Europe prepares for Moderna vaccine rollout as fears grow over virus variants reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PARIS, FRANCE The spread of more infectious coronavirus strains in Britain and South Africa, with isolated cases of the U.K. variant appearing in dozens of countries, has made inoculating a maximum number of people as quickly as possible more urgent than ever, experts say. Here s a rundown on how the vaccination story is unfolding:
HOW MANY VACCINES? Drugmakers worldwide defied predictions by finalising not just one vaccine in record time, but half a dozen. To have multiple vaccines authorized before the end of 2020 is truly remarkable, said Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Wednesday approved the U.S.-made Moderna vaccine, having already given a green light December 27 to one made by Pfizer/BioNTech for use in the European Union.
The mutated strain of the coronavirus identified only recently in England is likely to have already spread throughout the United States, experts said Tuesday, even though itâs only been officially detected in isolated pockets of a handful of states so far. The strain is much more transmissible than the previous dominant strain, the latest evidence shows, and if something isnât done quickly to rein in its spread, the pandemic could become dramatically more deadly on a daily basis.
The new strain, also called a variant, has
not evolved to be inherently more deadly nor cause worse symptoms. But because it spreads more readily, it fuels an exponential spike in cases, as occurred in England, and the end result will be a burgeoning death toll in subsequent weeks.
Synopsis
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Wednesday approved the US-made Moderna vaccine, having already given a green light December 27 to one made by Pfizer/BioNTech for use in the European Union.
Agencies
The virus is still raging across much of the world, and the threat of a strain could be up to 70 percent more contagious.
Paris: The spread of more infectious coronavirus strains in Britain and South Africa, with isolated cases of the UK variant appearing in dozens of countries, has made inoculating a maximum number of people as quickly as possible more urgent than ever, experts say.
Here s a rundown on how the vaccination story is unfolding:
U S could see up to 150,000 more COVID-19 deaths by February as new strain takes hold, expert warns morningstar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from morningstar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.