Coronavirus

WASHINGTON, U.S.--The WHO said Tuesday that 348 probable cases of hepatitis of unknown origin had been identified, as studies into the potential role of adenovirus and COVID-19 infection gather pace.

BERLIN, Germany--Immune cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 can trigger a massive inflammatory response that contributes to severe COVID-19, suggest two papers — one published today in Nature, and a preprint posted online on 1 April.

NEW YORK, U.S.--Various health problems reported by people after receiving one of the COVID-19 vaccine shots are more likely to have been caused by the vaccines than to be coincidental, according to an analysis of data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

UTTAR PRADESH, India--Facilities for storing dead bodies at hospitals and public mortuaries in Hong Kong are struggling to maintain tempo with a file quantity of Covid-19 infections and deaths, eclipsing authorities making an attempt to manage a deepening outbreak.

WASHINGTON, U.S.-Pollution by states and companies is contributing to more deaths globally than COVID-19, a U.N. environmental report published on Tuesday said, calling for "immediate and ambitious action" to ban some toxic chemicals.

MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.--As weary Americans hold out hope that the decline of Omicron signals an end to the pandemic’s emergency phase, physicians who treat long COVID are worried about the potential for a new wave of cases.

MOSCOW, Russia--Sputnik V is playing the key role in the vaccination campaign in Mexico’s capital with over 3 million citizens of Mexico City already administered the Russian vaccine.

JAKARTA, Indonesia--The widely predicted third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is now raging, driven mainly by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus, which has been spreading like wildfire in other parts of the world.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--It has been more than two years since the COVID-19 pandemic started in Wuhan, China, and the world is getting tired of the various restrictions imposed, affecting personal liberty and livelihood.

NICOSIA, Cyprus--Minister of  Health Michael Hadjipantela said on Saturday that Deltacron, a new variant of COVID-19 found in Cyprus, was not something to worry about.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--MAECC has been correct all along in arguing that if ivermectin was mass distributed as prophylaxis and early treatment, the infection and mortality rates would be reduced, and the epidemic brought to a quick halt.

BANGKOK, Thailand--Studies have found that two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine will only provide 50 per cent protection from the Omicron variant compared to the Delta variant, according to Dr Chalermchai Boonyaleepun, vice chairman of the Public Health Commission.

NEW YORK, U.S.--There is now “consistent evidence” that the Omicron variant is outpacing Delta, as COVID-19 continues to account for around 50,000 deaths worldwide every week, said the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday.

MOSCOW, Russia-- A preliminary laboratory study conducted by the Gamaleya Center has demonstrated that the Sputnik V vaccine and the one-shot Sputnik Light booster (based on human adenovirus serotype 26, the first component of Sputnik V) are effective against Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of COVID, providing for better protection when compared to other vaccines.

NEW YORK, U.S.--Arguing that the world “cannot defeat a pandemic in an uncoordinated way”, the UN Secretary-General said on Thursday that countries “must take concrete action in the coming days” to vaccinate 40 per cent of the world’s population by the end of the year.  

LONDON, UK--The US death toll from Covid-19 has passed 800,000, a once-unimaginable figure seen as doubly tragic given that more than 200,000 of those lives were lost after vaccines became available last spring.

NEW YORK, U.S.--The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to halt two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage, according to reports released on Sunday from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Bank, which reveal more than half a billion people are being pushed into extreme poverty because they have to pay for health services out of their own pockets.

NEW DELHI, India--According to an investigation by the UK-based Channel 4, drug major Pfizer allegedly paid experts to lie about Covid vaccine made by its rival AstraZeneca along with Oxford University. Pfizer has denied the claims being made in the investigative report to be aired on Friday.

NEW YORK, U.S.--President Joe Biden said on Nov. 29 that amid the worldwide spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, he doesn’t anticipate shutdowns or lockdowns being enacted this winter if “people are vaccinated” and wear a mask.