London: As public health officials worldwide mount vaccination campaigns against COVID-19, a new SARS-CoV-2 variant has rapidly taken hold in the UK, leading scientists to investigate if it carries any implications for the transmissibility of the virus, severity of infection, and success of a vaccine, though experts say it is unlikely to hamper vaccination efforts….
USA: The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use recently, clearing the way for millions of highly vulnerable people to begin receiving the vaccine within days. The authorization is a historic turning point in a pandemic that has taken more than 290,000 lives in the United States. With the decision, the United…
New Delhi: BJP minister who took India-made coronavirus vaccine contracts virus An Indian health minister, who recently took the India-made coronavirus vaccine, has contracted the virus. In a tweet, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said he tested positive for the coronavirus. “I am admitted in Civil Hospital Ambala Cantt. All those who have come in…
LONDON: Britain approved Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine on 2 Dec 2020, jumping ahead of the rest of the world in the race to begin the most crucial mass inoculation programme in history. Prime Minister Boris Johnson touted the green light from Britain’s medicine authority as a global win and a ray of hope for the…
USA: Moderna Inc recently said that it has applied for U.S. emergency authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine after full results from a late-stage study showed it was 94.1% effective with no serious safety concerns. A shot developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE that was 95% effective in its pivotal trial is set to be…
LONDON: Deaths from malaria due to disruptions during the coronavirus pandemic to services designed to tackle the mosquito-borne disease will far exceed those killed by Covid-19 in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned. More than 409,000 people globally – most of them babies in the poorest parts of Africa – were killed by…
A recent study has shown that aprotinin, a drug that reduces the risk of bleeding during surgery, can stop the novel coronavirus from entering host cells. The drug could serve to prevent severe cases of COVID-19, the authors say. With a number of vaccines on the way, there is now light at the end of the tunnel…
Japan: A shop in Japan has enlisted a robot to ensure customers are wearing masks, as the country prepares for a possible third wave of coronavirus infections. Robovie, developed by the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Kyoto, is able to pick out customers who aren’t wearing masks and politely ask them to cover up. It can also intervene when…
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently recorded 65 cases of the coronavirus among staff based at its headquarters, including at least one cluster of infections, an internal email obtained by this news agency shows, despite the agency’s past assertions that there has been no transmission at the Geneva site. The revelation comes amid…
LONDON: Painkiller aspirin will be evaluated as a possible treatment for COVID-19 in one of Britain’s biggest trials, which will assess whether it might reduce the risk of blood clots in people with the disease. The scientists behind the RECOVERY trial, which is looking into a range of potential treatments for COVID-19, said it would…
Medical News is the only periodical in Pakistan which has 3 simultaneous editions from Karachi, Islamabad and online.
