Page 95 - Heca News Today

South Africa has asked Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer to delay delivery of COVID-19 vaccines because it now has too much stock, health ministry officials said, as vaccine hesitancy slows an inoculation campaign.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday the issue of "anomalous health incidents" - widely known as Havana Syndrome - is a top priority and it will continue to investigate the cause of such incidents and how to protect staff.

Bharat Biotech's vaccine was only 50% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in a high-risk population during a devastating second wave of infections in India this year, data gleaned from hospital workers showed.

Sweden will begin gradually rolling out COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to all adult Swedes following the surge in cases elsewhere in Europe, government and health officials said on Wednesday.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus will continue to spread intensely as societies return to the social mixing and mobility of a pre-pandemic period, the World Health Organisation's (WHO) emergency director Mike Ryan said on Wednesday.

France will announce new COVID-19 containment measures on Thursday as infection rates surge nationwide, but does not plan a new lockdown like some other European Union countries.

The Czech Republic reported its highest daily rise in new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, with cases surpassing 25,000 for the first time and putting further strain on hospitals.

Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday Canada gave full approval to its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 years and older, making it the first full approval for the vaccine globally.

Germany's prospective three-party government plans to cut prices retroactively for recently-launched prescription drugs to keep healthcare expenses under control, the coalition agreement showed on Wednesday.

A leader of Germany's Greens, set to be part of a new government, expressed support on Wednesday for mandatory vaccinations as the number of infections jumped again.