COVID-19 pandemic’s ‘Acute phase’ could end by mid-year: WHO | Daily News

COVID-19 pandemic’s ‘Acute phase’ could end by mid-year: WHO

Police teargas Paris ‘Freedom Convoy’ protesters
Ottawa protesters defy Court order
China approves use of Pfizer’s oral drug Paxlovid
Children aged 5 to 11 years old, accompanied by their guardians, receive their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Marikina Sports Complex in Marikina City, the Philippines on Saturday.
Children aged 5 to 11 years old, accompanied by their guardians, receive their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Marikina Sports Complex in Marikina City, the Philippines on Saturday.

SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, CANADA, CHINA: The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year, if around 70 per cent of the world gets vaccinated.

"Our expectation is that the acute phase of this pandemic will end this year, of course with one condition, the 70 per cent vaccination (target is achieved) by mid this year around June, July," Ghebreyesus, told reporters in South Africa.

"If that is to be done, the acute phase can really end, and that is what we are expecting. It's in our hands. It's not a matter of chance. It's a matter of choice."

He was speaking during a visit to Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, which has produced the first mRNA Covid-19 vaccine made in Africa using Moderna's sequence.

"We expect this vaccine to be more suited to the contexts in which it will be used, with fewer storage constraints and at a lower price," said the WHO boss. The vaccine will be ready for clinical trials in November, with approval expected in 2024.

Meanwhile, French Police fired tear gas at demonstrators on the Champs-Elysees and other places in Paris on Saturday after a “Freedom Convoy” protesting against COVID-19 restrictions made it into the capital.

Vehicles carrying protesters managed to get through police checkpoints in central Paris to snarl traffic around the Arc de Triomphe monument.

Inspired by horn-blaring “Freedom Convoy” demonstrations in Canada, motorists waved French flags and honked in defiance of a police order not to enter the city.

Meanwhile, Protesters opposing pandemic restrictions flouted a court order and emergency rules, continuing to occupy a vital Canada-US trade corridor early on Saturday, hours after a judge granted an injunction to end the blockade that has crippled North America’s well-knitted auto industry.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised President Joe Biden quick action to end the crisis, and on Friday a Canadian judge ordered an end to the four-day-long blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest land border crossing.

Superior Court Justice Geoffrey Morawetz on Friday approved the request by auto industry associations and Windsor city authorities hoping to end the protests. Occupying access roads leading to the bridge on Friday, protesters voiced defiance and there was little sign of them backing down. The protests have inspired similar convoys and plans in France, New Zealand, Australia and the US.

Meanwhile,China's medical products regulator said on Saturday it has given conditional approval for Pfizer's COVID-19 drug Paxlovid, making it the first oral pill specifically developed to treat the disease cleared in the country.

The National Medical Products Administration said Paxlovid is approved to treat adults who have mild to moderate COVID-19 and high risk of progressing to a severe condition. Further study on the drug needed to be conducted and submitted to the authority, it said. - THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, THE STRAITS TIMES,YAHOO NEWS


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