WHO 'will not endorse' Covid-19 vaccine if not safe – latest updates

Friday, September 4, 2020

WHO says won't vaccine if not safe, effective

The World Health Organization has insisted it would never endorse a vaccine that has not proven safe and effective, amid concerns over the rush to develop a jab for Covid-19.

Across the globe, governments are hoping to deploy a vaccine as soon as possible against the virus, which has infected well over 26 million people, killed hundreds of thousands, upended millions of lives and wreaked havoc on the global economy.

Under normal procedures, test administrators must wait for months or years to verify that vaccine candidates are safe and efficacious.

But as the pandemic continues to take a devastating toll, there has been massive pressure to roll out a vaccine quickly, sparking concerns that testing standards could be lowered.

Turkey reports over 1,600 infections, 53 deaths

Turkey has reported over 1,600 infections over the past 24 hours, the country's health minister said.

Citing Health Ministry data, Fahrettin Koca said 1,612 new cases have raised the country's overall count to 276,555.

The death toll in the country rose to 6,564 as 53 more people died over the past day, he said.

He also said 1,021 more patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 249,108.

France reports nearly 9,000 cases

France recorded almost 9,000 new cases, setting a record since the beginning of the pandemic, while more people were also hospitalised as a result of the disease.

Health authorities said in a statement that there had been 8,975 new confirmed cases, almost 1,500 higher than the previous March 31 daily peak of 7,578, when France was in one of Europe's strictest coronavirus lockdowns.

The surge in parts of France, which is partially due to increased testing, has meant a dozen schools have been forced to close just days into the new academic year.

UK records 1,940 new cases

The United Kingdom has recorded 1,940 new daily confirmed cases, the highest since May 30, health officials said.

Daily case numbers had been rising at about 1,000 a day for most of August, but have started to increase in recent days. Britain's testing capacity has also increased since the peak of the first wave earlier this year.

Russia's vaccine shows antibody response

Russia's "Sputnik-V" Covid-19 vaccine produced an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials, according to results published by The Lancet medical journal that were hailed by Moscow as an answer to its critics.

The results of the two trials, conducted in June-July this year and involving 76 participants, showed 100 percent of participants developing antibodies to the new coronavirus and no serious side effects, The Lancet said.

Russia licensed the two-shot jab for domestic use in August, the first country to do so and before any data had been published or a large-scale trial begun.

New Zealand records first Covid-19 death since May

New Zealand has recorded its first coronavirus death in more than three months.

A man in his 50s succumbed to the virus on Friday.

Health officials said the man was part of a second-wave cluster of infections that emerged in Auckland last month, ending a spell of 102 days free of community transmission in the South Pacific nation.

The death at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital on Friday afternoon takes New Zealand's death toll from the virus to 23, with the most recent previous fatality on May 24.

India reports daily jump of 83,341 infections

The number of people infected with the coronavirus in India rose by another 83,341 and is near Brazil’s total, the second-highest in the world.

India’s total has now passed 3.9 million, according to the Health Ministry. Brazil has confirmed more than 4 million infections while the U.S. has more 6.1 million people infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.

India’s Health Ministry on Friday also reported 1,096 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 68,472. 

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 782 

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 782 to 246,948 on Friday, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. 

Australia's Victoria state reports 81 new cases

Australia's coronavirus hotspot Victoria state said its death toll from the virus rose by 59 and there were 81 new cases.

The death tally includes 50 people in aged-care facilities who died in July and August, the state health department said in a tweet. Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, reported 15 deaths and 113 cases a day earlier.

The state capital, Melbourne, is nearing the end of a six-week lockdown put in place to slow the spread of the virus but authorities said restrictions may continue beyond the planned end date after daily cases rose on Thursday. 

Ukraine reports record daily jump in cases

Ukraine registered a record 2,723 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, according to the Worldometer tracker website, up from a previous record of 2,495 cases.

Ukraine has imposed a temporary ban on most foreigners from entering the country until September 28 and extended lockdown measures until the end of October to contain a recent spike in cases.

It has so far reported a total of 130,951 infections

Mainland China reports 25 new cases vs 11 a day earlier

Mainland China reported 25 new Covid-19 cases on September 3, up from 11 reported a day earlier, the country's national health authority said on Friday.

The National Health Commission said in a statement that all new cases were imported infections originating from overseas, marking the 19th consecutive day with no locally transmitted infections.

The number of new asymptomatic cases also rose to 26 from 12 a day earlier. China does not count symptomless infections as confirmed Covid-19 cases, however.

The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases for mainland China now stands at 85,012, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,634.

Mexico records 5,937 new cases, 513 more deaths

Mexico's health ministry on Thursday reported 5,937 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 513 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 616,894 cases and 66,329 deaths.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases. 

Brazil's cases pass the 4 million mark - ministry

Brazil has recorded more than 4 million confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 43,773 new cases and 834 deaths from the disease caused by the virus reported in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday.

Brazil has registered 4,041,638 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from Covid-19 has risen to 124,614, according to ministry data, in the world's worst coronavirus outbreak outside the United States.

Mexico has world's most health worker deaths - Amnesty Int'l

More health workers have died from the coronavirus in Mexico than any other country on the planet, Amnesty International said on Thursday, highlighting the high toll the pandemic was taking on frontline medical staff around the globe.

At least 7,000 health workers around the world have died after becoming infected with the coronavirus, including 1,320 in Mexico, Amnesty said.

Other countries with high mortality rates include the United States, Brazil and India, where health worker death tolls stand at 1,077, 634 and 573.

Atletico's Costa and Arias test positive 

Spanish striker Diego Costa and Colombian defender Santiago Arias have both tested positive for Covid-19, their club Atletico Madrid said on Thursday.

Before the resumption of training on Friday, the entire first-team squad underwent tests except for Costa and Arias.

"The team has been tested except for those involved in international fixtures with their countries," said an Atletico statement.

"Diego Costa and Santiago Arias, who tested positive during their holidays, are currently isolating and show no symptoms.

"Both players are staying at home complying with all protocols and measures set by the authorities and La Liga.

"Therefore, they will not resume training on Sept. 4 and their return is expected after completing their quarantine."

Mandanda tests positive, out of French squad

Goalkeeper Steve Mandanda was withdrawn from the French squad to face Sweden and Croatia in upcoming UEFA Nations League clashes after returning a positive Covid-19 test, officials announced on Thursday.

Mandanda will on Friday leave the squad before they depart for Solna where the world champions face Sweden on Saturday.

He will also miss the game against Croatia next Thursday.

The 35-year-old returned a positive test on Wednesday.

"The goalkeeper carried out a second PCR test during the day. This new test was also positive. Steve Mandanda will therefore not be able to participate in the match in Sweden," said the France team in a statement.

Mandanda has been in a training "bubble" before the trip to Sweden and, like all his teammates, had previously tested negative.

The keeper plays at Marseille, where several cases of Covid-19 have been detected in recent weeks.

Paris Saint-Germain reports 3 more cases

French football powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is growing increasingly concerned after three more players tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday.

PSG said on Twitter that the latest SARS-CoV-2 tests confirmed there were "three new positive cases" within the team and the infected players are complying with the appropriate health protocols.

On Wednesday, the club said three of its players were confirmed positive and are following health protocols.

The Paris club did not provide the names of the six players.