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Politicians, gangsters and the rich jump India's COVID queues
The shortage of oxygen and beds across India is being worsened by well-connected Indians being admitted to hospital unnecessarily, according to the World Health...
Pfizer warns of counterfeit versions of its COVID-19 vaccine
Pfizer says it is aware of counterfeit versions of its COVID-19 vaccine, which the drugmaker developed with BioNTech, as criminals seek to cash in...
EU medicines regulator clears J&J vaccine for continued use
The European Medicines Agency found a possible link between Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine and rare cases of unusual blood clotting disorders “very similar”...
Chile has pandemic surge despite extensive vaccinations
Chile’s vaccination campaign against the coronavirus has been one of the world’s quickest and most extensive, but, reports CNBC, a recent surge in infections...
J&J vaccine paused over rare blood-clots in US, Europe and SA
Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine's rollout has been paused in South Africa, the United States and Europe, over blood-clotting concerns by the US Centres for...
Top official admits low efficacy of China's vaccines — then retracts
China's top disease control official has said the efficacy of the country's COVID vaccines is low, in a rare admission of weakness. BBC News...
AstraZeneca shoots itself in the foot, again
After highly encouraging results from its US clinical trials this week, AstraZeneca seemed set to recover from a series of research mishaps, public relations...
China says early data shows Sinovac vaccine is safe in children
China’s Sinovac Biotech has announced that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe in children ages 3-17, based on preliminary data, and it has submitted the...
UK's controversial 'apprentice' plans for medical doctors
UK doctors could qualify without a traditional medical degree under controversial plans to allow medics to “earn as they learn” as apprentices, reports The...
US Catholic bishops reject J&J vaccine over aborted foetus cells
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has advised Catholics against the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine because it was developed using cells from an...
Diplomatic row over China's anal swab tests for foreigners
China will discontinue anal swabs on US diplomats to test for COVID-19 following a Washington objection, while Japan has also protested against such...
High vaccine hesitancy in NHS London and UK home care staff
Almost a quarter of National Health Service staff in London are refusing vaccination and among UK home care staff the system the picture is...
UK parliamentary inquiry into link between sport and long-term brain injury
A UK parliamentary inquiry into the link between sport and long-term brain injury has been launched, reports The Independent. MPs on the Digital, Culture,...
Pandemic kills more in US than two World Wars and Vietnam
The United States reached a staggering milestone on Monday (22 February), surpassing 500,000 known coronavirus-related deaths, A toll higher than of the number of...
Concern over another new UK variant of SARS-CoV-2
Another coronavirus variant with a potentially worrying set of mutations has been detected in the UK and should be targeted in surge testing, experts...
Israel's 'breakthrough' first phase trial of COVID drug treatment
A drug that successfully cured 29 of 30 cases of COVID-19 in Israeli hospital patients in 2-5 days has been hailed as a “huge...
CDC: Most evidence shows schools can be safely opened
Researchers at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention say that most US schools can be safely opened as mask-wearing and social distancing...
French hospital carries out first double arm and shoulder transplant
A hospital in Lyon, France, says it is the first in the world to carry out a double shoulder and arm transplant. Euro News...
Expert panel criticises China and WHO over initial COVID-19 response
An independent panel has found that Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial COVID-19 outbreak,...
UK Supreme Court judge draws ire for 'devaluing' cancer patient's life
Former UK Supreme Court Justice Jonathan Sumption has been criticised for telling a woman with stage four cancer that her life was “less valuable”...
China defends Sinovac vaccine following poor results in Brazil
China’s Sinovac Biotech defended the safety and efficacy of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, after researchers in Brazil released late-stage clinical data showing efficacy that...
Alzheimer's Society calls for 'failed' dementia drug trials to be revisited
A dementia-halting drug may already exist but has been overlooked because it was trialled on the wrong patients, The Daily Telegraph reports the UK...
Concern as SA/UK variants of COVID-19 spread rapidly worldwide
The variants of COVID-19 found in the UK and South Africa have spread rapidly around the world with concern being voiced over possible increased...
Chinese authorities block arrival of WHO COVID-19 investigation team
China has blocked the arrival of a team from the World Health Organisation investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, claiming that their visas...
UK approves Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine for rollout next week
The United Kingdom has become the first Western country to license a vaccine against COVID, opening the way for mass immunisation with the Pfizer/BioNTech...
Chinese doctors jailed for illegal organ harvesting and trafficking
Six people, including four medical professionals, given prison sentences of up to 28 months for role in illegal transplants, reports the South China Morning...
UK patients at risk because of routinely understaffed ICUs — Report
British intensive care units are so routinely understaffed patients are at risk of poor care, ICU doctors warn in a report from the Faculty...
Spain's general medical council demands sacking of COVID health chief
Spain’s general medical council has called for the country’s health emergency chief Fernando Simon to be fired, accusing him of “patent and prolonged incompetence”...
Moderna’s nearly 95% effective easy-to-store vaccine
US pharmaceutical company Moderna this week announced that it's vaccine candidate had proved to be nearly 95 effective, reports the BBC.
Together with the Pfizer-BioNTech...
WHO doubles down on antibodies and steroids; shuns remdesivir
A World Health Organization-led scheme to supply COVID-19 drugs to poor countries is betting on experimental monoclonal antibody treatments and steroids but shunning remdesivir...
COVID-19's second wave: More cases but fewer deaths
A second wave of COVID-19 is swamping Europe with daily numbers of confirmed cases, mainly because of increased testing, exceeding their spring peaks, while...
Trump trashes Fauci as a 'disaster'
A frustrated and at times foul-mouthed President Donald Trump claimed on a campaign call that people are tired of hearing about the deadly pandemic...
15 Nobel laureates join call for human challenge trials in UK
Fifteen Nobel laureates are among the prominent scientists calling on the UK government to support trials in which healthy volunteers are deliberately infected with...
SA government shines in world response to Covid1-9
The South African public's perception of its government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic was the third most favourable in an international survey of severely...
SA’s COVID-19 tobacco ban was ill-advised – Cardiologist
The six-month COVID-19-induced ban in South Africa on selling tobacco products could have had “potentially disastrous consequences”, says Professor Konstantinos Farsalino, a public health...
Public Health England warns that flu doubles risk of COVID-19 death
Public Health England has urged the populace to get vaccinated against flu in the light of its research that suggests the risk of death...
CDC reversal on advice not to test those lacking COVID-19 symptoms
US health officials have rowed back on controversial advice issued last month that said people without COVID-19 symptoms should not get tested, reports BBC...
BMA: Allow gender change without medical diagnosis
Transgender people should be able to change their gender without the current medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and a report detailing any medical treatment...
GPs bristle over ‘insulting’ NHS letter on face-to-face consultations
National Health Service (NHS) bosses in the UK have sent a letter to GPs to remind them to offer face-to-face appointments where necessary, sparking...
Despite safety fears, China inoculates with experimental vaccines
Despite safety concerns over the lack of standard testing, China is inoculating tens of thousands of its citizens with experimental coronavirus vaccines, reports SBS...