Pandemic Latest News

COVID-19

COVID-19 cases rise across Europe

Another wave of COVID-19 infections may have begun in Europe as cases begin to tick up across the region, the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said last Wednesday. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/982296?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=4751294&faf=1 “Although we are not where we were one year ago, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic is …

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US extends COVID-19 pandemic status

The Biden administration extended the Covid-19 pandemic’s status as a public health emergency for another 90 days, preserving measures such as expanded Medicaid and higher payments to hospitals. The decision follows comments President Joe Biden made in September describing the pandemic as over. Some Republican lawmakers said afterward that the administration should wind down its …

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Indonesia launches domestic COVID-19 vaccination

Indonesia launched its first home-grown COVID-19 shot Thursday to help reduce the world’s fourth most populous nation’s dependency on imported vaccines. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/982435?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=4751294&faf=1 President Joko Widodo announced the vaccine brand, IndoVac, as a new milestone for Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry that will manufacture primary series vaccines, booster vaccines and vaccines for children, which have been in development …

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Omicron subvariants becoming dominant strains

The subvariants known as BQ.1.1, BQ.1, BQ.1.3, BA.2.3.20 and XBB are among the fastest spreading of the main Omicron lineages. Based on UK data, the BQ variants, as well as BA.2.75.2 and BF.7 are the most concerning due to their growth advantage and immune evasiveness, the US health security agency has said. BF.7 has also …

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COVID increasing once more in the UK

According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), about one in 65 people in England – an estimated 857,400 individuals – had COVID in the week ending 17 September, up from 766,500 people, or one in 70, the week before. www.theguardian.com/global/2022/oct/06/rising-uk-covid-levels-whats-driving-it-and-what-will-happen-next? An increase was also seen in Wales, while in Northern Ireland and …

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Zero-COVID policy continues to cause chaos in China

Lockdowns and travel restrictions are continuing to cause chaos across China in the run-up to a crucial political meeting next week as the government holds fast to hard-line zero-COVID policies. As thousands of Communist party delegates prepare to descend on Beijing for the twice-a-decade Congress meeting, where Xi Jinping is expected to start his third …

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Will COVID-19 resurge in Europe this winter?

A new COVID-19 wave appears to be brewing in Europe as cooler weather arrives, with public health experts warning that vaccine fatigue and confusion over types of available vaccines will likely limit booster uptake. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981965?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=4728508&faf=1 Omicron subvariants BA.4/5 that dominated this summer are still behind the majority of infections, but newer Omicron subvariants are gaining …

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How COVID-19 is able to evade our immune systems

While COVID-19 has fallen from the spotlight of media attention, the pandemic is far from over. Through a process referred to as immune evasion – or antibody escape – the virus has endured and continues to spread throughout the globe. With winter fast approaching, we could soon expect another wave. The hallmark waves of the …

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New COVID-19 strains threaten winter surge

Nearly 3 years into the pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 seems to be still up to the challenge of finding new ways around the immunity humans have built up through vaccines and countless infections. Several new and highly immune-evasive strains of the virus have caught scientists’ attention in recent weeks; one or more may well cause big, new …

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Indovac vaccine approved “as a primary vaccine for adults”

The Indovac vaccine, developed by Indonesia’s state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma and the Texas Children’s Hospital Centre for Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine, has been approved “as a primary vaccine for adults,” according to CNN Indonesia. www.medscape.com/viewarticle/981547?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=398271FG&impID=4700521&faf=1 Bio Farma says it will produce 20 million doses of the vaccine in 2022 and 100 …

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