Tag Archives: Omicron

The United States on Sunday was approaching 800,000 coronavirus-related deaths, as the nation braces for a potential surge in infections due to more time spent indoors with colder weather and the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus. The milestone means the U.S. death toll from this one virus now …

Omicron coronavirus cases have surged by as much as 400% in some parts of South Africa – although the country’s health ministry has said there is mounting evidence the variant causes milder infection. South Africa reported more than 22,000 new infections on Thursday, a record during the fourth wave but …

China’s drug authority has granted emergency approval for the country’s first specialized treatment against COVID-19, found in clinical trials to significantly reduce hospitalizations and deaths among high-risk patients. The move comes as regulators around the world give the green light to treatments – particularly for high-risk groups – amid worries …

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Thursday that people who are immunocompromised or received an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine should receive a booster dose to protect against waning immunity. Many countries have been rolling out booster shots, targeting the elderly and people with underlying health issues, but worries about the …

EU health authorities have recommended a “mix-and-match” approach to Covid-19 vaccination, saying that using different jabs during the initial and booster inoculation phases produces “good levels of antibodies.” In a joint statement, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said that “the …

Sweden will reintroduce a raft of measures to curb rising COVID-19 infections, urging renewed social distancing and the use of masks in public transportation, the government said on Tuesday. “We see an increased spread of infection, but still from low levels,” Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told a news conference. “We …

India’s tally of reported cases of the heavily mutated Omicron variant of the coronavirus rose to 12 on Sunday after the state of Maharashtra said it had detected seven new cases. Local media also said a new case had been reported in New Delhi. India expects Omicron, which scientists say …

Tens of thousands of protesters marched through several northwest European cities on Saturday to demonstrate against coronavirus restrictions imposed amid a surge in infections. Austria last month became the first country in Western Europe to reimpose a lockdown, which is set to last 20 days and said it would make …

India reported its third case of the Omicron coronavirus variant on Saturday, government officials said, as total Covid-19 cases inched closer to the 35 million mark. Officials in the western state of Gujarat said the patient who tested positive for Omicron was a 72-year old man of Indian origin who …

Higher hospital admissions among children during the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections in South Africa that is driven by the Omicron variant should prompt vigilance but not panic as infections have been mild, a health official said on Saturday. A large number of infants admitted with COVID-19 last month in …

The European Union’s public health agency said on Thursday that the Omicron variant could be responsible for more than half of all COVID-19 infections in Europe within a few months, but no cases of the severe disease had yet been identified in the region. The estimate could lend weight to …

Germany decided on Thursday to bar the unvaccinated from all but the most essential businesses and the United States was due to announce further travel curbs as countries around the globe scramble to keep out the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the variant showed …

Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a “call to get jabs in arms” on Wednesday as Britain stepped up its COVID-19 booster programme to fend off the Omicron variant after another 10 cases of the new strain were identified. Britain has now recorded 32 cases of the Omicron variant, which appears …

Financial markets fell sharply on Tuesday after the head of drugmaker Moderna said existing COVID-19 vaccines would be less effective against the new Omicron variant, but they recovered strongly after more reassuring comments from European officials. European Medicines Agency executive director Emer Cooke told the European Parliament that existing vaccines …

G7 health ministers praised South Africa on Monday for the work it has done in detecting the new Omicron variant and alerting others and said they would work together to monitor the strain. “Ministers praised the exemplary work of South Africa in both detecting the variant and alerting others to …

The Iraqi Ministry of Health confirmed that no new infection with the Omicron variant has been recorded in the country. A member of the ministry’s media team, Ruba Falah, told Al-Ghadeer News, “The vaccine works on most variants,” noting, “the vaccine reduces mortalities and the severity of infection, but does …

The Omicron coronavirus variant kept spreading around the world on Sunday, with 13 cases found in the Netherlands and two each in Denmark and Australia even as more countries imposed travel restrictions to try to seal themselves off. Dutch health authorities said the 13 cases of the variant were found …

The Iraqi Ministry of Health and environment urged citizens today to receive their COVID-19 jabs as soon as possible, following reports about the appearance of a new strain of the virus. The ministry stressed in a statement the need for all government and private institutions to abide by the instructions …

Britain and Germany each detected two cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant on Saturday and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new steps to contain the virus, while more nations imposed restrictions on travel from southern Africa. The discovery of the variant has sparked global concern, a wave of …

Two linked cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant have been detected in Britain connected to travel to southern Africa, health minister Sajid Javid said on Saturday. Omicron dubbed a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization on Friday, is potentially more contagious than previous variants of the disease, …