Moderna Covid vaccine gets full US approval – latest updates

Monday, January 31, 2022

Moderna vaccine gets full US approval

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has granted full approval to Moderna's Covid-19 "Spikevax" vaccine, which had previously received an emergency use authorisation in the United States.

"The public can be assured that Spikevax meets the FDA's high standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality required of any vaccine approved for use in the United States," acting FDA commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement.

"The FDA's approval of Spikevax is a significant step in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, marking the second vaccine approved to prevent Covid-19," Woodcock said.

Germany misses 80 percent vaccination target by end of January

The German government is set to miss a target of giving at least one shot of coronavirus vaccine to 80 percent of the population by the end of January.

With one day to go before the end of the month, official statistics on Monday showed that 75.8 percent of Germany's 83 million residents have received at least one shot, 74 percent are fully vaccinated and 52.8 percent have also received a booster.

The target “has been missed,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit acknowledged at a regular news conference. The vaccination rate is “significantly better than it was before, but it isn't 80 percent.”

Clinics in Moscow now offering Sputnik M vaccines to 12-17s

The Russian capital has started offering a domestically developed coronavirus vaccine to children in the 12-17 age group amid the country’s biggest infection surge yet due to the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

Omicron is less likely to cause severe illness than the previous Delta variant, according to studies. Omicron spreads even more easily than other coronavirus strains, and has already become dominant in many countries. It also more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or had previously been infected by prior versions of the virus.

Free shots of Sputnik M — a version of the Sputnik V vaccine that contains a smaller dose — became available last week to 12-17s in a number of Russian regions spanning from the region surrounding Moscow to the Urals to Siberia and the far east, with the capital being the latest addition to the list.

Canadian prime minister tests positive for Covid-19

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he has tested positive for Covid-19, but is "feeling fine" and will continue working remotely.

The announcement came in a tweet in which he urged everyone to "please get vaccinated and get boosted."

Trudeau said on Thursday that he was going into isolation for five days after finding out the previous evening he had been in contact with someone who tested positive. He told The Canadian Press that person was one of his three children.

Turkiye reports over 93,000 daily Covid cases

Turkiye has reported more than 93,000 new coronavirus cases.

The Health Ministry recorded 93,261 infections, 182 deaths, and 93,438 recoveries over the past day.

Also, some 435,513 virus tests were done in the past 24 hours.

Spotify to link virus content to facts after misinformation row

Music streaming giant Spotify has announced it would start guiding listeners of podcasts discussing Covid-19 to facts about the pandemic.

This comes after artists, including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, pulled their songs from the platform in anger at misinformation.

The artists last week demanded that Spotify remove their music or drop podcaster Joe Rogan after a call from medical professionals to prevent Rogan from promoting "several falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines".

"We are working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about Covid-19," Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said in a statement.

Russia reports fresh record of daily cases

Russia has reported a record daily number of cases as the Omicron variant spread across the country, authorities said.

New daily cases jumped to 124,070, up from 121,228 a day earlier. The government coronavirus task force also reported 621 deaths in the last 24 hours. 

Japan starts mass boosters as Omicron cases soar

Tokyo has launched a mass inoculation drive for booster shots at a temporary centre operated by the military as Japan tries to speed up delayed third jabs to counter surging infections.

Japan began administering booster shots to medical workers in December, but has only provided such inoculations to 2.7 percent of the population after delaying a decision to cut the interval between the first two shots and a booster to six months from the initial eight.

Australia reports fewer deaths, infections as students return

Australia has reported its lowest daily deaths in two weeks while cases continued to trend lower as authorities braced for staff shortages in schools due to likely outbreaks as thousands of students return after their summer break.

Most states will go through a staggered school reopening exercise this week as Australia battles the worst outbreak of the pandemic, with the fast-moving Omicron variant spiralling cases to record levels.

China reports 37 new cases among Olympics personnel

China has detected 37 new cases among Olympic Games related personnel on January 30, up from 34 a day earlier, the organising committee of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games said.

Eight of the total were athletes or team officials who tested positive after arriving at the airport on Sunday.

Of the total infections, 28 were among new airport arrivals, with the remaining nine already in the "closed loop" bubble that separates event personnel from the public, according to a notice on the Games' official website.

Brazil reports more cases and deaths

Brazil has reported 134,175 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours and 330 deaths due to Covid-19, data from the Health Ministry showed.

The South American country has now registered 25,348,797 confirmed cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 626,854.

Death toll rises in Mexico

Mexico has reported 131 more fatalities from Covid-19, raising the overall death toll since the pandemic began to 305,893.

UK records lowest Covid cases in over a month

The UK has recorded its lowest number of coronavirus cases in just over a month as the omicron variant recedes and parts of the country fully reopen.

On January 30, some 62,399 people tested positive for the virus. In the week beginning on January 24, 606,238 people had a confirmed positive test result, representing a decrease of 6.5 percent when compared to the previous week.

Anti-vaxx protest continues in Canada

A "Freedom Convoy" of trucks joined by thousands of demonstrators has brought Ottawa to a virtual standstill for a second day to protest Canada's vaccine mandates, as other sympathetic truckers blocked a border highway into the United States.

The protest originated last week in western Canada, where dozens of truckers organised a convoy to drive from Vancouver to the Canadian capital Ottawa to demonstrate against Covid-related restrictions, particularly a recent vaccination requirement for truck drivers crossing the long US-Canada border.

Trucks began arriving in Ottawa in multiple convoys, and were joined by thousands of other anti-vaccination protesters.

Spotify announces measures against misinformation

Music streaming giant Spotify has announced that it would start guiding listeners of podcasts discussing Covid-19 to more information about the pandemic, following a row that saw artist Neil Young remove his music from the platform.

The move comes after artists, spearheaded by Neil Young, earlier this week demanded the streaming service remove their music or drop podcaster Joe Rogan after a call from medical professionals to prevent Rogan from promoting "several falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have also flagged concerns over misinformation on Spotify's platform, but reiterated their commitment to continue using it to publish their content.