What data is Israel actually giving Pfizer?
Experts are alarmed about possible breaches of confidentiality and the lack of transparency in Israel s vaccine deal with Pfizer.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed over the weekend the main reason why Israel is receiving so many vaccine doses so quickly, mainly from Pfizer but also from Moderna. He said that Israel would lead the world out of the pandemic by the end of March and would serve as a large global testing laboratory for the efficacy of the vaccine. Netanyahu explained that Israel would share with Pfizer and Moderna data that would help them continue their R&D on Covid-19 vaccine and other treatments.
BORDER FORCE
More than 50 countries now banning flights from UK as mutant Covid strain continues to cause travel chaos
Updated: 23 Dec 2020, 0:29
MORE than 50 countries have now banned flights coming from the UK as the new mutant strain of coronavirus rips through Britain.
The Caribbean destinations of Jamaica, Grenada and the Dominican Republic are among the latest to shut their doors to travellers from the UK.
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A traveller arrives at the Airport of Bilbao after the last flight from London landed in Loiu, northern SpainCredit: EPA
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Boris Johnson cancelled a planned relaxation of lockdown measures over Christmas amid concern over the new strainCredit: Reuters
Updated: 21 Dec 2020, 18:50
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THE mutant Covid strain currently sweeping across the UK was first spotted in Brazil eight months ago, scientists have revealed.
Studies have shown the mutation, known as N501Y, was first spotted in April before appearing in Australia and the US.
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Boris Johnson introduced harsh tier 4 restrictions in London and the south-east because of the fast-spreading new variantCredit: Reuters
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A number of countries have slapped a ban on flights from the UK due to the new Covid strainCredit: AFP or licensors
A mutation has occurred in the spike protein, the part of the virus that attaches itself to cells and causes illness, and the part targeted by the Covid-19 vaccines.
Britain branded a ‘disaster’ as mutant Covid spreads to six countries and 40 nations ban UK flights
Updated: 22 Dec 2020, 11:44
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THE UK has been branded a disaster as a mutant strain of the coronavirus causes chaos and 40 countries place bans on British flights.
The new strain, thought to be up to 70 per cent more infectious than the original, was first detected in London earlier this month and has now been identified in at least six other territories around the world.
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Boris Johnson cancelled a planned relaxation of lockdown measures over Christmas amid concern over the new strainCredit: Reuters
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The mutation s spread prompted dozens of countries around the world to impose travel bans on flight from the UKCredit: AFP or licensors
Covid vaccine
As Jerusalem prepares for the planned rollout of its national COVID-19 vaccination campaign next week, Israeli health officials are grappling with how to convince a largely skeptical population to receive shots whose rapid development has raised concerns over the possibility of side effects.
Israel has ordered millions of doses of the vaccine, which were jointly developed by the pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and BioNTech in less than a year far shorter than the usual decade-long process and relied on novel techniques not commonly used in the industry. But while clinical human testing has found the vaccine to be over 90% effective and it has already begun being administered in the United States and United Kingdom, many around the world have expressed significant reservations.