By Swati Pandey SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists have raised questions over the efficacy of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in establishing herd immunity, calling for a pause on its widespread rollout as the country recorded one new coronavirus case on Wednesday. The opposition to the vaccine casts a cloud over Australia s immunisation plans with 53 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab already on hand. The question is really whether it is able to provide herd immunity. We are playing a long game here. We don t know how long that will take, said Professor Stephen Turner, the president of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology (ASI). Turner added that the government must pivot towards getting more of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. Experts, including Turner, cited data showing the AstraZeneca jab had 62% efficacy compared with over 90% for the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine. In a statement, the ASI said Turner was speaking as an expert in immunology and that the body di
BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported its biggest jump in COVID-19 cases in more than 10 months as infections in northeastern Heilongjiang province nearly tripled, underscoring the growing threat ahead of a major national holiday when hundreds of millions of people usually travel. Aggressive containment measures including lockdowns, travel curbs and mass screenings have helped China bring cases down to a fraction of what it saw at the height of the pandemic in early 2020. But the country has yet to be able to completely stamp out the disease, which has now killed nearly 2 million worldwide, even as COVID-19 vaccinations have begun. The National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement that 138 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Jan. 13, up from 115 cases a day earlier and marking the highest jump since March 5. China also reported one new death, the first increase in the death toll since mid-May. This flareup, concentrated in the northeast, which is now seeing its worst wave yet, coin
Published January 13. 2021 4:01PM | Updated January 13. 2021 7:44PM Get the weekly rundown Email Submit
New London The city’s Office of Community and Economic Development has announced the second phase of its Small Business Emergency Relief Grant program to offer financial assistance to small businesses and nonprofit organizations impacted by COVID-19.
The city has designated $57,000 of CARES Act funding for this second phase of the program to provide short-term assistance for utility bills. The city handed out $169,000 in the first round.
Grants from $500 to $1,500 are available to qualifying businesses and organizations, based on demonstrated need and priority points. While not all applicants will be awarded the maximum amount, the city will make a fair and equitable determination for all qualified applicants based on demonstrated need provided.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China reported its biggest jump in COVID-19 cases in more than 10 months as infections in northeastern Heilongjiang province nearly tripled, underscoring the growing threat ahead of a major national holiday when hundreds of millions of people usually travel. Aggressive containment measures including lockdowns, travel curbs and mass screenings have helped China bring cases down to a fraction of what it saw at the height of the pandemic in early 2020. But the country has yet to be able to completely stamp out the disease, which has now killed nearly 2 million worldwide, even as COVID-19 vaccinations have begun. The National Health Commission (NHC) said in a statement that 138 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Jan. 13, up from 115 cases a day earlier and marking the highest jump since March 5. China also reported one new death, the first increase in the death toll since mid-May. This flareup, concentrated in the northeast, which is now seeing its worst wave yet, coin