The Covid alert continues around the world. Among the causes, excessive haste in reopening in some countries and unequal distribution of vaccines and therefore the percentage of immunized people on the planet. Globally 240 million cases, 6.6 billion vaccines administered. While some countries thanks to an efficient vaccination campaign are preparing to relax the measures, such as Australia, where Melbourne will come out of the hard lockdown by Friday after 262 days, the longest period in the world after Buenos Aires, leader in this special ranking with 234 days.
The most worrying situation is that of the United Kingdom: Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among the first to decide on the relaxation of restrictions, comforted by a first phase of the vaccination campaign that has traveled at an important pace, today he finds himself having to face the risk of a new wave.
UK
In Great Britain yesterday, over 40 thousand new cases of coronavirus were recorded: it is the fourth consecutive day that the numbers are around this figure, which is far from reassuring. According to data from the National Statistics Office, infections have been increasing steadily since the beginning of October.In the last 24 hours, infections have been 43,423, a slight decrease compared to the 45,066 of last Thursday, equal to the highest level since July. .
The FDA, the Advisory Committee of the American Drug Agency, voted unanimously to recommend the US regulatory body to authorize the emergency use of a booster dose of the US Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine. . J&J announced it last night via Twitter. According to experts, reports the “Washington Post”, the booster of the single-dose vaccine developed by Janssen can be administered to the population over 18 at least 2 months after the first dose. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has decided to reopen the borders of the United States for vaccinated people starting November 8, as announced by the White House. “The new US travel policy that requires vaccination for foreign travelers to the US will begin on November 8,” White House press officer Kevin Munoz tweeted. “This announcement and start date apply to both international and land-based air travel,” he added.
Australia
The situation in Australia is improving. Melbourne is preparing to emerge from the longest lockdown in the world, second only to the one experienced in Buenus Aires. Starting from Friday, citizens will be able to leave their homes after 262 days, about nine months, from March 2020.
Russia
The highest number of Covid-19 victims since the beginning of the pandemic occurred in Russia the day before yesterday. 1,002 people died from the virus compared to 999 on Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 222,315. for the first time the count exceeds one thousand units. There were 33,208 infections, also at the highest levels for the third consecutive day. The Kremlin continues not to want to impose stricter rules so as not to block the economy by accusing the peak of victims and cases of those Russians who do not want to get vaccinated.
China
The pandemic in China is still under control, where the virus exploded. There were 20 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on October 16 compared to 14 the previous day. 13 new asymptomatic patients were also detected, which the country classifies separately from confirmed cases, down from 18 the previous day. Eleven of those infections were imported, with the remainder originating in Yunnan province. There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 4,636.
Brazil
Brazil recorded 11,250 new cases and 483 deaths associated with the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, a slight decrease from the previous day. This was announced by the government. The country now has 21,638,726 confirmed cases and 603,152 deaths, according to the recent epidemiological bulletin of the Ministry of Health. However, the figures tend to decline on weekends due to a lack of staff to calculate the data in some more distant municipalities.
The race for the anti Covid pill
The anti Covid pill produced by the pharmaceutical multinational Merck is very popular in Asia, even if it has not yet been approved for sale. According to CNN, at least eight countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region have already signed contracts or are in negotiations to produce the drug molnupiravir under license, which according to some experts could represent a turning point in the fight against coronaviurs. Merck recently filed an emergency authorization request with the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its pill, which, according to a clinical study, would halve the risk of hospitalization and death for patients with Covid. Meanwhile, the Airfinity company specializing in market analysis reveals that the countries interested in the pill are New Zealand, Australia and South Korea. Molnupiravir “really has the potential to change the game a little”. commented Rachel Cohen, the nonprofit’s North American executive director Drugs for Neglected Diseases.