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 U.S. daily deaths top 3,250
The United States on Wednesday crossed an ominous new threshold of
more than 3,250 lives lost to COVID-19 in a single day, while public
health officials stepped up preparations for a vaccine campaign of
historic scope ahead of final regulatory review.
Steady movement toward a vaccine rollout on the eve of a critical
review by leading U.S. medical experts comes as COVID-19 caseloads
surged alarmingly higher, straining healthcare systems in some
pandemic hot spots to the breaking point.
Intensive care units at hundreds of hospitals in cities and rural
communities across the country were reported to be at or near
capacity.
Hackers steal Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine data
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said on
Wednesday that documents related to development of their COVID-19
vaccine had been "unlawfully accessed" in a cyberattack on Europe's
medicines regulator.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which assesses medicines and
vaccines for the European Union, said hours earlier it had been
targeted in a cyberattack. It gave no further details.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they did not believe any personal data of
trial participants had been compromised and EMA "has assured us that
the cyber attack will have no impact on the timeline for its
review".
India gears up for vaccine race
India, the world's biggest vaccine maker, is getting set for a
massive global blitz to contain the pandemic, with its
pharmaceutical industry and partners freeing up capacity and
accelerating investments even without firm purchase orders.
India manufactures more than 60% of all vaccines sold across the
globe, and while its $40 billion pharmaceutical sector is not yet
involved in the production of the expensive Pfizer and Moderna
shots, the nation will play a pivotal role in immunizing much of the
world.
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Indian companies are set to produce eight, more affordable vaccines,
including AstraZeneca's Covishield, called the "vaccine for the
world" by its developers.
Japan plans vaccine freezer buying binge
Japan said on Thursday it would buy 10,500 deep freezers to store
vaccines as it prepares for the "extraordinary task" of protecting
its people, while Tokyo reported a record number of new infections.
Japan, with a population of 126 million, has agreements to buy a
total of 290 million doses of vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and
Moderna, or enough for 145 million people.
Pfizer's vaccines need to be kept at around minus 75 Celsius (minus
103 Fahrenheit), and Moderna's at about minus 20C, posing complex
logistics challenges in rolling them out.
Cruise ship scare a false alarm
A passenger who tested positive for COVID-19 aboard a
'cruise-to-nowhere' from Singapore, forcing the ship to return to
dock and nearly 1,700 guests to isolate, has been found not to have
the virus.
Passengers on Royal Caribbean's Quantum of the Seas vessel were held
in their cabins for more than 16 hours on Wednesday after an 83-year
old man, who sought medical help on the ship for diarrhoea, tested
positive for COVID-19.
When the ship returned to port on Wednesday, the passenger was taken
to hospital where he took two further tests which did not reveal
infection. A third negative test on Thursday led authorities to
declare him virus free.
(Compiled by Linda NoakesEditing by Gareth Jones)
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