Health

UK expands COVID-19 vaccination drive to cover all over-21s

London, Jun 16 (PTI) Around 1 million people in the UK aged 21 and 22 will begin to be called forward on Wednesday to book their coronavirus vaccine, as the National Health Service (NHS) led COVID-19 vaccination programme expanded the age-based rollout to cover further younger categories.

Australia raises AstraZeneca safety age to 60

Canberra (Australia), Jun 17 (AP-PTI) Australia has raised the age for which the AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended to 60 from 50 after the shot was blamed for a 52-year-old woman's death last week from blood clots in the brain.

Health Minister Greg Hunt described the decision on Thursday as conservative and reflecting the relatively low risk of catching the virus in Australia.

Australians aged between 50 and 59 are now recommended to use the only other vaccine approved in Australia, Pfizer.

India: 730 doctors died of COVID-19 in second wave

New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) As many as 730 doctors have succumbed to coronavirus infection during the second wave, according to data available by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

Bihar saw the maximum number of 115 deaths, followed by Delhi at 109, Uttar Pradesh 79, West Bengal 62, Rajasthan 43, Jharkhand 39, and Andhra Pradesh 38, the data showed.

According to the IMA, 748 doctors died in the first wave of the pandemic.

Australia: Local cases increase in Sydney with Indian Delta strain recorded

SYDNEY, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Locally acquired COVID-19 cases increased in Australia's largest city of Sydney after a man tested positive on Wednesday.

The state of New South Wales, with Sydney as the capital city, recorded two local cases in the 24 hours to 8:00 p.m. local time Wednesday night and one case in returned travellers from 23,145 tests conducted.

Millions fear eviction as US housing crisis worsens

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 4 million people say they fear being evicted or foreclosed upon in the coming months, just as two studies released Wednesday found that the nation’s housing availability and affordability crisis is expected to worsen significantly following the pandemic.

The studies come as a federal eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of the month. The moratorium has kept many tenants owing back rent housed.

Experts warn Indian Delta variant to become dominant coronavirus strain in U.S.

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Experts are concerned that the Delta variant is on track to become the dominant strain of coronavirus in the United States.

The Delta variant, known by the scientific name B.1.617.2, has spread from where it was first discovered in India to over 60 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

Pfizer, AstraZeneca vaccines protect against Delta variant: Lancet study

London, Jun 15 (PTI) The Delta variant of coronavirus, first identified in India, doubles the risk of hospitalisation compared with the Alpha variant first found in the UK, but Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines provide good protection against the strain, says a study published in The Lancet journal.

Researchers at Public Health Scotland and the University of Edinburgh, UK, found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offered better protection against the Delta variant compared to the Oxford-AstraZeneca preventive, known as Covishield in India.

India: Vaccination team lacked cotton at RTO camp

Kanpur: What more can be said if one person has to feel painful discomfort after vaccination at a camp held at RTO here on Monday. 

The vaccination needle pierced on the fleshy spot in the upper part of the hand caused the discharge of blood as cotton was not put on the hole.

The compounder who injected the jab did not put cotton to stop blood discharge. That was so because the team did not possess cotton. What was put was a piece of paper on the vaccinated point.

UK PM expected to delay COVID lockdown end by 4 weeks to July 19

London, Jun 14 (PTI) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a four-week delay to an end to all legal lockdown restrictions in the country when he makes a statement later on Monday in relation to so-called Freedom Day , which was set for June 21.

The last and fourth stage of the lockdown roadmap is now expected around July 19 instead amid a worrying spike in cases of the Delta variant, which experts fear will result in greater hospitalisations in the coming weeks.

Two thirds of eligible people in Dubai fully vaccinated against COVID-19

13 June 2021; MEMO: About two-thirds of people eligible for inoculation against COVID-19 have now received two doses of the vaccine in Dubai, the tourist and business hub of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) said, reports Reuters.

Dubai is the most populous of the seven emirates that make up the UAE and has one of the world's busiest airports.

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