Category Archives: Coronavirus

Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine poses global logistics challenge

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Europe and US create vast facilities for Covid-19 vaccine but poorer nations lack infrastructure, say experts

Two vast football-pitch-sized facilities equipped with hundreds of large freezers in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Puurs, Belgium, will be the centres of the huge effort to ship the coronavirus vaccine, developed by US drug giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech, around the world.

Governments are scrambling to prepare for the rollout of the vaccine, which must be stored at -70C (-94F), after the announcement from the two companies that it was more than 90% effective and had no serious side-effects. The news sparked hopes of a return to normal life and a stock market rally, but now minds are turning to the practicalities of getting the vaccine quickly to populations across the world, in particular to the vulnerable people who need it most.

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Can Joe Biden and Kamala Harris unite America after Trump – video explainer

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When Joe Biden formally takes over the presidency in January he will face some of the greatest crises to hit the US in recent history: a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans, a devastated economy, a rapidly overheating climate and a deeply fractured nation.

The Guardian's Lauren Gambino looks at how Biden and the vice-president-elect, Kamala Harris, plan to 'heal' the country after four years of Trumpism – and the challenges they will face with the prospect of having to navigate these times without a majority in the Senate

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6 key questions about the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine

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There are grounds for optimism but also several unknowns around this coronavirus vaccine

Hopes that the end of the coronavirus pandemic has become nearer have soared after the news that a coronavirus vaccine was found to be 90% effective in global trials.

Although there is definite reason to be optimistic, experts have cautioned that the data from the trials conducted by Pfizer and BioNTech are not final, and there remain plenty of unknowns.

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Coronavirus live news: Italy tightens rules in five regions as Europe death toll set to pass 300,000

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Italy imposes tougher restrictions as cases continue to rise; authorities across Europe fear infections and deaths will continue to rise

Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen unit has received the green light to carry out late stage trials for its vaccine in Mexico, the country’s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard has said.

He said the US vaccine developer Novavax Inc earlier this month also presented health authorities with a request to conduct phase 3 testing in Mexico.

Four judicial investigations have been opened in France into the authorities’ response to the Covid epidemic, the Paris prosecutor’s department has said. The prosecutor opened a preliminary inquiry in June to determine whether any criminal offences might have been committed.

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Wales government says there will be no GCSEs or A-levels next summer

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Education minister says teacher-managed assessments will replace exams in 2021

There will be no end of year exams for GCSE, A-level and AS-level students in Wales next summer, the Welsh government has said.

The education minister, Kirsty Williams, said that in place of exams the government would work with schools and colleges to carry out teacher-managed assessments.

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Saeb Erekat, veteran Palestinian peace negotiator, dies after Covid diagnosis

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Key PLO figure and advocate for two-state solution dies aged 65

Saeb Erekat, the veteran Palestinian peace negotiator and one of the most high-profile figures in its leadership since the early 1990s, has died after contracting coronavirus.

Erekat, a lawmaker from Jericho in the occupied West Bank, was a senior adviser to the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and also worked for Abbas’s predecessor, Yasser Arafat. He served as the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

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From schoolboy to tea seller: Covid poverty forces India’s children into work

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The pandemic has pushed millions of urban poor into crisis – and left children struggling to help their families survive

Subhan Shaikh used to start the day with a cup of cinnamon-flavoured tea, brought to him by his mother, Sitara, before he got ready for school. But the lockdown in March brought her salary as a school bus attendant to an end, and providing food – never mind tea – for Subhan, 14, and his two younger sisters, became a challenge.

Today, life for Subhan revolves around tea, which has become a lifeline for his family. After seeing his mother struggle, Subhan decided to do something and became a tea seller on the streets of Mumbai.

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People plan to drive more post-Covid, climate poll shows

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Exclusive: Gap between actions and beliefs threatens green recovery from pandemic

People are planning to drive more in future than they did before the coronavirus pandemic, a survey suggests, even though the overwhelming majority accept human responsibility for the climate crisis.

The apparent disconnect between beliefs and actions raises fears that without strong political intervention, these actions could undermine efforts to meet the targets set in the Paris agreement and hopes of a green recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

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Nearly one in five Covid patients later diagnosed with mental illness – study

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US data shows nearly twice as many diagnoses over three months among those testing positive

Nearly one in five people who have had Covid-19 are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months of testing positive for the virus, according to a study that suggests action is needed to mitigate the mental health toll of the pandemic.

The analysis – conducted by researchers from the University of Oxford and NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre – also found that people with a pre-existing mental health diagnosis were 65% more likely to be diagnosed with Covid-19 than those without, even accounting for known risk factors such as age, sex, race, and underlying physical conditions.

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Joe Biden vows to ‘spare no effort’ in tackling Covid as US sees record cases

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President-elect warned the US is ‘facing a very dark winter’ as 200,000 more could die before a vaccine becomes available

Joe Biden vowed on Monday to spare no effort in tackling the coronavirus pandemic as soon as he enters the White House and warned the US is “facing a very dark winter”.

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Donald Trump fires defense secretary Mark Esper – US politics live

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Another adviser to Donald Trump has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus, amid an apparent outbreak among the president’s team.

According to Bloomberg News, David Bossie has now tested positive for the virus.

BREAKING: Trump outside adviser David Bossie tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday, sources tell me.

Susan Collins has become one of the few Republican lawmakers to congratulate Joe Biden on his victory in the presidential election.

“First, I would offer my congratulations to President-elect Biden on his apparent victory – he loves this country, and I wish him every success. Presidential transitions are important, and the President-elect and the Vice-President-elect should be given every opportunity to ensure that they are ready to govern on January 20th,” Collins said in a new statement.

My statement on the 2020 Presidential election results: pic.twitter.com/8NY1WpaJpC

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‘Very early days’: Johnson says UK cannot yet rely on Covid vaccine – video

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Boris Johnson has welcomed the promising news about the BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine and said the UK was at 'the front of the pack' if and when it becomes available. At a Downing Street briefing, however, the prime minister also cautioned that it was 'very early days'. He said the vaccine still needed to be peer reviewed and clear any potential safety hurdles. 'We cannot rely on this news as a solution,' he said. 'The biggest mistake we could make now would be to slacken our resolve at a critical moment'

UK rollout of Covid vaccine could start before Christmas

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Hopes rise for end of pandemic as Pfizer says vaccine is 90% effective

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Global stocks surge and experts optimistic as Covid vaccine exceeds expectations

Hopes are soaring that a Covid vaccine is within reach, following news that an interim analysis has shown Pfizer/BioNTech’s candidate was 90% effective in protecting people from transmission of the virus in global trials.

The vaccine performed much better than most experts had hoped for, according to the companies’ analysis, and brings into view a potential end to a pandemic that has killed more than a million people, battered economies and upended daily life worldwide.

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Joe Biden: US still facing ‘very dark winter’ despite promising coronavirus vaccine news – video

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President-elect Joe Biden said the months ahead would still be very difficult for the United States, despite the encouraging news about Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

Biden said it would be 'many months' before the vaccine was widely available, warning that another 200,000 Americans could die of coronavirus in the coming months.

Biden also spoke about his coronavirus taskforce and urged Americans to wear face masks to limit the spread of the virus

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Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine announcement is cause for cautious celebration

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Interim trial results are encouraging as scientists welcome news

It is not yet the end of the pandemic, but the announcement by Pfizer/BioNTech that their vaccine has been 90% successful in the vital large-scale trials has got even the soberest of scientists excited.

These are interim results and the trial will continue into December to collect more data. The two companies – a tiny German biotech with the big idea and the giant pharma company Pfizer with the means to develop it – have not yet published their detailed data, so it is all on trust. And yet, nobody is suggesting the results have been over-egged. It looks as though the vaccine not only works, but works better than anyone hoped.

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US coronavirus cases near 10m as Ben Carson reportedly tests positive

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US saw more than 100,000 cases per day for five days, and expert warns of 100,000 more deaths by January

The US recorded more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases for a fifth day in a row on Sunday, as total cases neared 10m and the death toll passed 237,000.

Related: Covid-19 vaccine candidate is 90% effective, says manufacturer

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Global report: new Covid lockdown in Hungary as Belgium passes second peak

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Portugal imposes state of emergency; global cases pass 50m; infections in Germany ‘levelling off’

Hungary and Portugal have become the latest countries in Europe to impose tough new restrictions to stem the second wave of the coronavirus, as the first signs of light at the end of the tunnel emerged in France, Germany and Belgium.

As the US pharmaceuticals company Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, said their experimental Covid-19 vaccine appeared safe and more than 90% effective, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, announced a partial lockdown.

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Italy faces 10,000 Covid deaths in a month with no lockdown – medics

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Doctors urge tougher national action as hospitals struggle to treat coronavirus patients

Doctors in Italy have warned there will be an additional 10,000 Covid-19 deaths in a month in the country unless a national lockdown is imposed.

The government is moving toward placing further restrictions in four more regions considered high risk: Campania, Liguria, Abruzzo and Umbria.

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Foreign spies could target Australian politicians using ‘unwitting relatives or friends’, Asio warns – politics live

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Federal parliament returns; Asio chief warns of ‘real threat’ from foreign spies; incoming Biden administration vows to sign back up to Paris agreement. Follow all the updates

The Senate has just voted up a motion rebuking the government over the weakness of its preferred model of National Integrity Commission.

The motion was voted up 28 to 25 with Labor, Centre Alliance, Rex Patrick, Jacqui Lambie and One Nation combining to warn the Coalition over the draft bill’s inadequacies.

Greens senator Larissa Waters motion stated:

Senate just passed a motion 28:25 for a strong corruption watchdog, listing all of the features the Gov’s weak model leaves out. A defacto vote on the Gov’s bill - the Senate can see through the fig leaf of the Gov’s belated and pathetic model that wouldn’t stop a thing! #auspol

Richard Marles says Labor is not pursing a royal commission into the Murdoch media empire and will “let Kevin speak for himself”.

Andrew Leigh officially tabled the Kevin Rudd-led petition, which had more than 500,000 signatures, in the parliament today.

We have talked about our position in relation to the media over a long period of time. Now, this is not something we have been considering. This is something Kevin Rudd has been pursuing in his capacity as a private citizen. I mean, I obviously note it is a significant petition in terms of those who have signed up to it and it has been presented to the parliament appropriately. That is where the matter is that in terms of the opposition.

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