part of the?Fifth International Vatican Conference.
Pfizer rival Moderna reported data Wednesday from its trial of booster doses and its reformulated vaccine made to match the B.1.351 variant first seen in South Africa.
The Pfizer CEO says the company?can?produce a booster or variant-specific vaccine in 90 days. “From the day we make the decision that this is a variant,?that we need to do something about it,?within 90 something days to be able to have a product ready,” Bourla said.
When asked by Gupta if the boosters or new vaccines will have to be reauthorized, Bourla likened the process to the reauthorization of new flu vaccines every year, which are targeted to different strains circulating each year.?The US Food and Drug Administration and other regulators around the world approve the new formulations without requiring a lengthy new clinical trial process.
Gottlieb noted that when assessing flu vaccine effectiveness, instead of doing large trials to determine efficacy,?researchers can run lab tests to see if the vaccines elicit an immune response.
The Cura Foundation’s Fifth International Vatican Conference?is a partnership?among?the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture, the Cura Foundation, and the Science and Faith Foundation that brings together leaders of faith and science to discuss issues of health care and medicine.?
India’s Madhya Pradesh state has extended its strict lockdown until May 15 to combat the spread of coronavirus infections, the state’s Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced on Thursday.
The?“janta curfew,” or people’s curfew, means no weddings or mass gatherings will be allowed during the month of May,?Chouhan said.
Local district authorities will be charged with enforcing it and crisis management groups should include citizen volunteers, ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officials and opposition representatives, he added.??
The chief minister said more than 500 hospitals are now treating Covid-19 patients in the state.
Any efforts to charge patients more than is required for medical care will be punished, he warned, saying “we have started investigations.”
Madhya Pradesh began administering its first Covid-19 vaccines on Tuesday after?Chouhan said Friday it would?be unable to administer shots at the start of a national rollout on May 1 because it couldn’t get the vaccines by that date.
On April 19, the Indian government announced everyone over the age of 18 will be eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine from May 1.
Madhya Pradesh was one of the first major states run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP to acknowledge its incapacity to start the nationwide program on time.
America’s vaccination pace is slowing. To tackle the issue, President Biden announced a shift from mass vaccination drives to utilizing more community clinics and pharmacies in an effort to reach younger Americans, people living in rural areas and those reluctant to get the shot.
CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers viewers’ question and reports on the latest on US vaccine efforts. Watch:
New York City has now administered 6,809,451 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.
City officials also announced an intention to offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to any tourist who visits New York City, pending state approval.
De Blasio announced that the city wants to install mobile Covid-19 mobile vaccination sites at various tourist attractions throughout the city — such as Times Square, Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Highline — to offer the J&J vaccine. The mayor said the city needs state approval to vaccinate non-New Yorkers and that they plan to begin as soon as they get that approval.?
India reported a 412,262 new Covid-19 cases Thursday, a new single-day record, according to a CNN tally compiled from figures released by the Indian Health Ministry.?
To date, authorities have identified 21,077,410 cases of coronavirus.
The country also reported 3,980 Covid-19 related deaths on Thursday, another new single-day record. It was the ninth consecutive day that the number of fatalities identified in a 24-hour period exceeded 3,000.
To date, 230,168 who have contracted the virus in India have died.
India is in the midst of a severe second wave of cases. In the past 30 days, the country has recorded 8.3 million cases. Since April 22, more than 300,000 cases have been added every day.
Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, mRNA-1273, has shown an efficacy of 96% among teens in early data, CEO?Stéphane?Bancel?announced during an earnings call on Thursday.
?Moderna’s trial in teens, called the TeenCOVE study, includes people ages 12 to 17.
Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine is currently authorized for use in people ages 18 and older.
US Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are at their lowest points in nearly seven months. Deaths from Covid-19 have not been this low since July.?
The seven-day average of Covid-19 cases is at its lowest point in nearly seven months, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
Deaths are also at their lowest point in many months.
Hospitalizations are also down significantly, according to data from the US Department of?Health and Human Services?(HHS).?
India’s health ministry denied reports that oxygen concentrators arriving from other countries are pending at customs.
India has received 3,000 oxygen concentrators from across the world as part of Covid-19 aid efforts, the ministry added.?
Mauritius sent 200 oxygen concentrators, Russia sent 20, UK sent four shipments totaling in 669 concentrators, Romania sent 80, Ireland sent 700, Thailand sent 30, China sent 1,000, Uzbekistan sent 151, and Taiwan sent 150, according to the ministry.
Some background: As?India’s Covid-19 crisis?worsens,?dozens of countries?have pledged critical aid. However, medical workers and local officials continue to report the same devastating shortages that have?strained the health care system?for weeks now — raising questions, even among foreign donors, of where the aid is going.
Any media reports alleging that the concentrators are pending at customs are “totally incorrect,” the ministry said.
“The oxygen concentrators are either delivered to the identified tertiary care institutions, or been dispatched for delivery,” the ministry added. “There are no oxygen contractors lying in the warehouse of the Customs Department.”
Customs are working 24/7 to “fast track and clear the goods on arrival” and the Covid-19 equipment are given “high priority for clearance,” according the ministry.
The same clarification was also given to the Delhi High Court by government’s counsel recently, the press release added.
India has received the first part of an oxygen-generating plant shipment from Germany, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet Thursday.
The official Twitter account for Germany’s Luftwaffe, its air force, shared video and images of the shipment, saying it was cracking on with its humanitarian relief mission to India.
“Another A400M is loaded with lifesaving equipment to support the fight against Covid. Great cooperation between the Luftwaffe, the German federal armed forces medical service and the European Union,” one tweet said.
On Wednesday, Col. Wolfgang Stern, deputy commodore of the German Airforce Transport Fleet 62, said in an on camera interview: “Flights like these are never routine and especially in this case where we fly all the way to India and carry a cargo which has never been shipped before the preparation and planning requires extra attention. But especially if there are human lives at stake we feel the special motivation in everybody involved which makes those flights so special.”
“The equipment can produce 400,000 litres of gaseous oxygen per day under schoolbook conditions which means supplying 28 patients in intensive care,” Major Sascha Haugk, a logistics expert in the medical service added in the German army handout video.
Some more background: As India’s Covid-19 crisis tipped past breaking point last month, dozens of countries pledged critical aid. Planeloads of ventilators, oxygen supplies and antiviral drugs began arriving last week, with photos showing massive parcels being unloaded at New Delhi airport.
However, much of the shipped cargo was not immediately delivered as hospitals on the ground pleaded for more provisions. Medical workers and local officials are still reporting the same devastating shortages that have strained the health care system for weeks now — raising questions, even among foreign donors, of where the aid is going.
Indian government junior cabinet minister Ashwini Kr. Choubey tweeted Wednesday that “Covid-19 supplies received from the global community have been effectively allocated to states and UTs by Government of India.”
A temporary waiver on the TRIPS agreement is a bad idea, Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine developer Dr. Ozlem Tureci said after the Biden administration announced a major decision to support it.
That is also what BioNTech’s co-founder and chief medical officer Dr. Tureci argued.
“Patents are not the limiting?factor for the production of, for example, our vaccine,” Dr. Tureci told CNN. “There are a number of important factors in producing vaccines. For example,?our manufacturing process?involves more than 50,000 steps, all of?which have to be executed?accurately in order to ensure?the efficacy and safety of vaccine.?It takes experienced personnel,?it takes specialized facilities, it takes access to raw?materials.”
Instead, it’s more?important to ensure legal,?administrative and organizational?solutions for vaccine manufacturers, she said.
A patent waiver “will not increase the number of doses we will have available within the next 12 months.?It will probably act towards increasing chaos in?production,” she added.
US President Joe Biden as a candidate promised to support such waivers, but had been under pressure from pharmaceutical companies to keep them in place.
Officials have been clear that the President’s decision to support this waiver is a preliminary step and will not guarantee the global patent rules are lifted right away.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Pfizer/BioNTech will donate Covid-19 vaccine doses to Olympic athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games scheduled for July.
The IOC said the national committees will work with local governments to coordinate distribution of the vaccines “in accordance with each country’s vaccination guidelines and consistent with local regulations.”
The committee added it encourages athletes to get vaccinated in their home countries before traveling to Japan. “This is not only to contribute to the safe environment of the Games, but also out of respect for the residents of Japan,” the IOC said, adding that based on feedback from national committees it expects “a significant proportion” of athletes will be vaccinated before arriving.
“It is important to note that any additional doses delivered by Pfizer and BioNTech will not be taken out of existing programmes, but will be in addition to existing quotas and planned deliveries around the world,” the IOC added.
“By taking the vaccine, they can send a powerful message that vaccination is not only about personal health, but also about solidarity and consideration of the wellbeing of others in their communities,” Bach added.
The US Centers for Disease Control?and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday listed the?B.1.617 coronavirus?variant?first?detected?in?India?as?a?“variant?of?interest,” suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or reduce vaccine efficacy.??
B.1.617, which is now the most common variant in India, has also been found in the United Kingdom and the United States, and was recently detected in Israel.
The Director of India’s National Center for Disease Control, Sujeet Singh, said Wednesday that the surge in Covid-19 cases in India in the last 1.5 months in some states shows a correlation with the rise in the?B.1.617 variant, though further analysis is needed.?
“We have not been able to establish the epidemiological and clinical correlation completely yet,”?Singh said in a health ministry press briefing.?“This correlation is the main aspect and without it we cannot link a particular surge to the variant.”?
The CDC classifies coronavirus?variants by three levels: variant of interest, variant of concern,?or variant of high consequence.
Current variants of concern include B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in the United Kingdom, P.1, the variant first identified in Brazil, B.1351, the variant first identified in South Africa and B.1.427 and B.1.429, variants first identified in California.?
The southern Indian state Kerala will go into lockdown from May 8 until May 16, Kerala Chief Minister Vijayan Pinarayi announced Thursday.?
Kerala reported 41,953 new cases and 58 deaths on May 5.?
The state’s active caseload is more than 375,000 cases – the third highest across all states.?
The second wave of Covid-19 in India has touched every state and union territory in the country. Here is a look at the number of total cases and deaths recorded in each jurisdiction, according to figures provided by the Indian government on Thursday.
Andaman and Nicobar: 6,223 cases and 71 deaths
Andhra Pradesh: 1,206,232 cases and 8,374 deaths
Arunachal Pradesh: 19,412 cases and 59 deaths
Assam: 272,751 cases and 1,485 deaths
Bihar: 538,677 cases and 2,987 deaths
Chandigarh: 46,793 cases and 532 deaths
Chhattisgarh: 802,643 cases and 9,738 deaths
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu: 8,325 cases and four deaths
Delhi: 1,253,902 cases and 18,063 deaths
Goa: 104,398 cases and 1,443 deaths
Gujarat: 633,427 cases and 7,912 deaths
Haryana: 558,975 cases and 4,960 deaths
Himachal Pradesh: 114,787 cases and 1,692 deaths
Jammu and Kashmir: 196,585 cases and 2,510 deaths
Jharkhand: 263,115 cases and 3,346 deaths
Karnataka: 1,741,046 cases and 16,884 deaths
Kerala: 1,743,932 cases and 5,565 deaths
Ladakh: 14,811 cases and 151 deaths
Lakshadweep: 3,376 cases and seven deaths
Maharashtra: 4,880,542 cases and 72,662 deaths
Manipur: 33,353 cases and 434 deaths
Meghalaya: 18,283 cases and 191 deaths
Mizoram: 6,964 cases and 17 deaths
Madhya Pradesh: 624,985 cases and 6,074 deaths
Nagaland: 15,004 cases and 118 deaths
Odisha: 489,641 cases and 2,104 deaths
Puducherry: 65,117 cases and 883 deaths
Punjab: 407,509 cases and 9,825 deaths
Rajasthan: 685,036 cases and 5,021 deaths
Sikkim: 8,919 cases and 155 deaths
Tamil Nadu: 1,272,602 cases and 14,779 deaths
Telengana: 475,748 cases and 2,579 deaths
Tripura: 36,534 cases and 403 deaths
Uttar Pradesh: 1,399,294 cases and 14,151 deaths
Uttarakhand: 211,834 cases and 3,142 deaths
West Bengal: 916,635 cases and 11,847 deaths
Covid-19 is devastating India at a record pace and pushing the country’s healthcare infrastructure beyond its limits.
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New Zealand has suspended quarantine-free travel arrangements for flights from the Australian state of New South Wales due to a local outbreak of Covid-19 in its state capital, Sydney.
Quarantine-free flights will be suspended for 48 hours from midnight Thursday New Zealand local time, according to New Zealand’s Covid-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins.
Flights from New Zealand to New South Wales have not yet been affected.?
Thursday’s decision is the first alteration to the Australia-New Zealand travel bubble, which was instituted on April 19.?
Two locally acquired cases of Covid-19 were detected in Sydney on Wednesday, a married couple in their 50s.
Some restrictions were reinstated in Sydney on Thursday, including mandatory mask wearing in indoor public places and a limit of 20 people at private gatherings.
At least 19 people are being evacuated from a Nepali climbing camp after reports of Covid-19 cases were confirmed there.
Mingma Sherpa, chairman of the Seven Summits Treks, said four climbers tested positive for coronavirus at the base camp of Dhaulagiri, the seventh-highest peak in the world.
Sherpa said 12 other climbers seemed to be in good condition but were being evacuated so they could get tested after developing coughs.
The expedition, which started with 32 foreign climbers and a roughly 40-member support team, is expected to continue on.
Nepal Army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Shantosh Ballave Poudyal?Shantosh Ballave Poudya said three people working at Dhaulagiri base camp cleaning up waste have tested positive.?One was evacuated Wednesday, and two will be evacuating soon once the weather gets clear.
Some 18 million people, or 7% of Indonesia’s population, are still planning on traveling for the Eid al-Fitr holiday despite travel bans, according to a poll from the country’s state-run news agency, Antara.
Indonesia instituted a travel ban between May 6 and 17 to help stop the spread of Covid-19.?The order by the central government limits the distance people can travel during the holiday period and keeps them largely contained to their current city or town.
Roughly 155,000 personnel, including 90,000 police and 11,500 military officers, are being deployed to posts around the country to enforce the travel ban and restrictions around the holidays, Antara reported Wednesday.?In Jakarta, more than 4,000 personnel will be stationed around the metropolitan region to enforce rules.
Hospitals in the Japanese prefecture of Osaka no longer have empty beds available for severe Covid-19 patients, according to government data.
Osaka’s bed occupancy rate for severe coronavirus patients hit 103% on Wednesday, per data posted on the Osaka government’s website. The bed occupancy rate for mild and moderate cases is 82.4%.
To cope with the rising number of cases, the government opened two waiting centers in April with ventilators for patients who called for ambulances but could not be admitted due to a lack of beds.
Authorities also asked neighboring prefectures to accept patients with severe symptoms to ease Osaka’s burden, but so far, only Shiga prefecture has participated. They’ve only accepted one patient.
Since the latest wave of infections began on March 4, 17 Covid-19 patients have died at home or in hotels, according to the government.
Osaka authorities said 13,992 Covid patients remain at home while 2,958 are waiting to be hospitalized or put in hotel rooms.?
Hotel spaces are offered to those who cannot be hospitalized or those who need to be away from home and their families while infectious. Local health centers provide patients at home and hotels with oxygen meters and have them monitor and report to the health center.
The Osaka government also asked for nurses from around the country to come help with the rising number of cases. So far, more than 40 nurses have answered. The government website continues to have a “nurses wanted” recruitment notice for those who can “work in the red zone of hospitals and capable of dealing with respirators.”
The government said they will be paid a higher wage than normal.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday instructed China to take back a donation of 1,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccine because the company has not filed a formal application to the Philippines Food and Drug Administration to request emergency use authorization.?
Duterte was criticized for getting the jab on Monday despite it not being approved by the Philippines FDA.
Duterte apologized for receiving the unapproved dose at a news conference Wednesday. He also told the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines to withdraw its 1,000-dose donation.?
Two shots of the Sinopharm vaccine carry an 78.1% overall efficacy in protecting patients from Covid-19, according to data provided by Sinopharm to the World Health Organization.
The first nationwide study of coronavirus vaccination, done in Israel, shows Pfizer/BioNtech’s vaccine works far better after two doses.
Two shots of the vaccine provided greater than 95% protection from infection, severe illness and death, researchers reported Wednesday in the Lancet medical journal.
With its small population, Israel was able to quickly vaccinate much of its population.
The study found the vaccine provided?95.3% protection against infection and 96.7% protection against death seven days after the second dose.
It was about 92% effective against infections that caused no symptoms.
But people who received only one dose of the vaccine were far less protected. One dose alone gave just 57.7% protection against infection, 75.7% against hospitalization, and 77% against death.
The study was funded by the Israel Ministry of Health and Pfizer.
Walt Disney World will phase out onsite temperature for staff and guests this month, the company said on their?website.
Park attendance is still being managed via the park reservation system and face coverings are required for cast members and all guests 2 years old and older.