Thursday, November 18, 2021

Pfizer, US ink $5.29B deal for possible treatment

The US government will pay drugmaker Pfizer $5.29 billion for 10 million treatment courses of its potential Covid-19 treatment if regulators authorise it, the nation's largest purchase agreement yet for a coronavirus therapy.

Pfizer asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorise emergency use of the experimental pill, which has been shown to significantly cut the rate of hospitalisations and deaths among people with coronavirus infections by nearly 90 percent.

The FDA is already reviewing a competing pill from Merck and will hold a public meeting on it later this month.

The price for Pfizer’s potential treatment amounts to about $529 per course.

The US has already agreed to pay roughly $700 per course of Merck’s drug for about 3.1 million treatments.

Germany tightens restrictions for unvaccinated

Germany will require healthcare workers and employees in care homes to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of Germany's 16 states agreed.

"We must protect the most vulnerable groups," they said in a policy statement, adding that "it is necessary for employees" in institutions like hospitals or elderly and care homes, and those going door-to-door to provide care "be required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus".

The new measures include requirements for employees to prove they are vaccinated, recently recovered or to have tested negative for the virus in order to access communal workplaces; a similar rule will apply to public transport.

The measures need to be approved by Germany's upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, which could happen Friday.

Greece imposes further restrictions on unvaccinated

Greece has joined several other European countries in imposing more restrictions on those unvaccinated against Covid following a surge in infections in recent weeks.

From next Monday, unvaccinated people will be barred from indoor spaces including restaurants, cinemas, museums and gyms, even if they test negative, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

In a televised address to the nation, Mitsotakis urged Greeks to "get vaccinated , get vaccinated, get vaccinated".

Greece has so far fully vaccinated about 62 percent of its population of around 11 million. Authorities had hoped for a rate of about 70 percent by autumn.

Italy reports 69 deaths

Italy has reported 69 coronavirus-related deaths against 72 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 10,638 from 10,172.

Italy has registered 133,034 deaths linked to Covid 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 4.9 million cases to date.

Turkey reports 226 deaths

Turkey's Health Ministry has recorded 22,234 new Covid-19 cases, 226 deaths, and 29,538 recoveries over the past day.

Turkey has administered over 119.03 million doses of vaccines since it launched an immunisation drive in January, according to official figures.

UK records 199 deaths

The United Kingdom has recorded 46,807 daily cases on Thursday, the highest since October 22, and 199 deaths, official data showed.

On a seven-day basis, cases were up 14.5 percent on the week before, and deaths within 28 days of a person testing positive were down by 9.8 percent.

Hungary makes booster shot mandatory for healthcare staff

Hungary will make a third, booster shot mandatory for all healthcare workers and will require protective mask wearing in most closed places from Saturday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said.

Gergely Gulyas also told a government briefing that only vaccines can provide protection against the coronavirus as case numbers are rising.

"The government's advice is that everyone should get a booster shot, which is possible to get four months after the second dose," Gulyas said.

Hungary reported 10,767 new infections, its highest daily tally since the end of March, and 131 people died of the virus the previous day.

Czech govt bars unvaccinated from restaurants, services 

The Czech government has approved plans to only allow people who are vaccinated against Covid-19 or have recovered from the illness in the past six months into restaurants, hotels and other services, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said.

The government had flagged the new measures this week as the country battles a surge in cases and seeks to boost vaccination numbers in the nation of 10.7 million.

AstraZeneca antibody works to prevent, treat Covid-19

AstraZeneca has said its antibody drug cocktail for coronavirus cut the risk of contracting symptomatic illness by 83 percent in a long-term follow-up.

The therapy also cut the risk of symptoms worsening when given within three days of first symptoms, the company said.

Russia's daily deaths hit new record high

Russia has reported 1,251 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, an all-time record high that follows a surge in cases.

The government coronavirus taskforce reported 37,374 nationwide infections on Thursday, down from a peak of 41,335 recorded on November 6.

Germany reports 65,371 cases, 264 deaths

Germany has recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases with more than 65,000 new infections, as officials warned that many hospitals were at the limits of their capacity.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's disease control agency, on Thursday confirmed 65,371 new cases in the past 24 hours, up from 52,826 cases reported on Wednesday.

The virus claimed 264 more lives , bringing the country’s death toll in the pandemic to 98,538.

Germany’s central government and premiers of federal states are scheduled to hold a videoconference later in the day to organise a wider vaccination campaign and introduce tougher restrictions, especially for unvaccinated people.

Colombia records 47 more fatalities

Colombia’s Health Ministry has reported 47 more fatalities from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 127,912.

The total number of cases surpassed 5.38 million, including 2,257 new infections, with more than 4.87 million recoveries.

Countrywide death toll in Argentina rises to 116,313

According to data from Argentina's Ministry of Health, 1,553 new infections have brought the total number of cases to over 5.31 million.

After 19 patients died on the last day, the countrywide death toll has risen to 116,313 people. In a country with a population of nearly 45 million people, more than 5.17 million recoveries have been reported so far.

South Korea reports record 3,292 new COVID-19 cases – KDCA

South Korea reported a record high 3,292 new Covid cases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said, as the country moves into the first phase of its "living with Covid-19" with loosened restrictions.

Mexico reports 332 more deaths

Mexico's health ministry reported 332 more deaths from the virus, bringing the overall death toll in the country since the pandemic began to 291,573.Brazil sees 11,977 cases

Brazil registered 11,977 virus cases and 373 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.

Belgium tightens measures as infections ‘explode’

The Belgian government decided to tighten measures amid rapidly rising infections.

“The variant of the virus that we see today is three times more contagious than the original one. There is a red alarm. This is why we take extensive measures that everyone can follow to avoid a new lockdown,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told reporters following a Covid-19 consultative committee meeting.