COVID-19 WRAP | SA records 2,261 new Covid-19 cases

September 24 2021 - 20:20

SA records 2,261 new Covid-19 cases 

September 24 2021 - 15:21

Anglican Church calls for mandatory vaccinations for its clergy

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa wants to make it compulsory for its priesthood to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

The church has also called on its ordinary members to also “seriously consider vaccination”. In a statement issued by the office of the Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba on Friday, the church said its provincial synod voted for the resolution during an online meeting.

September 24 2021 - 15:10

Biden to discuss Covid-19 response after CDC backs boosters

US President Joe Biden on Friday will deliver remarks on the nation's Covid-19 response, including vaccinations, the White House said, one day after federal health agencies backed a booster rollout.

The boosters will be available for people 65 and older, people at high risk of severe disease or of contracting Covid-19 through their work, and who were vaccinated six months ago with the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.

Biden had called for booster shots against the novel coronavirus to begin this week for all people once they were eight months out from vaccination, pending regulators' approval.

But the US Food and Drug Administration and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week only cleared the way for a subset, though it did broaden the timeframe for eligibility by two months.

Biden administration officials have said they would follow the science on additional vaccines and had set the week of Sept. 20 as a goal in order to prepare for more inoculations.

Biden, who is scheduled to speak at 9:45 a.m. (1345 GMT) at the White House, has said he will receive a third booster dose when available. 

Reuters

September 24 2021 - 14:10

Tunisia to lift Covid-19 curfew

Tunisia will entirely lift its nightly curfew against Covid-19 from Saturday, the presidency said on Friday, after about a year in force.

Tunisian Covid-19 cases spiked sharply in July but have since fallen as the country has carried out a vaccination campaign. 

Reuters

September 24 2021 - 12:43

Singapore to tighten Covid-19 curbs after rise in infections

Singapore said on Friday it will tighten Covid-19 curbs from next week to limit social gatherings to two people and make working from home a default, in a bid to contain a spike in infections and reduce pressure on the healthcare system.

Authorities said cases have increased more rapidly than had been expected, while the city-state’s vaccination rate has plateaued after hitting about 82%, one of the highest rates in the world.

To further protect its population, the Southeast Asia nation is also expanding its booster vaccine shot programme to cover those aged 50 to 59 years, the health ministry said. 

Reuters

September 24 2021 - 11:10

Indian medics scale rockslides to vaccinate villages

Health workers in India’s Himachal Pradesh overcome the challenge of steep topography, walking for hours or days to reach remote villages and administer Covid-19 vaccine doses

September 24 2021 - 10:36

Italy backs COVID-19 shots for pregnant women from second trimester

Italy's National Health Institute (ISS) recommended on Friday that pregnant women should get Covid-19 vaccines after the first three months of their pregnancy.

The health authority said in a statement that it was advising women to receive two mRNA-based shots in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

It said its decision was due to growing evidence on the safety of vaccines during pregnancies for both the foetus and the mother.

"Women wishing to be vaccinated in the first trimester of pregnancy should assess the risks and benefits with a doctor," ISS said, citing evidence that fever, which is one of the possible reactions to the vaccine, can cause an increased risk of congenital malformations.

Women who are breastfeeding can safely get vaccinated, ISS said, adding that infants can safely absorb antibodies via milk.

Numerous countries have this year recommended that pregnant women have Covid-19 vaccinations after finding them to be safe.

The European Medicines Agency said in July that data did not suggest any safety concerns, and in August the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that pregnant women should be vaccinated.

Italy is administering two vaccines based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology - one made by BioNTech in partnership with Pfizer, and a second from Moderna .Italy has the second-highest Covid-19 death toll in Europe after Britain, with more than 130,200 people dying of the disease since the pandemic began in early 2020.

Some 75% of its 60-million-strong population have had at least one Covid-19 shot and 70.3% are fully vaccinated, according to the latest figures on Friday, broadly in line with most other EU countries. 

Reuters

September 24 2021 - 10:00

Japanese pub turns to robots amid Covid-19

At this Tokyo barbecue restaurant, diners enjoy plates of meat delivered by a robot or through a conveyor belt. But up till fall of last year, this eatery used to be an 'izakaya' - a Japanese-style pub which serves small dishes and alcohol.

September 24 2021 - 09:00

Covid shot a must for US athletes at Winter Olympics

US athletes hoping to compete at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will now have to be vaccinated against Covid-19

September 24 2021 - 08:00

Romanian hospitals fill up amid vaccine refusal

Romanian hospitals face strain as they fill up with Covid-19 patients and the country braces for a fourth wave of the pandemic

September 24 2021 - 07:00

CDC advisers back Covid-19 booster shots for those 65 and older, not for high-risk workers

A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel on Thursday recommended a booster shot of the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for Americans aged 65 and older and some adults with underlying medical conditions that put them at risk of severe disease.