Germany says vaccines saved more than 38K lives – latest updates

Saturday, August 7:

Germany says vaccines saved more than 38K lives

Germany’s disease control centre estimates that coronavirus vaccines have saved the lives of more than 38,000 people in the country.

The Robert Koch Institute said that according to a model calculation, mass vaccinations in the last 6 1/2 months also kept 76,000 Covid-19 patients out of hospitals and almost 20,000 people out of intensive care units. 

Germany's vaccine drive also prevented more than 706,000 confirmed cases this year, the institute said.

Turkey has given nearly 75.9M coronavirus vaccine shots so far 

Turkey has administered nearly 75.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January, according to official figures.

According to the Health Ministry, nearly 41.7 million people have gotten their first doses, while more than 28.7 million are fully vaccinated. 

Turkey is also administering third Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, and over 5.49 million such doses have been given. 

The ministry also confirmed 25,100 new infections and 112 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while as many as 6,758 more patients recovered. 

Italy reports 22 coronavirus deaths and 6,902 new cases

Italy reported 22 coronavirus-related deaths, compared with 24 the day before, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 6,902 from 6,599.

Italy has registered a total of 128,209 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth-highest in the world.

The country has reported 4.39 million cases to date.

Patients in hospital with Covid-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 2,533 on Saturday, up from 2,449 a day earlier, the health ministry said.

Britain records 28,612 new cases, 103 deaths

Britain recorded 28,612 new coronavirus infections, down from 31,808 a day earlier, and 103 deaths, higher than the 92 reported on Friday, official data showed.

The data also showed that 46,997,495 people have had a first dose of a vaccine and 39,210,356 have had two doses. 

Protesters in France denounce Covid health pass rules

Protesters marched in cities across France in a fourth consecutive weekend of demonstrations, denouncing what they see as oppressive rules compelling them to get Covid-19 vaccinations against their will and to show a health pass for daily activities.

They rallied through the streets of Paris, Nice, Montpellier and other towns waving placards reading "No to dictatorship" and chanting "Macron, we don't want your health pass".

New cases in US top 100K for the first time in months

The seven-day average for new daily Covid-19 infections has surpassed 100,000 in the US, returning to levels not seen since the winter surge.

Cases and hospitalizations have skyrocketed in the last month, driven by the highly contagious delta variant. The country was averaging about 11,000 cases a day in late June. Now the number is 107,143.

The virus is spreading quickly through unvaccinated populations, especially in the Deep South. Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have had hospitals overrun with patients.

The US first crossed the 100,000 average number in November and peaked at about 250,000 in early January before bottoming out in late June.

Russia reports 22,320 new cases, 793 deaths

Russia has reported 22,320 new cases of Covid-19, including 2,235 in Moscow, taking the official national tally since the pandemic began to 6,424,884.

The government's coronavirus task force said 793 people had died of coronavirus-linked causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the national death toll to 164,094.

Russia recorded around 463,000 excess deaths from April 2020 to June this year during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Reuters calculations based on data released by the state statistics service on Friday.

India approves J&J shot for emergency use

India has approved Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine for emergency use, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a tweet.

The pharmaceutical giant had applied for emergency use approval of its vaccine, the company had said on Friday. The shot will be brought to India through a supply agreement with homegrown vaccine maker Biological E Ltd, J&J had said.

Indian health authorities have so far approved the use of vaccines developed by AstraZeneca (AZN.L), Bharat Biotech, Russia's Gamaleya Institute and Moderna (MRNA.O).

Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million earlier in the week, according to a Reuters tally, as the more-infectious Delta variant threatens areas with low vaccination rates and strains healthcare systems.

India has reported an average of 30,000 to 40,000 new coronavirus cases every day since July, and the federal government has warned that although cases have dipped from a high of 400,000 daily at the peak of the deadly second wave, the danger has not abated yet.

Philippines records near four-month high in daily case rise

The Philippines' health ministry has recorded 11,021 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day case increase in almost four months, and 162 additional deaths.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total confirmed infections in the Philippines have increased to almost 1.65 million, while deaths have reached 28,835.

"We are already feeling the effects of the Delta variant in our country," health ministry undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire told a public briefing on Saturday. "Based on our projections, these cases will continue to rise."

China steps up measures to protect capital

China has stepped up measures to protect its capital Beijing, as an uptick in coronavirus cases driven by the more infectious Delta variant spread across multiple cities in the country.

The National Health Commission reported on Saturday 107 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the mainland for August 6, compared with 124 a day earlier.

Of the new infections, 75 were locally transmitted, the health authority said. That compares with 80 local cases a day earlier. No new deaths were reported.

Most of the local cases were in the eastern province of Jiangsu.

Those currently outside Beijing in higher risk areas should temporarily postpone their return, and others should provide a negative Covid-19 test, according to details of a Saturday meeting by local officials reported by the Beijing Daily. Epidemic prevention measures at railways, highways and airports should be strengthened, they said.

Germany's confirmed cases rise by 3,206 - RKI

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany has increased by 3,206 to 3,787,639, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed. The reported death toll rose by 24 to 91,778, the tally showed.

Brazil reports 42,159 cases, 1,056 deaths

Brazil had 42,159 new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours, and 1,056 deaths, the Health Ministry has said.

The South American country has now registered 20,108,746 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 561,762, according to ministry data, in the world's third worst outbreak outside the United States and India and its second-deadliest after the United States.

Australia's Victoria reports 29 local cases, highest 2021 daily jump

Australia's Victoria has reported 29 new locally acquired cases, the highest daily jump this year, as the state remains under a seven-day strict lockdown imposed earlier this week to reign in the highly infectious Delta variant.

Health authorities said that all of the new infections are linked to previously reported cases but were not in quarantine during their infectious periods.

Victoria, Australia's second most populous state and home to nearly 7 million people, on Thursday night entered into its sixth lockdown since the pandemic began, just weeks after exiting the last one. 

United Airlines makes shots compulsory for US employees

United Airlines Inc has become the first US airline to require vaccinations for all domestic employees, joining a swelling list of companies mandating jabs for workers as cases rise.

Employers from Microsoft to Tyson Foods have mandated vaccines, recent moves that experts said were legal but could raise labor tensions in unionised workplaces.

On Friday evening, Frontier Airlines said all direct employees would need to be fully vaccinated by October 1, 2021, or provide proof of a negative test on a regular basis.

Earlier in the day, United, the No. 3 US carrier by revenues in 2019 according to government data, said its 67,000 US employees would need to show proof of inoculation for a vaccine fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Argentina partially reopens as it approaches 5 mln cases

Argentina will relax restrictions as infection and mortality rates falls, the government has announced, even as the South American nation approaches 5 million cases with more than 107,000 deaths.

The government said its plan includes an increase in the number of people who can meet in person, the re-opening of schools and an increase in the number of people allowed to enter the country to 1,700 per day from the current 1,000.

"The more we vaccinate and take care of ourselves, the more we can sustain these achievements and advance in sustained and progressive openings," President Alberto Fernandez said in a recorded TV message.

Vaccinations have increased in recent days after a surge in virus transmission last month, in the dead of the Southern Hemisphere winter when more people were tempted to socialise indoors, away from the icy winds coming up from the Antarctic.

Argentina, with population 45 million, adopted the plan after 10 consecutive weeks of lower case numbers and eight weeks of decreasing deaths.

Mexico posts 21,563 new cases, 568 more deaths

Mexico's Health Ministry has reported 21,563 new confirmed cases in the country and 568 fatalities, bringing its totals to 2,944,226 infections and 243,733 deaths.

The government has said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher, and separate data published earlier this year suggested the actual death toll is at least 60 percent above the confirmed figure. 

FDA to allow export of certain lots of AstraZeneca vaccine made at Baltimore plant

The US Food and Drug Administration has said certain lots of AstraZeneca's vaccine manufactured at a problem-plagued Baltimore facility are fit to be shipped outside the United States.

The plant, owned by Emergent Biosolutions, was producing vaccines for AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson but US health regulators in April halted operations following a discovery that J&J's vaccine was contaminated with material used in the AstraZeneca shots.

"The agency conducted a thorough review of facility records and the results of quality testing performed by the manufacturer and reached its decision based on this review, taking into consideration the current worldwide public health emergency," FDA spokesperson Stephanie Caccomo said in a statement.

Late in July, Emergent said it would resume production of J&J's vaccine at the plant following additional reviews and collaboration with the FDA and manufacturing partners.

The two-dose vaccine made in collaboration with the Oxford University is not yet authorised in the United States but has gained regulatory nods in several countries across the globe.