Germany and Switzerland set to ease restrictions – as it happened

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Germany will ease Covid-19 restrictions as a wave of infections from the Omicron coronavirus variant seems to have passed its peak, the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on Wednesday, but he warned that the pandemic was not over yet.

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After a meeting with the heads of the federal states earlier on Wednesday, Scholz said Germany was ready to look forward with more confidence over coronavirus, Reuters reports.

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“After these long two years, we deserve that things somehow improve again and it looks a bit like that’s exactly what we have in front of us,” Scholz told reporters after the meeting.

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On Wednesday, Germany reported 219,972 new daily coronavirus cases, down 6% compared to the same day last week.

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The seven-day infection incidence per 100,000 people also dropped to 1,401 from 1,438 on Tuesday.

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Children aged between five and 11 in England will be offered a Covid vaccine, the UK government has confirmed, after similar announcements from Wales and Scotland this week.

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The move was recommended by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which decided that the vaccination programme should be extended to younger children after lengthy discussions on the benefits and risks.

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The “non-urgent” vaccinations, which will primarily be given through school vaccination services, will be a Pfizer/BioNTech jab. Stormont’s health minister, Robin Swann, also confirmed that Northern Ireland will mirror the move.

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The UK has reported 54,218 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, and a further 199 people have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test.

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That is an increase on the 46,186 cases reported on Tuesday but down on the 68,214 cases reported on Wednesday last week. The UK reported 276 Covid-linked deaths last Wednesday.

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Here are the key events from today so far:

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• The number of new coronavirus cases globally fell by 19% in the last week while the number of deaths remained stable, according to the World Health Organization. The Western Pacific was the only region to report a rise in new weekly cases, an increase of about 19%. The biggest drop was in south-east Asia, where new weekly cases fell by 37%.

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• Switzerland will lift almost all its coronavirus pandemic restrictions from Thursday, the government confirmed today. Access to shops, restaurants and cultural institutions will no longer require a Covid certificate. Masks will no longer be required in shops, supermarkets and the workplace. Restrictions on private events will also be relaxed.

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• Austria also announced that nearly all remaining Covid restrictions will be lifted on 5 March, including scrapping an earlier closing time of midnight for bars and restaurants and allowing nightclubs to reopen. Unvaccinated people will be able to enter restaurants and non-essential shops if they have been tested.

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• The Scottish government has confirmed it will offer Covid vaccinations to all children aged five to 11 years, adding to the pressure on UK ministers to do so in England. The Scottish decision follows an announcement on Tuesday from the devolved government in Wales that it would follow unpublished advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) that all children in that age group should be jabbed.

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• Covid-19 infection levels have fallen slightly in England and Wales, but the trend is uncertain in Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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• China’s president, Xi Jinping, has told Hong Kong’s leaders that their “overriding mission” was to stabilise and control a worsening Covid outbreak, pro-Beijing media reported, as infected patients lay in beds outside overwhelmed hospitals.

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• South Korea has once again reported a daily record of 90,443 new coronavirus cases for Wednesday, as numbers nearly doubled within a week amid the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant.

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• Malaysia also reported a record 27,831 new infections today, the highest daily rise since the pandemic began, the health ministry said. The previous record was on 26 August last year, when daily cases hit 24,599.

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• The Dutch government was inadequately prepared for the Covid pandemic and paid insufficient attention to the threat to people in care homes, an independent inquiry has found. The Dutch Safety Board said authorities in the Netherlands failed to protect the economy, education and culture in the early days of the pandemic, and in particular nursing homes where a “silent disaster” was allowed to unfold.

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• About 3,000 British volunteers are being sought to take part in a study for Moderna’s Omicron booster vaccine.

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• Two men have appeared in court in the UK accused of selling fake coronavirus test kits. The pair are accused of importing illegal Covid testing kits from China to sell in the UK during the early days of the pandemic when PPE and Covid testing was in short supply.

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• The relatively short shelf life of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is complicating the rollout to the world’s poorest nations, according to officials and internal World Health Organization (WHO) documents seen by Reuters. Some countries, particularly in Africa, are struggling to administer the excess doses donated by richer states that arrive with only a few months, and sometimes weeks, before their use-by date.

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Switzerland will lift almost all its coronavirus pandemic restrictions from Thursday, the government confirmed today.

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Shops, restaurants and cultural institutions will be freely accessible to people, with no requirement to show a Covid certificate. Masks will no longer be required in shops, supermarkets and the workplace. Restrictions on private events will also be relaxed.

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People will still be required to wear masks on public transport and at healthcare facilities, and mandatory five-day isolation of people who have tested positive for coronavirus will also remain in effect until the end of March.

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The Swiss government first announced the easing of restrictions two weeks ago, after it ended quarantine for people who come into contact with an infected person and turned a work-from-home order into a recommendation.

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In a statement, the government said:

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The epidemiological situation continues to develop positively. Thanks to the high level of immunity in the population, it is unlikely that the healthcare system will be overloaded despite the continued high level of virus circulation.

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Thus, the conditions are in place for a rapid normalisation of social and economic life.

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Malaysia reported a record 27,831 new infections today, the highest daily rise since the pandemic began, the health ministry said. The previous record was on 26 August last year, when daily cases hit 24,599.

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The new cases bring the total number of infections since the start of the pandemic to more than 3.1m, including more than 32,000 deaths.

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From Malaysia’s Health-Director General Noor:

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We have prepared for the herd immunity approach following our high vaccination coverage and natural immunity from those recovered from the covid-19 infection. We have to ride on this omicron storm and hopefully the storm will pass soon and we move to endemicity pic.twitter.com/dmoiq63zyL

— Noor Hisham Abdullah (@DGHisham) February 16, 2022

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Nearly all remaining Covid restrictions will be lifted on 5 March, including scrapping an earlier closing time of midnight for bars and restaurants and allowing nightclubs to reopen, the Austrian chancellor, Karl Nehammer, said today.

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The announcement follows news that unvaccinated people will be able to enter restaurants and non-essential shops if they have been tested. Access to highly vulnerable settings such as care homes and hospitals will remain restricted to people who have been vaccinated.

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In addition, the FFP2 mask mandate will be relaxed and only required in vulnerable settings and in public transport, essential shops and pharmacies.

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Nehammer said that the pandemic was not yet over but the situation allowed Austria to open up step by step.

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In a first step starting Saturday, proof of vaccination or recent recovery will no longer be required to attend events, go to restaurants, bars or hairdressers and various other activities. Proof of a negative test will suffice for those things.

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From 5 March, nightclubs may reopen and restrictions on opening hours for restaurants and bars will end.

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Austria became the first European country to make vaccination against Covid-19 mandatory for all adults on 1 February.

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Hello everyone, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

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We start with the news that the number of new coronavirus cases globally fell by 19% in the last week while the number of deaths remained stable, according to the World Health Organization.

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In its weekly report on the pandemic, the UN health agency said just over 16m new Covid-19 infections and about 75,000 deaths were reported worldwide last week.

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The Western Pacific was the only region to report a rise in new weekly cases, an increase of about 19%. The biggest drop was in south-east Asia, where new weekly cases fell by 37%.

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The biggest number of new Covid cases was seen in Russia. Cases there and elsewhere in Eastern Europe have doubled in recent weeks, driven by a surge of the Omicron variant.

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The number of deaths rose by 38% in the Middle East and by about one-third in the Western Pacific.

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WHO’s Africa director, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said last week there was “light at the end of the tunnel” for the continent and that even despite low vaccination rates, Africa was transitioning from the acute pandemic phase.

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Her comments contrasted sharply with warnings from WHO director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has said repeatedly the pandemic is not over and is premature for countries to think that the end might be imminent.

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Children between the ages of five and 11 in Scotland are to be offered a Covid-19 vaccination, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

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Ministers have accepted draft recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

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The first minister said:

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Although it has yet to be published officially by the JCVI, like colleagues in Wales we have received advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which recommends Covid-19 vaccination for all children aged five to 11-years-old.

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I can confirm that ministers have considered this draft advice and are content to accept its recommendations.

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Work is under way to determine how best to deliver vaccinations to children, Sturgeon said. In the meantime, parents and carers of children aged five to 11 do not need to do anything.

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Here is a round-up of today’s top Covid news stories so far:

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• Russia reported an increase in Covid infections on Wednesday, with a total of 179,284 new infections and 748 deaths reported over the last 24 hours.

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• China’s president, Xi Jinping, has told Hong Kong’s leaders that their “overriding mission” was to stabilise and control a worsening Covid outbreak, pro-Beijing media reported, as infected patients lay in beds outside overwhelmed hospitals.

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• South Korea has once again reported a daily record of 90,443 new coronavirus cases for Wednesday, as numbers nearly doubled within a week amid the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant.

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• A Japanese government delay in rolling out Covid booster shots left it more vulnerable than other rich countries when the Omicron variant brought a surge of deaths, say experts, local governments and a former vaccine czar.

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• About 3,000 British volunteers are being sought to take part in a study for Moderna’s Omicron booster vaccine.

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• South Korea will distribute free coronavirus rapid test kits at elementary schools and nursing homes starting next week.

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• British ministers’ plans to scale back free PCR Covid tests could weaken the UK’s defences if a new variant of the virus emerges that results in “significant new waves” of cases, a group representing local public health chiefs has warned.

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• Italian doctors will take part in a two-day strike from 1 March against what they called an “unbearable workload” amid the Covid pandemic, Italy’s news agency ANSA reported.

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• The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organising Committee said on Wednesday that two new Covid cases were detected among Games-related personnel on 15 February.

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That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. I’ll be back tomorrow but my colleague Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly to take over the global Covid live blog. Goodbye for now.

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Russia reported an increase in Covid infections on Wednesday, with a total of 179,284 new infections and 748 deaths reported over the last 24 hours.

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It follows a three-day decline in case numbers.

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Meanwhile, Russians will be able to take an antibody test to obtain a coronavirus health pass from 21 February, its health ministry confirmed yesterday.

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QR codes will be issued to Russians who test positive for Covid antibodies, regardless of their vaccination status, according to The Moscow Times.

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Russia has confirmed 14,659,880 cases of Covid and 342,383 deaths, according to reports.

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Hello and welcome to the global Covid live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest coronavirus news over the next few hours.

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We start with the news that South Korea has once again reported a daily record of 90,443 new coronavirus cases for Wednesday, as numbers nearly doubled within a week amid the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant.

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The record count for Tuesday marked a drastic surge from 57,177 a day before and brought total infections in the country since the pandemic began to 1,552,851. Deaths remain comparatively low, though, with 39 fatalities on Tuesday and a total of 7,202 so far, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

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The country of 52 million population has largely been a Covid mitigation success story, thanks mainly to widespread wearing of masks, social distancing and aggressive testing and tracing, the Reuters news agency reported.

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But authorities have shifted testing and tracing policy, in line with the less fatal Omicron variant’s spread, toward self-monitoring and diagnosis and at-home treatment starting this month.

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The prime minister, Kim Boo-kyum, said the government was considering easing strict distancing curbs that include a 9pm curfew for restaurants, cafes and bars, and a ban on gatherings of more than six vaccinated people.

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More than 86% of South Koreans have been fully vaccinated and 58% have received a booster shot, KDCA data showed.

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About 3,000 British volunteers are being sought to take part in a study for Moderna’s Omicron booster vaccine.

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The jab, which is one of the world’s first to tackle the variant, will be trialled at sites across the UK thanks to a partnership between Moderna and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

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Led by a team based at St George’s, University of London, the study will see half the volunteers receive the new Moderna Omicron variant vaccine and the other half vaccinated with the regular Moderna jab, PA Media reported.

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It is already known that people’s immunity wanes several months after Covid booster doses, meaning clinical trials are needed to determine whether people may need a fourth booster dose.

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The trial will also seek to recruit people who have had just two doses of a vaccine and have not yet had a booster.

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A separate COV-Boost sub-study will also run to compare using Moderna’s Omicron variant vaccine as a fourth dose with a standard dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

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A summary of today’s developments

• Children aged between five and 11 in England will be offered a Covid vaccine, the UK government has confirmed, after similar announcements from Wales and Scotland this week. The move was recommended by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which decided that the vaccination programme should be extended to younger children after lengthy discussions on the benefits and risks.
• Germany will ease Covid-19 restrictions as a wave of infections from the Omicron coronavirus variant seems to have passed its peak, the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said on Wednesday, but he warned that the pandemic was not over yet.
• An Omicron-specific booster could be ready by August, the CEO of Moderna told Reuters, but the firm is still gathering clinical data to determine whether that vaccine would offer better protection than a new dose of the existing jab.
• The UK has reported 54,218 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, and a further 199 people have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test. That is an increase on the 46,186 cases reported on Tuesday but down on the 68,214 cases reported on Wednesday last week. The UK reported 276 Covid-linked deaths last Wednesday.
• The number of new coronavirus cases globally fell by 19% in the last week while the number of deaths remained stable, according to the World Health Organization. The Western Pacific was the only region to report a rise in new weekly cases, an increase of about 19%. The biggest drop was in south-east Asia, where new weekly cases fell by 37%.
• Switzerland will lift almost all its coronavirus pandemic restrictions from Thursday, the government confirmed today. Access to shops, restaurants and cultural institutions will no longer require a Covid certificate. Masks will no longer be required in shops, supermarkets and the workplace. Restrictions on private events will also be relaxed.
• Austria also announced that nearly all remaining Covid restrictions will be lifted on 5 March, including scrapping an earlier closing time of midnight for bars and restaurants and allowing nightclubs to reopen. Unvaccinated people will be able to enter restaurants and non-essential shops if they have been tested.
• China’s president, Xi Jinping, has told Hong Kong’s leaders that their “overriding mission” was to stabilise and control a worsening Covid outbreak, pro-Beijing media reported, as infected patients lay in beds outside overwhelmed hospitals.
• South Korea has once again reported a daily record of 90,443 new coronavirus cases for Wednesday, as numbers nearly doubled within a week amid the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
• Malaysia also reported a record 27,831 new infections today, the highest daily rise since the pandemic began, the health ministry said. The previous record was on 26 August last year, when daily cases hit 24,599.
• The Dutch government was inadequately prepared for the Covid pandemic and paid insufficient attention to the threat to people in care homes, an independent inquiry has found. The Dutch Safety Board said authorities in the Netherlands failed to protect the economy, education and culture in the early days of the pandemic, and in particular nursing homes where a “silent disaster” was allowed to unfold.

Mexico recorded 520 more deaths from Covid-19 on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

It brings the total death toll to 314,128, according to health ministry data.

People who catch Covid-19 are more likely to go on to suffer depression and anxiety, a study has suggested.

Experts said the research backs up previous findings but has a longer follow-up, with people tracked for a year, PA reports.

US researchers looked at data for 153,848 people who had experienced coronavirus and compared them with more than 560,000 with no history of Covid and a further large control group from before the pandemic.

The results showed that Covid-19 was associated with an increased risk of mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, substance use and sleep problems, up to a year after infection.

Compared with the non-infected group, people with Covid-19 showed a 60% higher risk of a mental health diagnosis or needing a mental health prescription at the one-year point.

Anxiety rates were 35% higher among those who had had Covid and 39% higher for depression. People were also 55% more likely to use anti-depressants.

The leading US health officials said on Wednesday that the nation is moving closer to the point that Covid-19 is no longer a “constant crisis” as more cities, businesses and sports venues began lifting pandemic restrictions around the country.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky said during a White House briefing that the government is contemplating a change to its mask guidance in the coming weeks.

Noting recent declines in Covid-19 cases, hospital admissions and deaths, she acknowledged “people are so eager” for health officials to ease masking rules and other measures designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

An Omicron-specific booster could be ready by August, the CEO of Moderna told Reuters, but the firm is still gathering clinical data to determine whether that vaccine would offer better protection than a new dose of the existing jab.

Last month the US biotech firm began clinical trials for a booster dose designed to target Omicron but initial results from studies in monkeys show the jab may not offer stronger protection than a new dose of the existing vaccine.

The company’s chief executive Stephane Bancel said the company aimed to have a booster ready by August 2022, before next autumn when he said more vulnerable people may need it.

Moderna’s vaccines use mRNA technology to provoke an immune response, similar to the shot developed by Pfizer/BioNTech.

“We believe a booster will be needed. I don’t know yet if it is going to be the existing vaccine, Omicron-only, or bivalent: Omicron and existing vaccine, two mRNA in one dose.”

Bancel also confirmed that under the best-case scenario, Moderna would have ready by August 2023 a so-called pan-vaccine which would protect simultaneously against Covid-19, flu and other respiratory diseases.

Justin Ling

Here is the full story on Canada’s public safety minister citing ties between protesters occupying the country’s capital and a group of far-right extremists who were charged earlier this week in the border town of Coutts, Alberta, over an alleged plot to kill police officers.

“Several of the individuals at Coutts have strong ties to a far-right extreme organization with leaders who are in Ottawa,” the minister, Marco Medicino, told reporters on Wednesday.

Medicino’s comments are likely to further stoke fears that extremist elements are present in a nationwide spate of unrest which began as a protest against Covid-19 health mandates but has embraced a broad range of anti-government grievances.

Brazil had 147,734 new cases of coronavirus reported in the past 24 hours and 1,085 deaths, its health ministry said on Wednesday.

The South American country has now registered 27,806,786 cases since the pandemic began while the official death toll has risen to 640,774, Reuters reports.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued president Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday over a government mandate requiring that masks be worn at US airports and on airplanes and other transit modes.

Paxton and US Representative Beth Van Duyne jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention transit mask rules, which have been in place since February 2021, Reuters reports.

The current mask requirements are set to expire on 18 March, though they previously have been extended several times.

Children aged five to 11 in England, Wales and Scotland will be offered protection against Covid, meaning millions more will be eligible for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine, given at one-third the dose of adults, was approved as safe and effective for children by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in December. But the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation previously recommended the vaccine only for vulnerable five- to 11-year-olds.

Millions of children aged five to 11 have been vaccinated in other countries, such as the US and countries in Europe.

Five parents share their reactions: