African nations set to miss 'crucial' vaccine goal: WHO – latest updates

Thursday, September 2, 2021

Africa missing 'crucial' goal

Most African countries are set to miss the "crucial" goal of vaccinating the most vulnerable ten percent of their populations against Covid-19 by the end of the month, the World Health Organization warned.

Forty-two of Africa’s 54 nations, nearly 80 percent, are set to miss the target unless the current pace of vaccine deliveries and vaccinations increases, the WHO's Africa office warned.

"Vaccine hoarding has held Africa back and we urgently need more vaccines," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

"As more doses arrive, African countries must zero in and drive forward precise plans to rapidly vaccinate the millions of people that still face a grave threat from Covid-19," she added.

Italy reports 62  deaths, 6,761 new cases

Italy reported 62 coronavirus-related deaths, down from 69 the previous day, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 6,761 from 6,503, the health ministry said.

A total of 129,352 deaths linked to Covid-19 have been registered in Italy since its outbreak emerged in February last year. 

Belgian royals in quarantine after positive Covid-19 case

Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde cancelled their attendance at all public events after a family member tested positive for Covid-19.

The palace said in a statement that the king and queen had decided to limit their contacts in the coming days. 

A spokesperson declined to identify which family member had produced the positive test.

UK records 38,154 new Covid cases, 178 deaths

Britain reported 38,154 new Covid-19 cases and 178 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test, official data showed.

Swiss captain Xhaka out of Italy clash after positive Covid test

Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka will miss Sunday's World Cup qualifier against European champions Italy after testing positive for Covid-19, the Swiss football association said.

The Arsenal midfielder is also unavailable for next week's qualifier away to Northern Ireland and has been replaced in the squad by Fabian Frei of Basel.

Abu Dhabi eases tourist quarantines as UAE hits zero deaths

Abu Dhabi lifted its quarantine requirement for vaccinated tourists as the UAE recorded zero Covid deaths for the first time since November.

"(From Sunday) all vaccinated tourists coming to Abu Dhabi emirate do not need to quarantine," the Abu Dhabi Media Office said, adding that tests must be carried out within 48 hours of departure.

J&J vaccines made in Africa will stay in Africa

The African Union's envoy has said vaccine doses produced by a plant in South Africa will no longer be exported to Europe after the intervention of South Africa’s government.

Strive Masiyiwa told reporters that South African drug manufacturer Aspen, which has a contract with Johnson & Johnson to assemble the ingredients of its vaccine, will no longer ship vaccine doses out of the continent and that millions of doses warehoused in Europe will be returned to the continent.

"That arrangement has been suspended," he said, adding that J &J doses produced in South Africa "will stay in Africa and will be distributed in Africa."

He said the issue had been "corrected in a positive way," with Aspen’s arrangement with Johnson & Johnson changing from a contract deal to "a licensed arrangement” similar to the production in India of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Masiyiwa said the Aspen product will be “African branded."

Johnson & Johnson was criticised heavily for shipping doses to countries in Europe, which have already immunised large numbers of their people and have even donated vaccines to more needy countries .

Africa has fully vaccinated under 3% of its 1.3 billion people. Vaccine production within the continent is seen as key to meeting the stated target of vaccinating 60% of the people.

The continent has reported more than 7.8 million cases, including 197,150 deaths.

Norway to offer vaccines to children aged 12 years and older

Norway will begin to offer vaccines to children aged 12 to 15, Prime Minister Erna Solberg has said.

The country is currently seeing a rapid rise in infections, particularly among the young.

Some 72% of all Norwegians have now received a first dose of vaccine and 57% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the Institute of Public Health. 

Bulgaria imposes new restrictions to curb surge in cases

Restaurants and bars in Bulgaria will have to close at 10 pm from September 7, while indoor sports competitions will be held without spectators, the health minister said, as the Balkan country braces for a surge of new infections.

Bulgaria, the least vaccinated country against the virus in the European Union, has seen a spike in infections in recent weeks, mostly of the highly infectious Delta variant.

On Thursday alone the country of 7 million people registered some 1,745 new cases, bringing its tally of active infections to some 32,192.

Some 18,950 people have died since the beginning of the pandemic, with 54 more deaths reported on Thursday in the country with the highest mortality rate in the European Union, figures from Our World in Data showed.

Thailand cites positive results from Sinovac-AstraZeneca vaccine formula

Thailand has said that its vaccine regimen of China's Sinovac followed by British AstraZeneca was safe and successfully boosted immunity among its first 1.5 million recipients.
Thailand in July became the first country in the world to mix a Chinese vaccine and a Western-developed vaccine as cases and deaths in the country surged and the government struggled with vaccine supplies.

"The cross formula has been injected to over 1.5 million people and it is safe. Please don’t say things that would create concern," senior health official Supakit Sirilak told a news conference.

He said Thailand, which has been manufacturing the AstraZeneca vaccine, would no longer be giving two doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac.

India reports 47,092 new cases, biggest daily rise in two months

India has reported 47,092 new infections in the past 24 hours, a government statement said, the biggest single-day rise in two months.

Man arrested after New Zealand quarantine escape

A man in New Zealand who had tested positive for the virus faces criminal charges after he escaped from an Auckland quarantine hotel and returned home, according to authorities.

In New Zealand, people who test positive for the virus are routinely required to isolate in hotels run by the military. Authorities believe the man escaped early Thursday and was on the run for about 12 hours before police — dressed in full protective gear — arrested him about 10 kilometers (6 miles) away.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins told reporters it wasn’t yet clear how the man escaped the hotel, although closed circuit cameras showed a man hiding in a bush when a security guard walked past.

Under a new law passed last year, the man could face a fine or up to six months in jail if found guilty of failing to comply with a health order. New Zealand is currently battling an outbreak of the delta variant in Auckland.

Australian doctors warn health system may 'capsize' when curbs ease

Australian doctors have warned the country's hospitals are not ready to cope with the government's reopening plans, even with higher vaccination rates, as some states prepare to move from a virus suppression strategy to living with the virus.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said the health system was in danger of being locked into a "permanent cycle of crisis" and has called for new modelling to check if staffing levels in hospitals can withstand an expected surge in cases when lockdown rules ease.

"If you have opened up and you haven't looked at the safety nets or the life rafts that we've got, we might end up actually trying to push more people on the life rafts and capsizing them," AMA Vice President Chris Moy told broadcaster ABC.

Brazil reports 737 new deaths

Brazil has recorded 27,345 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 737 deaths from Covid-19, the Health Ministry said.

Brazil has registered more than 20 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 581,150, according to ministry data.

Cuba's vaunted health system straining under cases

Cuba's vaunted public health system, which boasts more doctors per capita than any other country, has been pushed to the brink in recent months by the arrival of the coronavirus Delta variant.

In a country long left relatively unscathed by the global pandemic, doctors are now battling to get their hands on oxygen and drugs, and patients can wait up to 24 hours for a hospital bed.

Despite having rolled out its own, home-grown vaccines – Latin America's first – Cuba has seen infections sky-rocket since July, especially in remote parts of the country, and deaths have soared too.

New Zealand says case drop shows lockdown working against Delta

New Zealand reported a drop in new cases of virus, which authorities said was a sign that the lockdown enforced nationwide was working in limiting the spread of the infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Authorities reported 49 new cases, all in the epicentre of Auckland, taking the total number of cases in this outbreak to 736.

"The latest lower number is encouraging and does show that our alert levels 4 lockdown is working even against the Delta," the Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said in a news conference.

Helped by tech giants, BioNTech vaccines finally reach Taiwan

The first batch of BioNTech SE's vaccine has arrived in Taiwan, after months of heated political and diplomatic wrangling and helped by the involvement of two of the world's most important tech firms.

Taiwan has blamed China, which claims the island as its own territory, for nixing an original order from the German firm earlier this year – charges Beijing has angrily denied.