A new study says two doses of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca COVID vaccine work effectively against the Delta variant considered to be highly infectious. Here are five updates about the pandemic this Thursday.
Pfizer-BioNTech to produce COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa
Pfizer and BioNTech say they have reached an agreement with Biovac, a South Africa-based company, for the production of COVID-19 vaccine for the African Union (AU).
According to a statement released on Wednesday, the development process will commence immediately.
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“To facilitate Biovac’s involvement in the process, technical transfer, on-site development and equipment installation activities will begin immediately,” the statement reads.
The development is expected to bridge the gap of unequal vaccine distribution between rich and poor countries.
France introduces new COVID measure amid spike in cases
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France has introduced a new COVID-19 measure aimed at reducing the spread of infections.
France is at the threshold of a fourth wave of the pandemic.
Inline with the measure, visitors to cinemas, museums, sports matches and other cultural venues will now be required to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19, a negative test, or recent recovery from the virus.
The measure will be extended to patrons of restaurants, cafés and shopping centres in August.
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US extends closure of borders with Mexico, Canada
The United States has extended the closure of its land borders with Mexico and Canada for another one month to curb the spread of COVID.
According to US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the border will remain close to non-essential travel.
The closure will be in place until August 21.
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The US suspended non-essential travel from Mexico and Canada in March 2020 owing to the pandemic and has extended the closure on a monthly basis since then.
Twelve people test positive for COVID at Tokyo Olympics
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At least 12 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday — relating to the Tokyo Olympics.
The Tokyo Games organising committee reported the 12 new positive COVID-19 cases.
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So far, a total of 87 people associated with the games have tested positive for the infection in Tokyo since visitors started arriving for the games.
Pfizer, AstraZeneca COVID vaccines effective against Delta variant
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A new study says two doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines work effectively against Delta, the highly infections variant.
According to the findings published on Wednesday by Public Health England, a study of 19,000 people found that both doses of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines help protect against symptoms from both the Alpha also known as the UK variant and Delta variants at same rate.
“Only modest differences in vaccine effectiveness were noted with the delta variant as compared with the alpha variant after the receipt of two vaccine doses,” the researchers said.
“Absolute differences in vaccine effectiveness were more marked after the receipt of the first dose. This finding would support efforts to maximize vaccine uptake with two doses among vulnerable populations.”
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