German pharmaceutical firms Bayer and CureVac said Thursday that they have joined forces in the development of CureVac's Covid-19 vaccine candidate.&nbsp;

Under the deal, CureVac will be able to tap Bayer's expertise and established infrastructure, according to a joint statement.

The agreement "will help us make our vaccine candidate even more rapidly available to as many people as possible," CureVac chief executive Franz-Werner Haas said.

Also, Germany's Bayer will provide access to international pharmaceutical markets as well as its global supply chain and distribution network, the tabloid newspaper reported in an excerpt made available to Reuters ahead of publication.

CureVac last month started a large Phase 2b/3 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, banking on the same technology that has allowed rivals BioNTech and Moderna to lead the development race.

German pharmaceutical firms Bayer and CureVac said Thursday that they have joined forces in the development of CureVac's Covid-19 vaccine candidate. Under the deal, CureVac will be able to tap Bayer's expertise and established infrastructure, according to a joint statement.

German pharmaceutical firms Bayer and CureVac said Thursday that they have joined forces in the development of CureVac's Covid-19 vaccine candidate. Under the deal, CureVac will be able to tap Bayer's expertise and established infrastructure, according to a joint statement. The agreement "will help us make our vaccine candidate even more rapidly available to as many people as possible," CureVac chief executive Franz-Werner Haas said. Also, Germany's Bayer will provide access to international pharmaceutical markets as well as its global supply chain and distribution network, the tabloid newspaper reported in an excerpt made available to Reuters ahead of publication. CureVac last month started a large Phase 2b/3 clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, banking on the same technology that has allowed rivals BioNTech and Moderna to lead the development race.

Bayer, CureVac to 'join forces' on Covid-19 vaccine candidate

The Brazilian city of Manaus in the heart of the Amazon has declared a 180-day state of emergency due to a surge of new cases of coronavirus, according to a statement.

The decree enables the municipal government to temporarily contract personnel, services and material without public tenders.

A separate decree suspends authorization for events and revokes those already granted, while a third establishes telecommuting for non-essential municipal employees through March.

"We are adopting all the necessary measures to contribute decisively to the fight against COVID-19, especially at this moment in which the city is registering an increase in cases and, unfortunately, deaths," Mayor David Almeida was quoted as saying in the statement.

Manaus was one of the first Brazilian cities slammed by the pandemic early last year, when hospitals turned away patients and the city cemetery was forced to bury people in mass graves.

This week, people again complained on social media of overcrowding in hospitals with patients awaiting treatment on stretchers in corridors.

Hospitals have reinstalled refrigerated containers outside their facilities to hold the corpses of COVID-19 victims.

The city of about 2.2 million has recorded about 3,400 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The Brazilian city of Manaus in the heart of the Amazon has declared a 180-day state of emergency due to a surge of new cases of coronavirus, according to a statement.

The Brazilian city of Manaus in the heart of the Amazon has declared a 180-day state of emergency due to a surge of new cases of coronavirus, according to a statement. The decree enables the municipal government to temporarily contract personnel, services and material without public tenders. A separate decree suspends authorization for events and revokes those already granted, while a third establishes telecommuting for non-essential municipal employees through March. "We are adopting all the necessary measures to contribute decisively to the fight against COVID-19, especially at this moment in which the city is registering an increase in cases and, unfortunately, deaths," Mayor David Almeida was quoted as saying in the statement. Manaus was one of the first Brazilian cities slammed by the pandemic early last year, when hospitals turned away patients and the city cemetery was forced to bury people in mass graves. This week, people again complained on social media of overcrowding in hospitals with patients awaiting treatment on stretchers in corridors. Hospitals have reinstalled refrigerated containers outside their facilities to hold the corpses of COVID-19 victims. The city of about 2.2 million has recorded about 3,400 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Covid-19: Brazilian city in Amazon declares 180-day state of emergency

Every coronavirus patient who was kept in the intensive care unit the Al-Husseiniya Central Hospital in Egypt reportedly died on Saturday owing to the lack of oxygen in the ward. 
 
The event was caught on camera by a patient’s relative in the hospital, which reportedly took place when oxygen levels at the hospital dropped to less than two per cent of the capacity, as reported by the Middle East Monitor.

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There simply wasn’t enough oxygen left to treat patients with coronavirus, leading to their demise.

According to the Middle East Eye, this marks the second such incident whereby lack of oxygen caused the death of patients. Just hours before this incident, patients at the ICU of the Zefta General Hospital also died.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/south-africa-coronavirus-variant-more-of-a-problem-than-the-one-in-uk-says-official-354534" hreflang="en">South Africa coronavirus variant 'more of a problem' than the one in UK, says official</a>

But Egyptian officials have denied such incidents, claiming that only four patients passed away at the Al-Husseiniya Central Hospital, claiming that none of these deaths were linked to oxygen shortage, but happened due to chronic diseases.&nbsp; 
 
The person responsible for filming at the ICU has been summoned by the police for questioning.

A member of Egyptian parliament however claimed that the oxygen shortage was actually responsible for the death, as reported by the Middle East Eye.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/norway-investigating-death-of-two-people-who-received-pfizers-coronavirus-vaccine-354716" hreflang="en">Norway investigating death of two people who received Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine</a> 
 
“The patients died as a result of negligence at the Al-Husseiniya hospital and the mismanagement of the oxygen shortage crisis,” MEE cited Rahmo as saying. 
 
The parliament member further said that the intensive care doctor had informed the hospital director of shortage in oxygen supply at least an hour before the incident.

Egypt has recorded 145,000 cases of coronavirus so far, with 7,918 deaths due to the virus. In addition, 115,000 people have recovered in the country.

In the last 24 hours, 1,119 new infections of the virus were reported in the country, and 55 new deaths were also lodged.

Every coronavirus patient who was kept in the intensive care unit the Al-Husseiniya Central Hospital in Egypt reportedly died on Saturday owing to the lack of oxygen in the ward.

Every coronavirus patient who was kept in the intensive care unit the Al-Husseiniya Central Hospital in Egypt reportedly died on Saturday owing to the lack of oxygen in the ward. The event was caught on camera by a patient’s relative in the hospital, which reportedly took place when oxygen levels at the hospital dropped to less than two per cent of the capacity, as reported by the Middle East Monitor. There simply wasn’t enough oxygen left to treat patients with coronavirus, leading to their demise. According to the Middle East Eye, this marks the second such incident whereby lack of oxygen caused the death of patients. Just hours before this incident, patients at the ICU of the Zefta General Hospital also died. Also read: South Africa coronavirus variant 'more of a problem' than the one in UK, says official But Egyptian officials have denied such incidents, claiming that only four patients passed away at the Al-Husseiniya Central Hospital, claiming that none of these deaths were linked to oxygen shortage, but happened due to chronic diseases. The person responsible for filming at the ICU has been summoned by the police for questioning. A member of Egyptian parliament however claimed that the oxygen shortage was actually responsible for the death, as reported by the Middle East Eye. Also read: Norway investigating death of two people who received Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine “The patients died as a result of negligence at the Al-Husseiniya hospital and the mismanagement of the oxygen shortage crisis,” MEE cited Rahmo as saying. The parliament member further said that the intensive care doctor had informed the hospital director of shortage in oxygen supply at least an hour before the incident. Egypt has recorded 145,000 cases of coronavirus so far, with 7,918 deaths due to the virus. In addition, 115,000 people have recovered in the country. In the last 24 hours, 1,119 new infections of the virus were reported in the country, and 55 new deaths were also lodged.

Shortage of oxygen kills every coronavirus patient in Egyptian hospital's ICU

India has reported 18,088 new COVID-19 cases, 21,314 recoveries in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 1,03,74,932, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Wednesday.&nbsp;

The national recovery rate to 96.36 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.

The death toll increased to 1,50,114 with 264 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 99,97,272 pushing the national recovery rate to 96.36 per &nbsp;cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the 16th consecutive day.

There are 2,27,546, active cases of coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 2.19 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, &nbsp;70 lakh on &nbsp;October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, &nbsp;90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the ICMR, 17,74,63,405 samples have been tested up to January 5 with 9,31,408 &nbsp;samples being tested on Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies)

India has reported 18,088 new COVID-19 cases, 21,314 recoveries in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 1,03,74,932, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Wednesday.

India has reported 18,088 new COVID-19 cases, 21,314 recoveries in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases to 1,03,74,932, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on Wednesday. The national recovery rate to 96.36 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. The death toll increased to 1,50,114 with 264 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 99,97,272 pushing the national recovery rate to 96.36 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent. The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the 16th consecutive day. There are 2,27,546, active cases of coronavirus infections in the country which comprises 2.19 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. According to the ICMR, 17,74,63,405 samples have been tested up to January 5 with 9,31,408 samples being tested on Tuesday. (With inputs from agencies)

India reports 18,088 fresh COVID-19 cases, 264 succumb to virus in last 24 hours

Hakuho, who was born Munkhbat Davaajargal, came to Japan at age 15 to enter the sumo world and acquired Japanese citizenship in September 2019.

WION Fineprint: Japan sumo champion Hakuho tests positive for COVID-19

Does coronavirus cause brain damage? Scientists have found evidence of damage in the brain tissues of patients who died from COVID-19, but without directly linking the damage to the virus. Currently, coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world, with scientists finding out more details about the virus and how it spreads as time goes by.

Reseachers from the National Institutes of Health found how the virus affects the brain, and found signs of damage induced by coronavirus in the form of thinning blood vessels that also become leaky. They ascertained this by observing tissue samples from patients who had passed away shortly after catching the virus.

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The scientists also found no signs of the virus in tissue samples, suggesting that the virus itself was not responsible for the attack. The results from the study were published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/us-falling-short-of-coronavirus-vaccination-target-by-a-wide-margin-353645" hreflang="en">US falling short of coronavirus vaccination target by a wide margin</a>

Coronavirus is primarily a respiratory disease, but patients have reported neurological issues like headaches, dizziness, fatigue, delirium, and loss of sense of smell among many.

Doctors found that the virus was capable of inducing strokes among many patients.

Many studies since the onset of the virus have attempted to understand how the virus attacks the body. A few of them found traces of the virus in some patients' brains.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/china-ordered-its-top-agency-to-not-reveal-info-on-coronavirus-investigation-shows-353457" hreflang="en">China ordered its top agency to not reveal info on coronavirus, investigation shows</a>

In this study, scientists took up examination of brain tissue samples from 19 patients who succumbed to the virus between March and July 2020. Out of the 19 samples, 16 were provided by New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, while 3 came from the Department of Pathology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine.

Patients who died were aged between 5-73 years, and died between a few hours to two months after catching the virus. Eight patients were found dead in their homes, or in public spaces, while three patients suddenly collapsed and died.

Does coronavirus cause brain damage? Scientists have found evidence of damage in the brain tissues of patients who died from COVID-19, but without directly linking the damage to the virus.

Does coronavirus cause brain damage? Scientists have found evidence of damage in the brain tissues of patients who died from COVID-19, but without directly linking the damage to the virus. Currently, coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world, with scientists finding out more details about the virus and how it spreads as time goes by. Reseachers from the National Institutes of Health found how the virus affects the brain, and found signs of damage induced by coronavirus in the form of thinning blood vessels that also become leaky. They ascertained this by observing tissue samples from patients who had passed away shortly after catching the virus. The scientists also found no signs of the virus in tissue samples, suggesting that the virus itself was not responsible for the attack. The results from the study were published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Also read: US falling short of coronavirus vaccination target by a wide margin Coronavirus is primarily a respiratory disease, but patients have reported neurological issues like headaches, dizziness, fatigue, delirium, and loss of sense of smell among many. Doctors found that the virus was capable of inducing strokes among many patients. Many studies since the onset of the virus have attempted to understand how the virus attacks the body. A few of them found traces of the virus in some patients' brains. Also read: China ordered its top agency to not reveal info on coronavirus, investigation shows In this study, scientists took up examination of brain tissue samples from 19 patients who succumbed to the virus between March and July 2020. Out of the 19 samples, 16 were provided by New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, while 3 came from the Department of Pathology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. Patients who died were aged between 5-73 years, and died between a few hours to two months after catching the virus. Eight patients were found dead in their homes, or in public spaces, while three patients suddenly collapsed and died.

Scientists find COVID-19 not directly responsible for brain damage among patients

Tamil Nadu has made significant progress in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as the state surpassed 8 lakh (8,00,429) recoveries on Sunday. The active cases in the state stand at 8,127( 1% of total reported cases), which is among the lowest when compared with the worst hit states in India.&nbsp;

However, a recent cluster that has emerged in some of the upscale hotels in Chennai city has been a cause for concern, at a time when the state has opened up almost entirely. 4392 staff of star hotels and other hotels were tested and 125 of those samples returned positive, 2014 returned negative, while 491 results are awaited.&nbsp;

Of the 2226 employees of star hotels in the city, 1303 employees were tested and 114 have returned positive. In the case of other category hotels there are 4190 staff, of which 11 tested positive, from the 1417 tests conducted.&nbsp;

According to Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr. J. Radhakrishnan, such routine testing would be carried out over the next three weeks, as a measure of abundant precaution. Testing of staff would be carried out at hotels that have banquet halls, marriage halls, hostels, colleges, hostels for working men and women etc.

Recently, another cluster had emerged in the IIT-Madras campus, largely owing to a common dining area that catered to over 700 persons. Following inspections on campus, it was decided to provide food in the student's rooms.

On Sunday, the state health bulletin reported 867 new cases, of which, 236 were from Chennai. Ten deaths were added, thus taking the death toll to 12,156.&nbsp;

Of the nearly 2300 persons who travelled into the state from the UK, between November 25th and December 23rd, 21,146 persons have been traced. 44 of them have tested positive as on Sunday and the results of seven persons are awaited.&nbsp;

Tamil Nadu has made significant progress in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as the state surpassed 8 lakh (8,00,429) recoveries on Sunday. The active cases in the state stand at 8,127( 1% of total reported cases), which is among the lowest when compared with the worst hit states in India.

Tamil Nadu has made significant progress in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as the state surpassed 8 lakh (8,00,429) recoveries on Sunday. The active cases in the state stand at 8,127( 1% of total reported cases), which is among the lowest when compared with the worst hit states in India. However, a recent cluster that has emerged in some of the upscale hotels in Chennai city has been a cause for concern, at a time when the state has opened up almost entirely. 4392 staff of star hotels and other hotels were tested and 125 of those samples returned positive, 2014 returned negative, while 491 results are awaited. Of the 2226 employees of star hotels in the city, 1303 employees were tested and 114 have returned positive. In the case of other category hotels there are 4190 staff, of which 11 tested positive, from the 1417 tests conducted. According to Tamil Nadu Health Secretary Dr. J. Radhakrishnan, such routine testing would be carried out over the next three weeks, as a measure of abundant precaution. Testing of staff would be carried out at hotels that have banquet halls, marriage halls, hostels, colleges, hostels for working men and women etc. Recently, another cluster had emerged in the IIT-Madras campus, largely owing to a common dining area that catered to over 700 persons. Following inspections on campus, it was decided to provide food in the student's rooms. On Sunday, the state health bulletin reported 867 new cases, of which, 236 were from Chennai. Ten deaths were added, thus taking the death toll to 12,156. Of the nearly 2300 persons who travelled into the state from the UK, between November 25th and December 23rd, 21,146 persons have been traced. 44 of them have tested positive as on Sunday and the results of seven persons are awaited.

Tamil Nadu gets past 8 lakh COVID-19 recoveries; new cluster emerges in Chennai hotels

Britain will become the first country to roll out the low cost and easily transportable AstraZeneca and Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, another step forward in the global response to the pandemic.

Six hospitals in England will administer the first of around 530,000 doses Britain has ready. The programme will be expanded to hundreds of other British sites in the coming days, and the government hopes it will deliver tens of millions of doses within months.

"This is a pivotal moment in our fight against this awful virus and I hope it provides renewed hope to everybody that the end of this pandemic is in sight," health minister Matt Hancock said in a statement.

Last month Britain became the first country to use a different vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, which has to be stored at very low temperatures. Britain has so far injected around one million people with it.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is cheaper and can be stored at fridge temperature, which makes it easier to transport and use. India approved the vaccine on Sunday for emergency use.

Cases of COVID-19 in Britain have risen sharply in recent weeks, fuelled by a new and more transmissible variant of the virus. On Sunday there were nearly 55,000 new cases and in total more than 75,000 people in the country have died with COVID-19 during the pandemic - the second highest toll in Europe.

While the government has been keen to hail its vaccination programme as the furthest advanced in the world, it has had to balance the optimism of that message and plead with the public to stick to rules to prevent new infections.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that tougher restrictions were likely to be introduced, even with millions of citizens already living under the strictest tier of rules.

The spread of the variant virus has also forced the government to change its approach to vaccination. Britain is now prioritising getting a first dose of a vaccine to as many people as possible over giving second doses. Delaying the distribution of second shots should help stretch the supply.

The change of strategy has drawn criticism from some British doctors.

Britain will become the first country to roll out the low cost and easily transportable AstraZeneca and Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, another step forward in the global response to the pandemic.

Britain will become the first country to roll out the low cost and easily transportable AstraZeneca and Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, another step forward in the global response to the pandemic. Six hospitals in England will administer the first of around 530,000 doses Britain has ready. The programme will be expanded to hundreds of other British sites in the coming days, and the government hopes it will deliver tens of millions of doses within months. "This is a pivotal moment in our fight against this awful virus and I hope it provides renewed hope to everybody that the end of this pandemic is in sight," health minister Matt Hancock said in a statement. Last month Britain became the first country to use a different vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, which has to be stored at very low temperatures. Britain has so far injected around one million people with it. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is cheaper and can be stored at fridge temperature, which makes it easier to transport and use. India approved the vaccine on Sunday for emergency use. Cases of COVID-19 in Britain have risen sharply in recent weeks, fuelled by a new and more transmissible variant of the virus. On Sunday there were nearly 55,000 new cases and in total more than 75,000 people in the country have died with COVID-19 during the pandemic - the second highest toll in Europe. While the government has been keen to hail its vaccination programme as the furthest advanced in the world, it has had to balance the optimism of that message and plead with the public to stick to rules to prevent new infections. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that tougher restrictions were likely to be introduced, even with millions of citizens already living under the strictest tier of rules. The spread of the variant virus has also forced the government to change its approach to vaccination. Britain is now prioritising getting a first dose of a vaccine to as many people as possible over giving second doses. Delaying the distribution of second shots should help stretch the supply. The change of strategy has drawn criticism from some British doctors.

Britain set to roll out AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine starting today

Japan will consider issuing a new emergency declaration after governors in the capital region urged action to tackle a record surge in COVID-19 cases, the head of the nation's pandemic response said on Saturday.

Japan PM says government will consider state of emergency

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Outdoor, gym and at-home exercises on trend in 2021

A day after India's drug regulator approved COVAXIN for emergency use, various private clinics in Brazil are seeking Bharat Biotech's vaccine to fight against the increasing coronavirus tally.

The Brazilian Association of Vaccine Clinics (ABCVAC) has confirmed on its website that it has signed a&nbsp;memorandum of understanding with the Indian firm to purchase the Indian vaccine after the pharmaceutical company finishes its final stage of clinical trials.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-approves-sii-and-bharat-biotechs-covid-19-vaccines-for-restricted-emergency-use-354141">India approves SII and Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccines for restricted emergency use</a>

"We had been looking for solutions for the private market, and the possibility came up of using this Indian vaccine, which is very promising,"&nbsp;ABCVAC president Geraldo Barbosa told local reporters. "It's an additional sale that will not interfere with the quantity of vaccine doses the government has ordered."

This news has come out a few hours after the Indian drug regulator approved two vaccines —&nbsp;Serum Institute of India's Covishield, developed by Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca, and Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN — for emergency use in the country.

The order placement, however, depends on the approval by the far-right government, lead by the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and&nbsp;Brazil's health regulator, Anvisa. As of now, the regulator has not approved any vaccine against the new coronavirus.

This decision has been taken by private clinics as Brazil's coronavirus death toll saw an alarming increase. Private clinics and few state governments are now have decided to launch their own vaccinations to be able to protect locals.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-dcgi-approves-serum-bharat-biotech-vaccines-for-emergency-use-354148">WATCH|</a>

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ABCVAC also explained that the reason private clinics are looking at other vaccines is to make sure all locals can access vaccines as the ones approved by the Bolsonaro government will first be reserved for high-priority groups, which will include leaders and vulnerable people.

Depending on the approval by&nbsp;Anvisa, the clinics are hoping to start mass inoculation drives by mid-March. On the other hand, Bolsonaro's government has not yet announced a start date for its vaccination campaign but is expected to make an announcement on Monday. Opposition leaders have accused the far-right government of waiting too long to make the announcement. "Neighboring countries have already started their vaccination campaigns. It is urgent we establish a timeframe to do the same. Ignorance must not prevail over science," Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes tweeted.

A day after India's drug regulator approved COVAXIN for emergency use, various private clinics in Brazil are seeking Bharat Biotech's vaccine to fight against the increasing coronavirus tally.

A day after India's drug regulator approved COVAXIN for emergency use, various private clinics in Brazil are seeking Bharat Biotech's vaccine to fight against the increasing coronavirus tally. The Brazilian Association of Vaccine Clinics (ABCVAC) has confirmed on its website that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian firm to purchase the Indian vaccine after the pharmaceutical company finishes its final stage of clinical trials. Also read| India approves SII and Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccines for restricted emergency use "We had been looking for solutions for the private market, and the possibility came up of using this Indian vaccine, which is very promising," ABCVAC president Geraldo Barbosa told local reporters. "It's an additional sale that will not interfere with the quantity of vaccine doses the government has ordered." This news has come out a few hours after the Indian drug regulator approved two vaccines — Serum Institute of India's Covishield, developed by Oxford University and pharma major AstraZeneca, and Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN — for emergency use in the country. The order placement, however, depends on the approval by the far-right government, lead by the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and Brazil's health regulator, Anvisa. As of now, the regulator has not approved any vaccine against the new coronavirus. This decision has been taken by private clinics as Brazil's coronavirus death toll saw an alarming increase. Private clinics and few state governments are now have decided to launch their own vaccinations to be able to protect locals. WATCH| × ABCVAC also explained that the reason private clinics are looking at other vaccines is to make sure all locals can access vaccines as the ones approved by the Bolsonaro government will first be reserved for high-priority groups, which will include leaders and vulnerable people. Depending on the approval by Anvisa, the clinics are hoping to start mass inoculation drives by mid-March. On the other hand, Bolsonaro's government has not yet announced a start date for its vaccination campaign but is expected to make an announcement on Monday. Opposition leaders have accused the far-right government of waiting too long to make the announcement. "Neighboring countries have already started their vaccination campaigns. It is urgent we establish a timeframe to do the same. Ignorance must not prevail over science," Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes tweeted.

Brazil's private clinics seek India's COVAXIN vaccine

Japan to consider new COVID-19 emergency declaration

A flurry of headlines this week flooded social media, documenting a seemingly concerning case of COVID-19 in a San Diego nurse who fell ill about a week after receiving his first injection of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

But experts said the sickness is nothing unexpected: The protective effects of vaccines are known to take at least a couple of weeks to kick in. And getting sick before completing a two-dose vaccine regimen, they said, should not undermine the potency of Pfizer’s product, which blazed through late-stage clinical trials with flying colors.

Reporting that a half-vaccinated person has COVID-19 is “really the equivalent of saying someone went outside in the middle of a rainstorm without an umbrella and got wet,” said Dr. Taison Bell, a critical care physician at the University of Virginia. Bell received his first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine Dec. 15 and will be getting his second shot soon.

The California nurse, identified as Matthew W., 45, in an ABC10 News report, received his first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine Dec. 18. Six days later, according to news reports, he began to feel minor symptoms, including chills, muscle aches and fatigue. He tested positive for the virus the day after Christmas.

Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Brown University, said this should not prompt concern. “So what????” she tweeted Wednesday in response to a Reuters article on the nurse’s illness. “It’s a 2-shot vaccination.” Ranney received her first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine Dec. 18.

Framing the nurse’s illness as news, Ranney said in an interview, implies that it was a departure from the expected — and that there should have been protection about a week after the first vaccine dose. That is not the case at all.

Vaccines take at least a few days to exert their protective effects. Pfizer’s recipe is designed around a molecule called messenger RNA, or mRNA, which, once injected, enters human cells and instructs them to manufacture a coronavirus protein called spike. None of these components are infectious or capable of causing COVID-19. But they act as coronavirus mimics, teaching the body to recognize the true virus and vanquish it, should it ever come around.

The production of spike is thought to occur within hours of the first shot. But the body needs at least several days to memorize the material before it can unspool its full arsenal of defensive forces against the virus. Immune cells take this time to study up on the protein, then mature, multiply and sharpen their spike-spotting reflexes.

Data from Pfizer’s clinical trials suggests the vaccine might start safeguarding its recipients from disease around one or two weeks after the first injection. A second jab of mRNA, delivered three weeks after the first, helps immune cells commit the virus’s most prominent features to memory, clinching the protective process.

The timeline of the California nurse’s illness falls well within the window of post-vaccination vulnerability, Ranney said. It is also very likely he caught the virus right around the time he got the shot, perhaps even before. People can start experiencing the symptoms of COVID-19 between two and 14 days after encountering the coronavirus, if they ever have symptoms at all.

A similar situation appears to have recently unfolded with Mike Harmon, the Kentucky state auditor, who this week tested positive for the virus the day after receiving his first dose of an unspecified coronavirus vaccine.

“It appears that I may have been unknowingly exposed to the virus and infected either shortly before or after receiving the first dose of the vaccine on Monday,” Harmon said in a statement. Harmon reaffirmed his “full faith in the vaccine itself, and the need for as many people to receive it as quickly as possible.”

Jerica Pitts, a spokesperson for Pfizer, noted that the vaccine’s protective effects are “substantially boosted after the second dose, supporting the need for a two-dose vaccination series.”

“Individuals may have contracted disease prior to or right after vaccination,” she said.

Pfizer’s vaccine, when administered in its full two-dose regimen, was found to be 95% effective at preventing symptomatic cases of COVID-19 — a figure that was hailed as very welcome news amid soaring coronavirus caseloads. Still, that leaves a small percentage of people who will not be protected after vaccination, Ranney said. “There’s no vaccine that’s 100% effective.”

It is also unclear how well Pfizer’s vaccine can guard against asymptomatic infections or if it will substantially curb the coronavirus’s ability to spread from person to person. That means measures like masking and distancing remain essential even after full vaccination.

Data collected by Pfizer during its late-stage clinical trials hinted that the vaccine could confer at least some protection after a single dose. But the study was not intended to specifically test how potent a one-shot regimen would be.

Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician at the Medical University of South Carolina, said a couple of her colleagues tested positive shortly after their first shots. “None of this surprises me, given how rampant cases are right now,” she said. Given the expected delay in the vaccine’s effects, “this should not be thought about as vaccine failure.” Kuppalli, who received her first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine Dec. 15, added that getting COVID-19 between vaccine doses should not dissuade someone from getting a second shot, with consultation from a health care provider.

In the past few weeks, more than 2.7 million people in the United States have received their first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine or a similar shot made by Moderna. Both vaccines require a second injection — and as they are rolled out to more and more people, it is important to maintain clear communication about how vaccines work and when, Bell said.

“For the time being, we should stick with doses the way the trials were done,” he said. “That’s what will get you the maximum efficacy.”

A flurry of headlines this week flooded social media, documenting a seemingly concerning case of COVID-19 in a San Diego nurse who fell ill about a week after receiving his first injection of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

A flurry of headlines this week flooded social media, documenting a seemingly concerning case of COVID-19 in a San Diego nurse who fell ill about a week after receiving his first injection of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. But experts said the sickness is nothing unexpected: The protective effects of vaccines are known to take at least a couple of weeks to kick in. And getting sick before completing a two-dose vaccine regimen, they said, should not undermine the potency of Pfizer’s product, which blazed through late-stage clinical trials with flying colors. Reporting that a half-vaccinated person has COVID-19 is “really the equivalent of saying someone went outside in the middle of a rainstorm without an umbrella and got wet,” said Dr. Taison Bell, a critical care physician at the University of Virginia. Bell received his first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine Dec. 15 and will be getting his second shot soon. The California nurse, identified as Matthew W., 45, in an ABC10 News report, received his first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine Dec. 18. Six days later, according to news reports, he began to feel minor symptoms, including chills, muscle aches and fatigue. He tested positive for the virus the day after Christmas. Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Brown University, said this should not prompt concern. “So what????” she tweeted Wednesday in response to a Reuters article on the nurse’s illness. “It’s a 2-shot vaccination.” Ranney received her first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine Dec. 18. Framing the nurse’s illness as news, Ranney said in an interview, implies that it was a departure from the expected — and that there should have been protection about a week after the first vaccine dose. That is not the case at all. Vaccines take at least a few days to exert their protective effects. Pfizer’s recipe is designed around a molecule called messenger RNA, or mRNA, which, once injected, enters human cells and instructs them to manufacture a coronavirus protein called spike. None of these components are infectious or capable of causing COVID-19. But they act as coronavirus mimics, teaching the body to recognize the true virus and vanquish it, should it ever come around. The production of spike is thought to occur within hours of the first shot. But the body needs at least several days to memorize the material before it can unspool its full arsenal of defensive forces against the virus. Immune cells take this time to study up on the protein, then mature, multiply and sharpen their spike-spotting reflexes. Data from Pfizer’s clinical trials suggests the vaccine might start safeguarding its recipients from disease around one or two weeks after the first injection. A second jab of mRNA, delivered three weeks after the first, helps immune cells commit the virus’s most prominent features to memory, clinching the protective process. The timeline of the California nurse’s illness falls well within the window of post-vaccination vulnerability, Ranney said. It is also very likely he caught the virus right around the time he got the shot, perhaps even before. People can start experiencing the symptoms of COVID-19 between two and 14 days after encountering the coronavirus, if they ever have symptoms at all. A similar situation appears to have recently unfolded with Mike Harmon, the Kentucky state auditor, who this week tested positive for the virus the day after receiving his first dose of an unspecified coronavirus vaccine. “It appears that I may have been unknowingly exposed to the virus and infected either shortly before or after receiving the first dose of the vaccine on Monday,” Harmon said in a statement. Harmon reaffirmed his “full faith in the vaccine itself, and the need for as many people to receive it as quickly as possible.” Jerica Pitts, a spokesperson for Pfizer, noted that the vaccine’s protective effects are “substantially boosted after the second dose, supporting the need for a two-dose vaccination series.” “Individuals may have contracted disease prior to or right after vaccination,” she said. Pfizer’s vaccine, when administered in its full two-dose regimen, was found to be 95% effective at preventing symptomatic cases of COVID-19 — a figure that was hailed as very welcome news amid soaring coronavirus caseloads. Still, that leaves a small percentage of people who will not be protected after vaccination, Ranney said. “There’s no vaccine that’s 100% effective.” It is also unclear how well Pfizer’s vaccine can guard against asymptomatic infections or if it will substantially curb the coronavirus’s ability to spread from person to person. That means measures like masking and distancing remain essential even after full vaccination. Data collected by Pfizer during its late-stage clinical trials hinted that the vaccine could confer at least some protection after a single dose. But the study was not intended to specifically test how potent a one-shot regimen would be. Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician at the Medical University of South Carolina, said a couple of her colleagues tested positive shortly after their first shots. “None of this surprises me, given how rampant cases are right now,” she said. Given the expected delay in the vaccine’s effects, “this should not be thought about as vaccine failure.” Kuppalli, who received her first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine Dec. 15, added that getting COVID-19 between vaccine doses should not dissuade someone from getting a second shot, with consultation from a health care provider. In the past few weeks, more than 2.7 million people in the United States have received their first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine or a similar shot made by Moderna. Both vaccines require a second injection — and as they are rolled out to more and more people, it is important to maintain clear communication about how vaccines work and when, Bell said. “For the time being, we should stick with doses the way the trials were done,” he said. “That’s what will get you the maximum efficacy.”

Vaccines take a while to kick in. Experts say that means the body is doing its job.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the efforts of the Indian scientists involved in developing the vaccine for Covid-19, and said India is soon going to start the largest vaccination programme in the world. 
 
Modi made the remarks after inaugurating the National Metrology Conclave virtually and also dedicated the National Atomic Timescale and Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya to the nation. 
 
He also laid the foundation stone for the National Environmental Standards Lab. 
 
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said, "The new year has brought with it a new achievement. Indian scientists have not developed just one, but two Covid vaccines." 
 
He said, "We are on the threshold of starting the `largest vaccination programme in the world`. The entire country is indebted to all scientists and technicians," he said. 
 
The Prime Minister also urged the scientists of CSIR to discuss and converse with the students of the educational institutions in the entire country and share their experiences with the next generation. 
 
"This would help in developing the next generation of young scientists," he said. 
 
The Prime Minister further said the quality of services and products in our country, both in the public or private sector, will determine India`s strength in the world. 
 
"No research is complete with comparing and calculating. We also need to calculate our achievements as well," he said. 
 
He said, "We have to ensure that there is not only global demand but also global acceptance of `Make in India` products. We have to strengthen brand India on the basis of quality and credibility."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the efforts of the Indian scientists involved in developing the vaccine for Covid-19, and said India is soon going to start the largest vaccination programme in the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the efforts of the Indian scientists involved in developing the vaccine for Covid-19, and said India is soon going to start the largest vaccination programme in the world. Modi made the remarks after inaugurating the National Metrology Conclave virtually and also dedicated the National Atomic Timescale and Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya to the nation. He also laid the foundation stone for the National Environmental Standards Lab. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said, "The new year has brought with it a new achievement. Indian scientists have not developed just one, but two Covid vaccines." He said, "We are on the threshold of starting the `largest vaccination programme in the world`. The entire country is indebted to all scientists and technicians," he said. The Prime Minister also urged the scientists of CSIR to discuss and converse with the students of the educational institutions in the entire country and share their experiences with the next generation. "This would help in developing the next generation of young scientists," he said. The Prime Minister further said the quality of services and products in our country, both in the public or private sector, will determine India`s strength in the world. "No research is complete with comparing and calculating. We also need to calculate our achievements as well," he said. He said, "We have to ensure that there is not only global demand but also global acceptance of `Make in India` products. We have to strengthen brand India on the basis of quality and credibility."

India to start world's largest vaccination programme soon: PM Modi

A diminished sense of smell, called anosmia, has emerged as one of the telltale symptoms of COVID-19. It is the first symptom for some patients, and sometimes the only one. Often accompanied by an inability to taste, anosmia occurs abruptly and dramatically in these patients, almost as if a switch had been flipped.

Most regain their senses of smell and taste after they recover, usually within weeks. But in a minority of patients, the loss persists, and doctors cannot say when or if the senses will return.

Scientists know little about how the virus causes persistent anosmia or how to cure it. But cases are piling up as the coronavirus sweeps across the world, and some experts fear that the pandemic may leave huge numbers of people with a permanent loss of smell and taste.

Smell is intimately tied to both taste and appetite, and anosmia often robs people of the pleasure of eating. But the sudden absence also may have a profound impact on mood and quality of life. Studies have linked anosmia to social isolation and anhedonia, an inability to feel pleasure, as well as a strange sense of detachment.

British scientists studied the experiences of 9,000 COVID-19 patients who joined a Facebook support group. Many members said they had not only lost pleasure in eating, but also in socializing. The loss had weakened their bonds with other people, leaving them feeling isolated, even detached from reality.

“From a public health perspective, this is really important,” said Dr. Sandeep Robert Datta, an associate professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. “If you think worldwide about the number of people with COVID, even if only 10% have a more prolonged smell loss, we’re talking about potentially millions of people.”

The most immediate effects may be nutritional. People with anosmia may continue to perceive basic tastes, but smell adds complexity to the perception of flavor via hundreds of odor receptors signaling the brain.

Many people who can’t smell will lose their appetites, putting them at risk of nutritional deficits and unintended weight loss.

Smells also serve as a primal alarm system alerting humans to dangers in our environment, like gas leaks. A diminished sense of smell in old age is one reason older individuals are more prone to accidents, like fires caused by leaving burning food on the stove.

A diminished sense of smell, called anosmia, has emerged as one of the telltale symptoms of COVID-19. It is the first symptom for some patients, and sometimes the only one.

A diminished sense of smell, called anosmia, has emerged as one of the telltale symptoms of COVID-19. It is the first symptom for some patients, and sometimes the only one. Often accompanied by an inability to taste, anosmia occurs abruptly and dramatically in these patients, almost as if a switch had been flipped. Most regain their senses of smell and taste after they recover, usually within weeks. But in a minority of patients, the loss persists, and doctors cannot say when or if the senses will return. Scientists know little about how the virus causes persistent anosmia or how to cure it. But cases are piling up as the coronavirus sweeps across the world, and some experts fear that the pandemic may leave huge numbers of people with a permanent loss of smell and taste. Smell is intimately tied to both taste and appetite, and anosmia often robs people of the pleasure of eating. But the sudden absence also may have a profound impact on mood and quality of life. Studies have linked anosmia to social isolation and anhedonia, an inability to feel pleasure, as well as a strange sense of detachment. British scientists studied the experiences of 9,000 COVID-19 patients who joined a Facebook support group. Many members said they had not only lost pleasure in eating, but also in socializing. The loss had weakened their bonds with other people, leaving them feeling isolated, even detached from reality. “From a public health perspective, this is really important,” said Dr. Sandeep Robert Datta, an associate professor of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. “If you think worldwide about the number of people with COVID, even if only 10% have a more prolonged smell loss, we’re talking about potentially millions of people.” The most immediate effects may be nutritional. People with anosmia may continue to perceive basic tastes, but smell adds complexity to the perception of flavor via hundreds of odor receptors signaling the brain. Many people who can’t smell will lose their appetites, putting them at risk of nutritional deficits and unintended weight loss. Smells also serve as a primal alarm system alerting humans to dangers in our environment, like gas leaks. A diminished sense of smell in old age is one reason older individuals are more prone to accidents, like fires caused by leaving burning food on the stove.

Some COVID-19 survivors haunted by loss of smell and taste

Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has denied following the UK's decision to delay the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"I would not be in favor of that... We're going to keep doing what we're doing," Faudi said during an interview with a local media channel.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-sets-a-new-record-marks-277000-covid-cases-in-24-hours-354101" hreflang="en">US sets a new record, marks 277,000 Covid cases in 24 hours</a>

This clarification from Fauci has come after it was reported by the local media that the UK government will be prioritsing giving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to people in the high-risk groups and administer the second dose after 12 weeks.

The decision has been taken to make sure majority people are administered the first dose as quickly as possible. Fauci had retweeted a report about this decision with a caption "that's under consideration".&nbsp;

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/post-brexit-uk-abolishes-tampon-tax-354107">Post Brexit, UK abolishes ‘tampon tax’</a>

However, like majority of other times, Fauci has this time, too, backtracked on his words and claimed his words were "misinterpreted".

"The fact is we want to stick with what the science tells us, and the data that we have for both (vaccines) indicate you give a prime, followed by a boost in 21 days with Pfizer and 28 days with Moderna. And right now, that`s the way we`re going with it, and that`s the decision that is made," The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-approved-for-emergency-use-354092">WATCH|</a>

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"We make decisions based on data. We don`t have any data of giving a single dose and waiting for more than the normal period of time (to give the second dose)," he added.

Fauci also spoke about the new variant of coronavirus found in South Africa, and if it would pose a threat to the existing vaccines. "The proof of the pudding is we have to test it, and that is what is happening now, testing the strain found in South Africa against the antibodies produced by the vaccines. We don`t have that answer, but I am sure that answer is forthcoming soon," Fauci said.

Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has denied following the UK's decision to delay the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. "I would not be in favor of that.

Top US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has denied following the UK's decision to delay the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. "I would not be in favor of that... We're going to keep doing what we're doing," Faudi said during an interview with a local media channel. Also read| US sets a new record, marks 277,000 Covid cases in 24 hours This clarification from Fauci has come after it was reported by the local media that the UK government will be prioritsing giving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to people in the high-risk groups and administer the second dose after 12 weeks. The decision has been taken to make sure majority people are administered the first dose as quickly as possible. Fauci had retweeted a report about this decision with a caption "that's under consideration". Also read| Post Brexit, UK abolishes ‘tampon tax’ However, like majority of other times, Fauci has this time, too, backtracked on his words and claimed his words were "misinterpreted". "The fact is we want to stick with what the science tells us, and the data that we have for both (vaccines) indicate you give a prime, followed by a boost in 21 days with Pfizer and 28 days with Moderna. And right now, that`s the way we`re going with it, and that`s the decision that is made," The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said. WATCH| × "We make decisions based on data. We don`t have any data of giving a single dose and waiting for more than the normal period of time (to give the second dose)," he added. Fauci also spoke about the new variant of coronavirus found in South Africa, and if it would pose a threat to the existing vaccines. "The proof of the pudding is we have to test it, and that is what is happening now, testing the strain found in South Africa against the antibodies produced by the vaccines. We don`t have that answer, but I am sure that answer is forthcoming soon," Fauci said.

Anthony Fauci denies following UK's decision to delay COVID-19 vaccine's second dose

Pope Francis condemned on Sunday people who had gone abroad on holiday to escape coronavirus lockdowns, saying they needed to show greater awareness of the suffering of others. 
 
Speaking after his weekly noon blessing, Francis said he had read newspaper reports of people catching flights to flee government curbs and seek fun elsewhere. 
 
"They didn`t think about those who were staying at home, of the economic problems of many people who have been hit hard by the lockdown, of the sick people. (They thought) only about going on holiday and having fun," the pope said. 
 
"This really saddened me," he said in a video address from the library of the Vatican`s Apostolic Palace. 
 
The traditional Angelus blessing is normally given from a window overlooking St. Peter`s Square, but it was moved indoors to prevent any crowds gathering and limit the spread of COVID-19. 
 
"We don`t know what 2021 will reserve for us, but what all of us can do together is make a bit more of an effort to take care of each other. There is the temptation to take care only of our own interests," he added. 
 
Many countries have imposed strict restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has killed some 1.83 million people worldwide, according to the latest Reuters tally.

Pope Francis condemned on Sunday people who had gone abroad on holiday to escape coronavirus lockdowns, saying they needed to show greater awareness of the suffering of others.

Pope Francis condemned on Sunday people who had gone abroad on holiday to escape coronavirus lockdowns, saying they needed to show greater awareness of the suffering of others. Speaking after his weekly noon blessing, Francis said he had read newspaper reports of people catching flights to flee government curbs and seek fun elsewhere. "They didn`t think about those who were staying at home, of the economic problems of many people who have been hit hard by the lockdown, of the sick people. (They thought) only about going on holiday and having fun," the pope said. "This really saddened me," he said in a video address from the library of the Vatican`s Apostolic Palace. The traditional Angelus blessing is normally given from a window overlooking St. Peter`s Square, but it was moved indoors to prevent any crowds gathering and limit the spread of COVID-19. "We don`t know what 2021 will reserve for us, but what all of us can do together is make a bit more of an effort to take care of each other. There is the temptation to take care only of our own interests," he added. Many countries have imposed strict restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which has killed some 1.83 million people worldwide, according to the latest Reuters tally.

Pope criticises people going on holiday to flee COVID lockdowns

Medical companies and shippers in Canada are racing to transport time-sensitive radiochemical materials used to treat cancer, as a pandemic-induced drop in passenger flights has narrowed transportation options and created cargo delays. 
 
Half of air cargo normally travels in the belly of passenger jets rather than dedicated freighters. But flight cancellations as traffic plummeted during the pandemic have left some companies scrambling to ship treatments that decay over time, pushing up overall transportation costs. 
 
Before the pandemic, the McMaster Nuclear Reactor in the Canadian province of Ontario could ship its iodine-125 isotope anywhere in a couple of days. 
 
But since spring, deliveries of the isotope, used to treat about 70,000 patients a year with a procedure called brachytherapy, have been delayed as long as 10 days. 
 
"There`s fewer flights, so it`s creating longer routes,” said Karin Stephenson, manager of commercial operations at the reactor. "It`s been really challenging trying to get our product around." 
 
It is a problem in Canada, where a limited domestic market and restrictions on international travel, like a 14-day quarantine for arrivals, have hit air passenger traffic harder than in some other countries like the United States. Travel volumes are down 90% at Canadian airports on an annual basis, according to the government. 
 
U.S. cancer specialists and the American College of Radiology said they had not heard of any widespread concerns over shipping isotopes. 
 
For the broader industry, moving medical isotopes is a challenge because they decay over time. In 10 days, iodine-125 loses about 20% of its radioactivity, said Stephenson. 
 
Another product shipped by McMaster, holmium-166, the key raw material in a liver cancer therapy used in Europe called QuiremSpheres, has a half life of only 27 hours. 
 
"Timing is extremely critical," said Jan Sigger, chief executive of Netherlands-based Quirem Medical, recently acquired by Japan`s Terumo Corp.&nbsp; 
 
Quirem supply chain manager Jerfaas Haalboom said some patients` treatments were rescheduled because of delayed shipments. 
 
 
FEWER OPTIONS 
 
Airlines are also moving to smaller planes with less cargo capacity which can lead to some goods being bumped. 
 
"Shipments get bumped all the time because of aircraft capacity," said Mike Stopay, director of Pacer Air Freight, a Toronto-area cargo specialist. 
 
The recent pickup in transport of COVID-19 vaccines, equivalent to about 0.3% of global air freight, is not likely to displace time-sensitive medical products in cargo planes, said Marco Bloemen, managing director of Seabury Consulting, a division of Accenture Plc. 
 
Falling plane values, and a rise in e-commerce due to the pandemic, are also fueling a boom in converting passenger planes to freighters. Freighters have greater capacity but fly less frequently, creating a potential headache for some shippers of time-sensitive cargo. 
 
Roy Bekic, logistic manager at the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization in Ontario, said he depends on passenger flights to ship products to Australia via a connection in Vancouver. Delays have led him to lose a handful of shipments. 
 
"For some of my Australian clients I have only about 90 hours before (the treatment) expires," Bekic said. 
 
The challenges are leading to higher transport costs, either to compensate for products lost due to delays, or because companies have fewer options to ship the materials. 
 
Stephenson said McMaster, which has to transport more material to account for longer travel times, recently raised its shipping charges, after absorbing extra costs for months. 
 
Gabriel Freitas, an executive at Vancouver-based isoSolutions, which specializes in sourcing and distributing products in nuclear medicine, said the company has faced increases in shipping prices ranging from around 20% to 30%. 
 
Before COVID-19, Freitas could secure lower prices by searching competing flights. 
 
"Now you go with whatever option you get."

Medical companies and shippers in Canada are racing to transport time-sensitive radiochemical materials used to treat cancer, as a pandemic-induced drop in passenger flights has narrowed transportation options and created cargo delays.

Medical companies and shippers in Canada are racing to transport time-sensitive radiochemical materials used to treat cancer, as a pandemic-induced drop in passenger flights has narrowed transportation options and created cargo delays. Half of air cargo normally travels in the belly of passenger jets rather than dedicated freighters. But flight cancellations as traffic plummeted during the pandemic have left some companies scrambling to ship treatments that decay over time, pushing up overall transportation costs. Before the pandemic, the McMaster Nuclear Reactor in the Canadian province of Ontario could ship its iodine-125 isotope anywhere in a couple of days. But since spring, deliveries of the isotope, used to treat about 70,000 patients a year with a procedure called brachytherapy, have been delayed as long as 10 days. "There`s fewer flights, so it`s creating longer routes,” said Karin Stephenson, manager of commercial operations at the reactor. "It`s been really challenging trying to get our product around." It is a problem in Canada, where a limited domestic market and restrictions on international travel, like a 14-day quarantine for arrivals, have hit air passenger traffic harder than in some other countries like the United States. Travel volumes are down 90% at Canadian airports on an annual basis, according to the government. U.S. cancer specialists and the American College of Radiology said they had not heard of any widespread concerns over shipping isotopes. For the broader industry, moving medical isotopes is a challenge because they decay over time. In 10 days, iodine-125 loses about 20% of its radioactivity, said Stephenson. Another product shipped by McMaster, holmium-166, the key raw material in a liver cancer therapy used in Europe called QuiremSpheres, has a half life of only 27 hours. "Timing is extremely critical," said Jan Sigger, chief executive of Netherlands-based Quirem Medical, recently acquired by Japan`s Terumo Corp. Quirem supply chain manager Jerfaas Haalboom said some patients` treatments were rescheduled because of delayed shipments. FEWER OPTIONS Airlines are also moving to smaller planes with less cargo capacity which can lead to some goods being bumped. "Shipments get bumped all the time because of aircraft capacity," said Mike Stopay, director of Pacer Air Freight, a Toronto-area cargo specialist. The recent pickup in transport of COVID-19 vaccines, equivalent to about 0.3% of global air freight, is not likely to displace time-sensitive medical products in cargo planes, said Marco Bloemen, managing director of Seabury Consulting, a division of Accenture Plc. Falling plane values, and a rise in e-commerce due to the pandemic, are also fueling a boom in converting passenger planes to freighters. Freighters have greater capacity but fly less frequently, creating a potential headache for some shippers of time-sensitive cargo. Roy Bekic, logistic manager at the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization in Ontario, said he depends on passenger flights to ship products to Australia via a connection in Vancouver. Delays have led him to lose a handful of shipments. "For some of my Australian clients I have only about 90 hours before (the treatment) expires," Bekic said. The challenges are leading to higher transport costs, either to compensate for products lost due to delays, or because companies have fewer options to ship the materials. Stephenson said McMaster, which has to transport more material to account for longer travel times, recently raised its shipping charges, after absorbing extra costs for months. Gabriel Freitas, an executive at Vancouver-based isoSolutions, which specializes in sourcing and distributing products in nuclear medicine, said the company has faced increases in shipping prices ranging from around 20% to 30%. Before COVID-19, Freitas could secure lower prices by searching competing flights. "Now you go with whatever option you get."

In Canada, shippers race to move cancer treatments as COVID-19 grounds flights

India's drugs regulator on Sunday gave final approval for the emergency-use of two coronavirus vaccines, one developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and the other by local company Bharat Biotech and a state-run institute.

India approves AstraZeneca and local COVID-19 vaccines

Scientists in Indonesia have developed a simple breath analyser test that can electronically 'smell' the novel coronavirus and detect infection in under two minutes.

The GeNose C-19 device uses artificial intelligence — in the form of an electronic nose — to analyse a breath sample and identify elements that are unique to COVID-19.

The government granted a distribution permit for GeNose only last week. It said the test would allow mass testing of coronavirus at hospitals, airports, seaports and other public places in the world's fourth most populous country.

The breathalyser was developed by scientists at Gadjah Mada University in Jogjakarta, in central Java, where three hospitals are already using it to screen patients for COVID-19.

So far 2,000 people have been tested with the device -- which has proven to be more than 90 per cent accurate.

Indonesia has so far registered more than 735,000 coronavirus infections, and 22,000 deaths -- the highest death toll in South-East Asia.

(with inputs)

Scientists in Indonesia have developed a simple breath analyser test that can electronically 'smell' the novel coronavirus and detect infection in under two minutes.

Scientists in Indonesia have developed a simple breath analyser test that can electronically 'smell' the novel coronavirus and detect infection in under two minutes. The GeNose C-19 device uses artificial intelligence — in the form of an electronic nose — to analyse a breath sample and identify elements that are unique to COVID-19. The government granted a distribution permit for GeNose only last week. It said the test would allow mass testing of coronavirus at hospitals, airports, seaports and other public places in the world's fourth most populous country. The breathalyser was developed by scientists at Gadjah Mada University in Jogjakarta, in central Java, where three hospitals are already using it to screen patients for COVID-19. So far 2,000 people have been tested with the device -- which has proven to be more than 90 per cent accurate. Indonesia has so far registered more than 735,000 coronavirus infections, and 22,000 deaths -- the highest death toll in South-East Asia. (with inputs)

Indonesian scientists have developed a breathalyser that can detect coronavirus

One year after the pandemic began - the streets of Wuhan were packed on New Year's Eve. The Chinese Leadership declared a victory over the Wuhan Virus. But, locals in Wuhan are demanding justice. Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: China attempts to rewrite the story of Wuhan with a party

Vietnam has detected its first imported case of the new coronavirus variant that is spreading rapidly around Britain, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The variant was detected in a 44-year-old woman returning to Vietnam from Britain, who was quarantined upon arrival and was confirmed positive for the virus on Dec. 24, the ministry said in a statement.

"Researchers ran gene-sequencing on the patient`s sample and found the strain is a variant known as "VOC 202012/01"", it said.

The variant includes a genetic mutation that, in theory, could result in the virus spreading more easily between people.

Countries around the world have cut off travel links to Britain to stop the spread of the new variant, which scientists have said is 40-70% more transmissible than the original virus.

Vietnam is still operating repatriation flights to bring its citizens stuck in the UK home amid the pandemic.

With strict quarantine and tracking measures, Vietnam quickly contained coronavirus outbreaks, allowing economic activity to rebound faster than in much of Asia. It has recorded 1,474 infections, with 35 deaths.

Vietnam has detected its first imported case of the new coronavirus variant that is spreading rapidly around Britain, the health ministry said on Saturday. The variant was detected in a 44-year-old woman returning to Vietnam from Britain, who was quarantined upon arrival and was confirmed positive for the virus on Dec.

Vietnam has detected its first imported case of the new coronavirus variant that is spreading rapidly around Britain, the health ministry said on Saturday. The variant was detected in a 44-year-old woman returning to Vietnam from Britain, who was quarantined upon arrival and was confirmed positive for the virus on Dec. 24, the ministry said in a statement. "Researchers ran gene-sequencing on the patient`s sample and found the strain is a variant known as "VOC 202012/01"", it said. The variant includes a genetic mutation that, in theory, could result in the virus spreading more easily between people. Countries around the world have cut off travel links to Britain to stop the spread of the new variant, which scientists have said is 40-70% more transmissible than the original virus. Vietnam is still operating repatriation flights to bring its citizens stuck in the UK home amid the pandemic. With strict quarantine and tracking measures, Vietnam quickly contained coronavirus outbreaks, allowing economic activity to rebound faster than in much of Asia. It has recorded 1,474 infections, with 35 deaths.

Vietnam reports first case of new coronavirus variant

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said that Indian government had approved emergency use of AstraZeneca/ Oxford University coronavirus vaccine, also known as Covishield in India. The minister said that the government had given a go-ahead on Friday.

India: AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday said that Indian government had approved emergency use of AstraZeneca/ Oxford University coronavirus vaccine, also known as Covishield in India. The minister said that the government had given a go-ahead on Friday

In this segment of WION In Focus, watch some stories related to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

WION In Focus: Some stories related to coronavirus pandemic

The new strain of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">novel coronavirus </a>has led to an increase in concerns due to its ability of high transmission.&nbsp;

And a new report has claimed that the mutation is targetting the young people as most of the cases have been reported in people under 20 years of age. &nbsp;

The report by the Imperial College in London also suggests that measures like social distancing that have been taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 do not work against the new variant.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/drug-prices-to-hike-in-2021-as-pandemic-jolts-revenues-report-353861">Drug prices to hike in 2021 as pandemic jolts revenues: Report</a>

Earlier, it was believed that the deadly virus targets the young and children, but now it seems young are vulnerable to it and they can spread it to millions more.&nbsp;

In the United Kingdom, the recent estimates show that the variant has infected secondary children the most.

The deadly strain is the most prevalent amongst the young in South Africa and in India a two-year-old and a six-year-old have been infected.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-mutated-wuhan-virus-targets-the-young-353941">WATCH|</a>

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However, Britain's top medical expert Neil Ferguson says that the symptoms to young people will be the same as seen in adults.

"From previous strains of this virus, we know that children were less likely to get infected and certainly much less likely to get symptoms than adults, which is unusual for a respiratory virus in the sense that most respiratory viruses transmit most efficiently in children. So one possibility is this virus has changed in some way, which doesn't particularly target children, just makes children more like adults, a little bit, even in terms of symptoms or viral replication or transmission or both," said Ferguson.&nbsp;

The findings, though, are still in its early days and time will tell whether the new strain will become a new headache in 2021 or not.&nbsp;

The new strain of novel coronavirus has led to an increase in concerns due to its ability of high transmission. And a new report has claimed that the mutation is targetting the young people as most of the cases have been reported in people under 20 years of age.

The new strain of novel coronavirus has led to an increase in concerns due to its ability of high transmission. And a new report has claimed that the mutation is targetting the young people as most of the cases have been reported in people under 20 years of age. The report by the Imperial College in London also suggests that measures like social distancing that have been taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 do not work against the new variant. Also read | Drug prices to hike in 2021 as pandemic jolts revenues: Report Earlier, it was believed that the deadly virus targets the young and children, but now it seems young are vulnerable to it and they can spread it to millions more. In the United Kingdom, the recent estimates show that the variant has infected secondary children the most. The deadly strain is the most prevalent amongst the young in South Africa and in India a two-year-old and a six-year-old have been infected. WATCH| × However, Britain's top medical expert Neil Ferguson says that the symptoms to young people will be the same as seen in adults. "From previous strains of this virus, we know that children were less likely to get infected and certainly much less likely to get symptoms than adults, which is unusual for a respiratory virus in the sense that most respiratory viruses transmit most efficiently in children. So one possibility is this virus has changed in some way, which doesn't particularly target children, just makes children more like adults, a little bit, even in terms of symptoms or viral replication or transmission or both," said Ferguson. The findings, though, are still in its early days and time will tell whether the new strain will become a new headache in 2021 or not.

Does new Covid-19 strain affect young people more?

The coronavirus pandemic has dominated living room discussions and global headlines all through 2020. The virus continues to make news this holiday season as well. In America despite public health warnings to not travel, many boarded plane to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones. Meanwhile, Europe is receiving the first shipment of a coronavirus vaccine. WION-VOA Co-production brings you a report.

COVID-19 surge during holidays in US

Drugmakers including Pfizer Inc, Sanofi SA, and GlaxoSmithKline Plc plan to raise U.S. prices on more than 300 drugs in the United States on Jan. 1, according to drugmakers and data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.

Fineprint: Drugmakers to hike prices for 2021 as pandemic, political pressure put revenues at risk

The death toll of a coronavirus outbreak in a care home linked to a Saint Nicolas party for the elderly last month has reached 27.

The Mol care center in northern Belgium had organised a December 4 visit of a saint who usually spreads mirth and presents.

The municipality said on New Year's Eve that a 27th person had died but the outbreak was finally stabilising.&nbsp;

The Mol municipality said two weeks ago the party would have been barred had the local crisis cell known about it. At the last count, the care home had 88 infections, including 42 among the staff.

Initially, an actor had been pinpointed as the source of the outbreak, but subsequent scientific research could not be fully conclusive.

Belgium, a nation of 11.5 million, has been badly hit by the pandemic with 19,441 deaths so far, many of them in care homes.

The death toll of a coronavirus outbreak in a care home linked to a Saint Nicolas party for the elderly last month has reached 27. The Mol care center in northern Belgium had organised a December 4 visit of a saint who usually spreads mirth and presents.

The death toll of a coronavirus outbreak in a care home linked to a Saint Nicolas party for the elderly last month has reached 27. The Mol care center in northern Belgium had organised a December 4 visit of a saint who usually spreads mirth and presents. The municipality said on New Year's Eve that a 27th person had died but the outbreak was finally stabilising. The Mol municipality said two weeks ago the party would have been barred had the local crisis cell known about it. At the last count, the care home had 88 infections, including 42 among the staff. Initially, an actor had been pinpointed as the source of the outbreak, but subsequent scientific research could not be fully conclusive. Belgium, a nation of 11.5 million, has been badly hit by the pandemic with 19,441 deaths so far, many of them in care homes.

Covid toll linked to Belgian party for elderly hits 27

In Florida, less than one-quarter of delivered coronavirus vaccines have been used, even as older people sat in lawn chairs all night waiting for their shots. In Puerto Rico, last week’s vaccine shipments did not arrive until the workers who would have administered them had left for the Christmas holiday. In California, doctors are worried about whether there will be enough hospital staff members to both administer vaccines and tend to the swelling number of COVID-19 patients.

These sorts of logistical problems in clinics across the country have put the campaign to vaccinate the United States against COVID-19 far behind schedule in its third week, raising fears about how quickly the country will be able to tame the epidemic.

Federal officials said as recently as earlier in December that their goal was to have 20 million people get their first shot by the end of 2020. More than 14 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been sent out across the United States, federal officials said Wednesday. But, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 2.8 million people have received their first dose, although that number may be somewhat low because of lags in reporting.

States vary widely in how many of the doses they have received have been given out. South Dakota leads the country with more than 48% of its doses given, followed by West Virginia at 38%. By contrast, Kansas has given out less than 11%, and Georgia, less than 14%.

Compounding the challenges, federal officials say they do not fully understand the cause of the delays. But state health officials and hospital leaders throughout the country pointed to several factors. States have held back doses to be given out to their nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities, an effort that is just gearing up and expected to take several months. Across the country, just 8% of the doses distributed for use in these facilities have been administered, with 2 million yet to be given.

The holiday season has meant that people are off work and clinics have reduced hours, slowing the pace of vaccine administration. In Florida, the demand for the vaccines dipped over the Christmas holiday and is expected to dip again over New Year’s, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday.

And critically, public health experts say, federal officials have left many of the details of the final stage of the vaccine distribution process, such as scheduling and staffing, to overstretched local health officials and hospitals.

In one notable blunder, 42 people in Boone County, West Virginia, who were scheduled to receive the coronavirus vaccine Wednesday instead were mistakenly injected with an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment.

“We’ve taken the people with the least amount of resources and capacity and asked them to do the hardest part of the vaccination — which is actually getting the vaccines administered into people’s arms,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.

Federal and state officials have denied they are to blame for the slow rollout. Officials behind Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to fast-track vaccines, have said that their job was to ensure that vaccines are made available and get shipped out to the states. President Donald Trump said in a tweet Tuesday that it was “up to the States to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the Federal Government.”

“Ultimately, the buck seems to stop with no one,” Jha said.

These problems are especially worrisome now that a new, more contagious variant, first spotted in Britain and overwhelming hospitals there, has arrived in the U.S. Officials in two states, Colorado and California, say they have discovered cases of the new variant, and none of the patients had recently traveled, suggesting the variant is already spreading in U.S. communities.

The $900 billion relief package that Trump signed into law Sunday will bring some relief to struggling state and local health departments. The bill sets aside more than $8 billion for vaccine distribution, on top of the $340 million that the CDC sent out to the states in installments in September and earlier in December.

That infusion of money is welcome, if late, said Dr. Bob Wachter, a professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

“Why did that take until now when we knew we were going to have this problem two months ago?” he asked.

Michael Pratt, a spokesperson for Operation Warp Speed, said that there will always be lags between the number of doses that have been allocated, shipped, injected and reported.

"We’re working to make those lags as small as possible,” Pratt said.

The task of administering thousands of vaccines is daunting for health departments that have already been overburdened by responding to the pandemic. In Montgomery County, Maryland, the health department has recruited extra staff to help manage vaccine distribution, said Travis Gayles, the county health officer.

“While we’re trying to roll out vaccinations, we’re also continuing the pandemic response by supporting testing, contact tracing, disease control and all of those other aspects of the COVID response,” Gayles said.

Complicating matters, the county health department gets just a few days' notice each week of the timing of its vaccine shipments. When the latest batch arrived, Gayles’ team scrambled to contact people eligible for the vaccine and to set up clinics to give out the doses as fast as possible.

Overall, Maryland has given nearly 17% of its vaccine doses. In a Wednesday appearance on CBS, Gov. Larry Hogan attributed the slow process to challenges across the board — from the federal government not sending as many doses as initially predicted, to the lack of logistical and financial support for local health departments.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and top state health officials say vaccines are available in the state but are not being distributed quickly enough to deal with a critical surge of COVID-19 cases that is pushing hospital capacity to the breaking point.

“A significant portion of vaccines distributed across Texas might be sitting on hospital shelves as opposed to being given to vulnerable Texans,” the governor tweeted Tuesday.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday encouraged people to be “humble” in the face of such a complicated task and said that the pace of vaccination would accelerate. California has administered 20% of the doses it has received.

Hesitancy among people offered the vaccine may also be slowing the rollout. Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said in a news conference Wednesday that roughly 60% of nursing home staff members offered the vaccine in the state had declined it. In Florida, some hospital workers offered the vaccine declined it, and those doses are now designated for other vulnerable groups like health care workers in the community and the elderly, but that rollout has not quite begun, said Justin Senior, chief executive officer for the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, a hospital consortium.

There are bright spots. Some states and hospitals are finding ways to speedily administer the vaccines they have received. West Virginia said Wednesday that it had finished giving the first round of vaccine doses to willing residents and workers at all of the state’s 214 long-term care facilities — putting the state far ahead of most other states that began vaccinating at these facilities under a federal program with CVS and Walgreens.

In Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which employs some 20,000 people at several facilities, was vaccinating about 800 people a day, said Dr. Jeff Smith, Cedars-Sinai’s chief operating officer. He said Cedars-Sinai expected to vaccinate all of its staff members who have opted for the vaccine within a couple of weeks.

But other communities are falling short of that rapid clip. Smith said the medical community is worried about staffing shortages when hospitals have to both administer vaccines and treat COVID-19 patients.

In a news conference Wednesday, Operation Warp Speed officials said they expected the pace of the rollout to accelerate significantly once pharmacies begin offering vaccines in their stores. The federal government has reached agreements with a number of pharmacy chains — including Costco, Walmart and CVS — to administer vaccines once they become more widely available. So far, 40,000 pharmacy locations have enrolled in that program.

Most vaccines administered across the country to date have been given to health care workers at hospitals and clinics and to older adults at nursing homes. Gen. Gustave Perna, the logistics lead of Operation Warp Speed, on Wednesday described them as “two very difficult, challenging groups” to immunize.

But public health officials warned that reaching these initial groups, who are largely being vaccinated where they live or work, is a relatively easy task.

“This is the part where we’re supposed to know where people are,” said Dr. Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health.

It may be more difficult, public health officials say, to vaccinate the next wave of people, which will most likely include many more older Americans as well as younger people with health problems and front-line workers. Among the fresh challenges: How will these people be scheduled for their vaccination appointments? How will they provide documentation that they have a medical condition or a job that makes them eligible to get vaccinated? And how will pharmacies ensure that people show up and that they can do so safely?

“In the next phase,” said Jha of Brown University, “we’re going to hit the same wall where all of a sudden, we’re going to have to scramble to start figuring it out.”

In Florida, less than one-quarter of delivered coronavirus vaccines have been used, even as older people sat in lawn chairs all night waiting for their shots. In Puerto Rico, last week’s vaccine shipments did not arrive until the workers who would have administered them had left for the Christmas holiday.

In Florida, less than one-quarter of delivered coronavirus vaccines have been used, even as older people sat in lawn chairs all night waiting for their shots. In Puerto Rico, last week’s vaccine shipments did not arrive until the workers who would have administered them had left for the Christmas holiday. In California, doctors are worried about whether there will be enough hospital staff members to both administer vaccines and tend to the swelling number of COVID-19 patients. These sorts of logistical problems in clinics across the country have put the campaign to vaccinate the United States against COVID-19 far behind schedule in its third week, raising fears about how quickly the country will be able to tame the epidemic. Federal officials said as recently as earlier in December that their goal was to have 20 million people get their first shot by the end of 2020. More than 14 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been sent out across the United States, federal officials said Wednesday. But, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, just 2.8 million people have received their first dose, although that number may be somewhat low because of lags in reporting. States vary widely in how many of the doses they have received have been given out. South Dakota leads the country with more than 48% of its doses given, followed by West Virginia at 38%. By contrast, Kansas has given out less than 11%, and Georgia, less than 14%. Compounding the challenges, federal officials say they do not fully understand the cause of the delays. But state health officials and hospital leaders throughout the country pointed to several factors. States have held back doses to be given out to their nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities, an effort that is just gearing up and expected to take several months. Across the country, just 8% of the doses distributed for use in these facilities have been administered, with 2 million yet to be given. The holiday season has meant that people are off work and clinics have reduced hours, slowing the pace of vaccine administration. In Florida, the demand for the vaccines dipped over the Christmas holiday and is expected to dip again over New Year’s, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday. And critically, public health experts say, federal officials have left many of the details of the final stage of the vaccine distribution process, such as scheduling and staffing, to overstretched local health officials and hospitals. In one notable blunder, 42 people in Boone County, West Virginia, who were scheduled to receive the coronavirus vaccine Wednesday instead were mistakenly injected with an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment. “We’ve taken the people with the least amount of resources and capacity and asked them to do the hardest part of the vaccination — which is actually getting the vaccines administered into people’s arms,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health. Federal and state officials have denied they are to blame for the slow rollout. Officials behind Operation Warp Speed, the federal effort to fast-track vaccines, have said that their job was to ensure that vaccines are made available and get shipped out to the states. President Donald Trump said in a tweet Tuesday that it was “up to the States to distribute the vaccines once brought to the designated areas by the Federal Government.” “Ultimately, the buck seems to stop with no one,” Jha said. These problems are especially worrisome now that a new, more contagious variant, first spotted in Britain and overwhelming hospitals there, has arrived in the U.S. Officials in two states, Colorado and California, say they have discovered cases of the new variant, and none of the patients had recently traveled, suggesting the variant is already spreading in U.S. communities. The $900 billion relief package that Trump signed into law Sunday will bring some relief to struggling state and local health departments. The bill sets aside more than $8 billion for vaccine distribution, on top of the $340 million that the CDC sent out to the states in installments in September and earlier in December. That infusion of money is welcome, if late, said Dr. Bob Wachter, a professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. “Why did that take until now when we knew we were going to have this problem two months ago?” he asked. Michael Pratt, a spokesperson for Operation Warp Speed, said that there will always be lags between the number of doses that have been allocated, shipped, injected and reported. "We’re working to make those lags as small as possible,” Pratt said. The task of administering thousands of vaccines is daunting for health departments that have already been overburdened by responding to the pandemic. In Montgomery County, Maryland, the health department has recruited extra staff to help manage vaccine distribution, said Travis Gayles, the county health officer. “While we’re trying to roll out vaccinations, we’re also continuing the pandemic response by supporting testing, contact tracing, disease control and all of those other aspects of the COVID response,” Gayles said. Complicating matters, the county health department gets just a few days' notice each week of the timing of its vaccine shipments. When the latest batch arrived, Gayles’ team scrambled to contact people eligible for the vaccine and to set up clinics to give out the doses as fast as possible. Overall, Maryland has given nearly 17% of its vaccine doses. In a Wednesday appearance on CBS, Gov. Larry Hogan attributed the slow process to challenges across the board — from the federal government not sending as many doses as initially predicted, to the lack of logistical and financial support for local health departments. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott and top state health officials say vaccines are available in the state but are not being distributed quickly enough to deal with a critical surge of COVID-19 cases that is pushing hospital capacity to the breaking point. “A significant portion of vaccines distributed across Texas might be sitting on hospital shelves as opposed to being given to vulnerable Texans,” the governor tweeted Tuesday. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday encouraged people to be “humble” in the face of such a complicated task and said that the pace of vaccination would accelerate. California has administered 20% of the doses it has received. Hesitancy among people offered the vaccine may also be slowing the rollout. Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said in a news conference Wednesday that roughly 60% of nursing home staff members offered the vaccine in the state had declined it. In Florida, some hospital workers offered the vaccine declined it, and those doses are now designated for other vulnerable groups like health care workers in the community and the elderly, but that rollout has not quite begun, said Justin Senior, chief executive officer for the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, a hospital consortium. There are bright spots. Some states and hospitals are finding ways to speedily administer the vaccines they have received. West Virginia said Wednesday that it had finished giving the first round of vaccine doses to willing residents and workers at all of the state’s 214 long-term care facilities — putting the state far ahead of most other states that began vaccinating at these facilities under a federal program with CVS and Walgreens. In Los Angeles, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which employs some 20,000 people at several facilities, was vaccinating about 800 people a day, said Dr. Jeff Smith, Cedars-Sinai’s chief operating officer. He said Cedars-Sinai expected to vaccinate all of its staff members who have opted for the vaccine within a couple of weeks. But other communities are falling short of that rapid clip. Smith said the medical community is worried about staffing shortages when hospitals have to both administer vaccines and treat COVID-19 patients. In a news conference Wednesday, Operation Warp Speed officials said they expected the pace of the rollout to accelerate significantly once pharmacies begin offering vaccines in their stores. The federal government has reached agreements with a number of pharmacy chains — including Costco, Walmart and CVS — to administer vaccines once they become more widely available. So far, 40,000 pharmacy locations have enrolled in that program. Most vaccines administered across the country to date have been given to health care workers at hospitals and clinics and to older adults at nursing homes. Gen. Gustave Perna, the logistics lead of Operation Warp Speed, on Wednesday described them as “two very difficult, challenging groups” to immunize. But public health officials warned that reaching these initial groups, who are largely being vaccinated where they live or work, is a relatively easy task. “This is the part where we’re supposed to know where people are,” said Dr. Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. It may be more difficult, public health officials say, to vaccinate the next wave of people, which will most likely include many more older Americans as well as younger people with health problems and front-line workers. Among the fresh challenges: How will these people be scheduled for their vaccination appointments? How will they provide documentation that they have a medical condition or a job that makes them eligible to get vaccinated? And how will pharmacies ensure that people show up and that they can do so safely? “In the next phase,” said Jha of Brown University, “we’re going to hit the same wall where all of a sudden, we’re going to have to scramble to start figuring it out.”

Here’s why distribution of the vaccine is taking longer than expected

Two major airports in northeastern China now require that the departing passengers should show a negative coronavirus test taken over the previous 72 hours before they can board their planes.

The requirements by the Shenyang and Dalian airports come amid a small but persistent growth in cases in the two cities located in Liaoning province just north of the capital Beijing, and the confirmation of the first mutant virus in the country.

China on Friday reported a total of 19 new virus cases, including 10 that were brought from outside the country. A total of 370 people are in treatment for COVID-19 and another 279 are being observed in isolation for having tested positive for the disease without showing symptoms. Four new cases were announced Friday in Liaoning, along with another five cases in Beijing.

To this end, China is urging tens of millions of migrant workers to stay put during next month's annual Lunar New Year holiday, usually the world's largest annual human migration.&nbsp;

Classes are also being dismissed a week earlier than usual and tourists are being told not to come to Beijing for holidays.

Two major airports in northeastern China now require that the departing passengers should show a negative coronavirus test taken over the previous 72 hours before they can board their planes.

Two major airports in northeastern China now require that the departing passengers should show a negative coronavirus test taken over the previous 72 hours before they can board their planes. The requirements by the Shenyang and Dalian airports come amid a small but persistent growth in cases in the two cities located in Liaoning province just north of the capital Beijing, and the confirmation of the first mutant virus in the country. China on Friday reported a total of 19 new virus cases, including 10 that were brought from outside the country. A total of 370 people are in treatment for COVID-19 and another 279 are being observed in isolation for having tested positive for the disease without showing symptoms. Four new cases were announced Friday in Liaoning, along with another five cases in Beijing. To this end, China is urging tens of millions of migrant workers to stay put during next month's annual Lunar New Year holiday, usually the world's largest annual human migration. Classes are also being dismissed a week earlier than usual and tourists are being told not to come to Beijing for holidays.

Two Chinese airports now require coronavirus test results to let you travel further

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