Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
COVID infections imperil Indonesia’s vaccinated health workers, and hospitals
Indonesian pulmonologist Erlina Burhan is exasperated after another long shift in a jam-packed hospital missing 200 staff infected by the coronavirus despite being vaccinated just months ago. “It’s crazy, really crazy,” she tells Reuters. “More patients but less staff. This is ridiculous.”
COVID Delta variant could ruin summer, French government warns
The highly contagious Delta variant now represents around 40% of new COVID-19 infections in France, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday, and could jeopardise the summer if a fourth wave of infections is allowed to build. Attal said forging ahead with the vaccination campaign was the best way to avoid a return to tough curbs on movement and socialising. He urged any hesitant citizens to get the shot.
Global vaccine alliance GAVI hopes India will resume exports this quarter
The GAVI vaccine alliance hopes the Serum Institute of India (SII) will resume exports of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from this quarter, it told Reuters, earlier than the firm’s forecast of the end of this year. GAVI co-leads the COVAX facility for equitable distribution of COVID-19 shots around the world. COVAX suffered a big jolt in April when big vaccine producer India stopped all overseas shipments to meet local demand as infections rose dramatically.
Exclusive-Prenatal test developed with Chinese military stores gene data
A prenatal test taken by millions of pregnant women globally was developed by Chinese gene company BGI Group in collaboration with the Chinese military and is being used by the firm to collect genetic data, a Reuters review of publicly available documents found. The report is the first to reveal that the company collaborated with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to develop and improve the test, taken in early pregnancy, as well as the scope of BGI’s storage and analysis of the data. The United States sees BGI’s efforts to collect and analyse human gene data as a national security threat (see the story in-depth here https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/health-china-bgi-dna).
German COVID-19 cases rise again after two months of decline
The number of coronavirus cases in Germany ticked up again on Wednesday after more than two months of steady decline, according to official data. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases reported 985 new infections to bring the total to 3.73 million, a rise of 177 cases compared to the daily increase a week ago.
Indonesia’s regions urged to act fast to halt virus contagion
Indonesia’s government on Wednesday urged regional authorities to strictly implement coronavirus measures and quickly contain infections to avert the kind of outbreak that has crippled health facilities in parts of densely populated Java. The government is monitoring daily cases and bed occupancy rates in 43 areas deemed higher risk “red zones” until July 20, said Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia’s chief economic minister.
Australia to donate oxygen-equipment, AstraZeneca vaccine to Indonesia
Australia said on Wednesday it would donate to Indonesia oxygen-related equipment, including cylinders and concentrators, antigen test-kits and 2.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, its foreign minister said in a statement. Indonesia is currently battling a surge in COVID-19 infections, fuelled by the more infectious Delta variant first identified in India.
India expects 3-4 million Pfizer, Moderna vaccine doses through COVAX by August- sources
India expects to receive 3 million to 4 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 shots through the COVAX facility by August, two sources said, as it tries to expand inoculations to prevent another surge in infections. COVAX, led by the GAVI vaccine alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO), could ship the U.S.-made doses to India as early as this month, one of the sources aware of the discussions told Reuters.
Turkmenistan makes COVID-19 vaccination mandatory
Turkmenistan’s healthcare ministry said on Wednesday it was making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all residents aged 18 and over as the former Soviet region of Central Asia reported a fresh spike in new cases. Turkmenistan has reported no COVID-19 cases but introduced a number of restrictions such as setting out requirements for wearing facemasks.
Vietnam to impose widespread curbs in largest city to tackle coronavirus
Vietnam will impose restrictions at its commercial hub Ho Chi Minh city for 15 days starting Friday to tackle coronavirus outbreak, state media reported on Wednesday. The move will “ensure the safety for people’s health and life,” Tuoi Tre newspaper cited the chairman of the city’s People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong as saying.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
