Cases shoot up, England to hold full reopening
THERE IS GROWING SPECULATION THAT THE COVID-19 PROTOCOLS WILL STAY IN EFFECT IN THE COUNTRY UNTIL JULY 19
LONDON/WASHINGTON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to disappoint many people across England later on Monday by saying that restrictions on social contact will remain in place for a few more weeks because of rising infections due to the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
The variant first found in India is estimated by some to be at least 60% more contagious than the previous dominant strain. British scientists have urged the prime minister to postpone plans to lift most coronavirus restrictions in England on June 21 and keep them in place until at least July 19.
Novavax: Covid shot 93% effective against strains
Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate showed strong efficacy against the coronavirus, including mutated variants, in a large trial. The shot was 90% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid and 100% effective at preventing moderate and severe symptoms, the US biotech firm said on Monday. The shot was 93% effective against variants of concern, it said.
The vaccine uses a recombinant protein technology, also used in the vaccine candidate developed by Sanofi and Glaxosmithkline.
At over 90%, the overall efficacy of the vaccine is close to reported rates for MRNA shots developed by Pfizer with Biontech and by Moderna, as well as the Sputnik V vaccine from Russia, using viral vector technology.
Novavax’s phase 3 trial included almost 30,000 participants in the US and Mexico and studied the vaccine’s efficacy against major variants circulating in the US, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only one case of the highly contagious Delta variant was detected among trial participants.
Iran okays homegrown Covid-19 vaccine
Iran’s state TV is reporting that the government has approved an emergency use of its first domestically developed coronavirus vaccine. Also, another vaccine, produced jointly by Iran and Cuba, will join the country’s vaccine package the next week, officials said.