Cuba first in the world to give jabs to 2-yr-olds
HAVANA: Cuba on Monday became the first country in the world to vaccinate children from the age of two against Covid-19, using home-grown jabs that are yet to be recognized by the World Health Organization.
The island of 11.2 million people aims to inoculate all its children before reopening schools that have been closed for the most part since March 2020.
The new school year started on Monday, but from home via TV programmes, as most Cuban homes do not have internet access. Having completed clinical trials on minors with its Abdala and Soberana vaccines, Cuba kicked off its inoculation campaign for children on Friday, starting with those 12 and older.
On Monday, it started distributing jabs in the 2-11 age group in the central province of Cienfuegos. Several other countries in
the world are vaccinating children from the age of 12, and some are conducting trials in younger kids.
Japan: Third man dies after contaminated shot
Japan’s health ministry said that a third person, a man in his 40s, has died after receiving the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine from production lots that are being recalled due to possible contamination, public broadcaster NHK reported. The cause of death hasn’t been determined and experts will examine whether there’s any link between the administration and the death.
Africa’s Covid death toll tops 200,000: AFP tally
More than 200,000 people have died from Covid-19 in Africa since the start of the pandemic, according to an AFP tally compiled from official records. A total of 200,254 fatalities have been registered on the continent, home to over 1.3 billion people.
In Australia, PM Scott Morrison faced a backlash over a trip that he took on Sunday, the BBC has reported, while over half of the country’s population is under a lockdown. The report says Morrison, ostensibly in the capacity of an”essential worker”, was granted permission to fly from Canberra to Sydney on a private jet to join his children.