The world increases COVID-19 vaccine preparations

Hopes for COVID-19 vaccines have given citizens weary of the virus around the world a boost in recent days, but the disease remains rampant and world leaders urge people to be patient.

Governments have stepped up preparations for any vaccine, and the EU announced on Tuesday a sixth contract to reserve doses, this time for up to 160 million from the American giant Moderna.

“All member states will receive it at the same time on a pro-rata basis,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Even once a vaccine is available, any return to normalcy for a global economy ravaged by the pandemic seems a long way off.

The head of Australia’s Qantas also said on Tuesday that the vaccination test will likely become the only way people will be allowed to fly.

Aviation has been particularly hard hit, with global industry body IATA estimating airline revenues this year to fall 60 percent.

Make the rules easy for Christmas

Despite the optimism of vaccines, the world remains mired in an unprecedented health crisis that has infected almost 58.9 million people and left almost 1.4 million dead.

But declining infection rates in some parts of Europe, which remains the worst-affected region in the world, has prompted some countries to begin announcing a cautious easing of restrictions.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to do so later on Tuesday when he addresses the nation, currently under lockdown.

Germany’s 16 states also agreed to relax limits on social contact during Christmas, according to a draft of the agreement seen by AFP.

State leaders agreed to limit meetings to 10 people during the holiday from December 23 to January 1, double the limit for the rest of December.

The measures mark a compromise on the politically charged issue for Europe’s largest economy, where some less-affected regions had called for lighter restrictions.

German business confidence fell for the second month in a row after five months of increases, according to a closely watched survey.

The Ifo institute’s monthly barometer fell to 90.7 points from 92.5 points in October.

“The second wave of coronavirus has disrupted Germany’s economic recovery,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said in a statement.

Vaccine hopes

Financial markets have responded well to preparations for the launch of vaccines.

In Russia, the developers of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said it had shown 95 percent efficacy in a second interim analysis of data from clinical trials.

They said it can be stored between two and eight degrees Celsius (between 35.6 and 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit), rather than the freezing temperatures required for some other vaccines.

However, they did not specify the number of cases used to make the calculation.

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said Monday that their drug had shown an average 70 percent effectiveness in stopping the virus after testing it in 23,000 people, days after tests of two other drugs suggested they were more than 90 percent effective. of effectiveness.

Qantas Vaccine Rule

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the airline would make it mandatory to have a vaccination certificate in order to fly once the vaccine is available to the public.

“Certainly for international visitors coming (to Australia) and people leaving the country, we think it’s a necessity,” he told Channel Nine.

Joyce predicted that the rule would likely become standard practice around the world as governments and airlines consider introducing electronic vaccination passports.

Australia passed an important milestone on Tuesday when the state of Victoria, the epicenter of the country’s second wave, announced that its latest coronavirus patient had been COVID-19 free.

‘Selfish deaf ears’

The United States, by far the worst affected nation, celebrates Thanksgiving on Thursday and many Americans plan to vacation with extended family despite authorities warning they risk exacerbating the disease that is ravaging the entire country. .

Nearly 258,000 people have died nationwide and the number of cases is approaching 12.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Without going so far as to issue a total ban, the US government’s health protection agency has for the first time asked Americans not to travel during annual vacations, in which families gather to eat turkey, yams. and cranberry sauce.

This past weekend was the busiest since the pandemic began, with more than three million people passing through U.S. airports, according to the Transportation Security Administration, which is responsible for security checks.

“Our pleas for help have fallen on selfish deaf ears,” tweeted Cleavon Gilman, an emergency physician in Arizona, where he said hospitals were “overwhelmed” with COVID-19 patients.

For more news on the new coronavirus, click here.

What you need to know about the coronavirus.

For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare leaders and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .

Read next