Search results for "covid-19"

EU approves 5th COVID-19 vaccine for bloc, one by Novavax

The European Union’s drugs regulator gave the green light Monday to a fifth COVID-19 vaccine for use in the 27-nation bloc, granting conditional marketing authorization to the two-dose vaccine made by U.S. biotech company Novavax. The European Medicines Agency decision to recommend granting conditional marketing authorization for the vaccine for people aged 18 and over, […]

France: 400 investigations into fake COVID-19 health passes

France has opened 400 investigations into networks providing fake COVID-19 health passes, the interior minister said Sunday, as virus-related hospitalizations rise sharply across the country. The case of a woman with the virus who died in a Paris regional hospital after showing a false vaccine certificate has drawn attention in French media in recent days. […]

European drug regulator backs mixing COVID-19 vaccines

The European Union drug regulator gave its backing Tuesday to mixing different types of vaccines in initial vaccination and booster campaigns to battle the coronavirus. The European Medicines Agency said in a statement that using different types of vaccines together, known as heterologous vaccination, can provide protection against COVID-19. The announcement comes as much of […]

2.9bn people still offline despite COVID-19 connectivity boost

Despite the increase in connectivity during the COVID-19 pandemic, around 2.9 billion people still have never used the internet, and 96 percent of them live in developing countries, a new UN report has found. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the estimated number of people who have gone online this year actually went up, […]

UK becomes first country to approve oral pill treating COVID-19

The UK’s medical regulator approved on Thursday the first oral pill treating COVID-19 developed by U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies Merck, Sharp and Dohme, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, with the government ordering 480,000 courses due for delivery in November. The pill, called Molnupiravir, will be administered to those recently diagnosed with the virus twice a day. The pill […]

Pfizer says COVID-19 pill cut hospital, death risk by 90%

Pfizer Inc. said Friday that its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults, as the drugmaker joins the race to bring the first easy-to-use medication against the coronavirus to the U.S. market. Currently all COVID-19 treatments used in the U.S. require an IV or injection. […]

Indonesia first to green light Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

Biotechnology company Novavax said Monday that Indonesia has given the world’s first emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine, which uses a different technology than current shots. The vaccine doesn’t require the extremely cold storage temperatures that some other vaccines need, which could allow it to play an important role in boosting supplies in poorer […]

Pfizer says COVID-19 vaccine more than 90% effective in kids

Kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine appear safe and nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infections in 5- to 11-year-olds, according to study details released Friday as the U.S. considers opening vaccinations to that age group. The shots could begin in early November — with the first children in line fully protected by Christmas — […]

FDA panel endorses booster shot for J&J COVID-19 vaccine

U.S. health advisers endorsed a booster of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine Friday, citing concern that Americans who got the single-dose shot aren’t as protected as those given two-dose brands. J&J told the Food and Drug Administration that an extra dose adds important protection as early as two months after initial vaccination — but that […]