Covid-19 has infected more than 273M people and killed over 5.3M worldwide. Here are some of the latest coronavirus-related developments:
Friday, December 17, 2021
Pubs, parties push Australia's Covid cases to record levels
Australian authorities have rushed to track down hundreds who attended a Taylor Swift album party in Sydney last week that has become a super-spreader event as cases in the country hit a new pandemic high for the second straight day.
Infections, including the new, more transmissible Omicron variant, have been spreading in pubs and nightclubs as social distancing curbs ease after higher vaccination levels.
Despite the surge in cases, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia had entered "a different phase of the pandemic" and ruled out lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus.
"Case numbers are no longer the metric ... the real measure is what does it mean for serious illness, (intensive care), hospitalisation, pressures on the hospital system," Morrison said during a media briefing.
He said initial signs suggest the Omicron variant could be less severe than other variants.
At least 97 cases, including some potential Omicron ones, have been detected among people who attended the Taylor Swift theme party.
More than 600 people who checked in at the venue must test and self-isolate but officials flagged there could have been more guests.
Moderna jab has slight non-serious heart problems
The Moderna Covid jab carries a slight risk of usually non-serious heart problems, a study of the entire population of Denmark has found.
Incidences of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the tissue surrounding the heart) after mRNA jabs from Pfizer and Moderna had been noted in vaccine safety reports and small-scale studies.
These reports led France, Denmark, and other countries to advise against the jab for people under 30.
It said that vaccination with Pfizer was only associated with an increased risk among women.
While it confirms the risks, it insists they are slight and that the risks posed by Covid infection are greater.
It noted that among the vaccinated who developed myocarditis or pericarditis "only a few" had severe outcomes.
EU Commission recommends booster after six months
European Commission has recommended vaccinated people receive booster doses no more than six months after their initial shots, with a further three month grace period for their Covid travel passes to be valid.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday she had told EU leaders meeting for a summit in Brussels that the EU executive would present a delegated act on Covid passes.
"We will ensure a common approach on boosters and the length of validity of the certificate. So boosters are recommended at the latest six months after full vaccination, and the certificate will remain valid for a grace period of three months beyond this."
US body recommends Pfizer, Moderna over J&J
A panel of outside advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has voted to recommend Americans choose to receive one of the other two authorized Covid-19 vaccines over Johnson & Johnson's shot, due to rare but sometimes fatal cases of blood clotting.
The CDC said that the rate of such incidents is higher than previously estimated, both in women and men. The agency has identified more than 50 cases of TTS in the U.S., about 3.83 cases per million J&J doses administered.
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization voted unanimously to make the recommendation in favor of the vaccines made by Moderna Inc and Pfizer/BioNTech over the J&J shot. The regulator still needs to sign off on the guidance.
Six Premier League called off due to Omicron
The Premier League has postponed six more matches due to the wave of coronavirus infections hitting Britain, but said it intended to "continue its current fixture schedule where safely possible" as calls for a circuit break intensified.
Leicester's scheduled match against Tottenham was postponed just hours before kick-off.
Five more games scheduled for this weekend have also been postponed due to outbreaks at Manchester United, Brentford, Norwich and Watford.
United's home clash with Brighton, Brentford's trip to Southampton, Watford's meeting with Crystal Palace and West Ham's fixture against Norwich have all been called off along with Leicester's visit to Everton.
For the second consecutive day, record numbers of Covid-19 cases were recorded in Britain as the Omicron variant runs riot, with fears growing that the crisis could derail the football season.
WHO makes recommendations for mixing vaccines
The World Health Organization has issued interim recommendations for mixing and matching Covid-19 vaccines from different manufacturers for both the second dose and booster shots.
Depending on availability, mRNA vaccines, such as those developed by Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc can be used as subsequent doses after initial doses of AstraZeneca's vectored vaccine and vice versa, the global health body said.
Viral vector vaccines contain instructions for making coronavirus antigens, while mRNA vaccines use a code from SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, to prompt an immune response in recipients. Inactivated vaccines take the SARS-CoV-2 virus and inactivate or kill it using chemicals, heat, or radiation.
The guidance has been developed based on advice from WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on vaccines earlier this month.
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(With input from news agency language)
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