Coronavirus vaccine

South Korea and Hong Kong administered their first coronavirus vaccines to their citizens this week. South Korea got its first round of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines on Saturday from the COVAX program run by the World Health Organization and began administering them on Friday at long-term care facilities, the Associated Press reported . Hong Kong has already filled up registrations for the coronavirus vaccine for the first two weeks where they will use the vaccine by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac. ADVERTISEMENT Both countries, like others around the world, saw a spike in cases over the winter and are working to recover from the outbreak. South Korea has had over 88,000 confirmed cases of the virus with over 1,500 deaths. Hong Kong has had over 10,000 confirmed cases and a little under 200 deaths. South Korea will be prioritizing those at long-term health care facilities and frontline workers in the first round of vaccinations. The … [Read more...] about South Korea, Hong Kong administer first coronavirus vaccines

HANOI: Vietnam is expected to get access to the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines within the first quarter under the COVAX coronavirus vaccine sharing scheme, its government said on Friday (Feb 5). The World Health Organization is working with Vietnam's health ministry over the use of COVAX vaccines in the country, the government said in a statement. The COVAX vaccine-sharing facility has allocated at least 330 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for poorer countries and will aim to deliver these and many millions more in the first half of 2021. The health ministry on Jan 30 approved the vaccine from AstraZeneca for domestic inoculations. READ: Vietnam shuts schools due to COVID-19 outbreak ahead of Lunar New Year The government has said it would buy up to 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine and the first batch would arrive by the end of March. Vietnam reported 19 more COVID-19 cases on Friday and said a recent outbreak had expanded to at least 11 cities and … [Read more...] about Vietnam to access its first COVAX coronavirus vaccines in Q1

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved storing Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at standard freezer temperatures, helping ease storage requirements that could make delivery of the vaccine easier. The Pfizer vaccine had previously been required to be stored in ultra-cold freezers at minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit to minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit. That posed a challenge for distribution of the vaccine in places like rural areas or lower income countries that do not have widespread ultra-cold storage capability. The new move will allow the vaccine to be stored at “conventional temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for a period of up to two weeks.” ADVERTISEMENT “This alternative temperature for transportation and storage of the undiluted vials is significant and allows the vials to be transported and stored under more flexible conditions,” Peter Marks, a top FDA vaccine official, said in a statement. “The alternative temperature for … [Read more...] about FDA approves storing Pfizer vaccine at standard freezer temperature

Two new British studies published late Thursday found that a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine may offer significant protection for people who have already been infected with COVID-19. The studies, published in the weekly peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet, provide further evidence for increased calls among experts to give only one dose to individuals that are already carrying antibodies against the virus. “This could potentially accelerate vaccine rollout,” r esearchers at University College London and Public Health England said in one of the studies . “With increasing variants (UK, South Africa, Brazil), wider coverage without compromising vaccine-induced immunity could help reduce variant emergence.” ADVERTISEMENT The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, the two inoculations currently approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), require two doses administered weeks apart. The Johnson & Johnson … [Read more...] about One dose of Pfizer vaccine offers significant protection for those who have had COVID: studies

Buckingham Palace announced Saturday that Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh have both been inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine, the BBC reported. The Queen and Prince Philip received the shots on Saturday at Windsor Castle, putting them among the nearly 1.5 million U.K. residents who have gotten at least the first dose of the vaccine since its rollout, the BBC reported. The royal pair, who are both in their 90s, are also included in Britain's high-priority group of citizens age 80 and over who have been first to receive the vaccine. ADVERTISEMENT The BBC, citing a source close to the royals, reported that the Queen decided to allow the public to know about her vaccination in an attempt to end further speculation. During 2020, the Queen spent seven months without making public appearances outside the palace. The outlet reported that her oldest son, Prince Charles, and her grandson Prince William both tested positive for the coronavirus during that time. … [Read more...] about Queen, Prince Philip receive COVID-19 vaccine