There is a need to match vaccines with vigilance: UN secy gen Antonio Guterres

United Nations UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres on Monday called for vaccine equity and continued vigilance against the Coronavirus as global COVID19 deaths exceeded 5 millionldquoToday the human family crosses a painful new threshold 5 million lives lost to COVID19rdquo he said in a statement ldquoThis devastating milestone reminds us that we are failing much of the worldrdquoWhile wealthy countries are rolling out third doses of the COVID19 vaccine only about 5 per cent of people in Africa are fully vaccinated This is a global shame he said The fivemillion threshold should also stand as a clear warning guard against the virus cannot be lowered he saidThere are still more deaths overcrowded hospitals and exhausted health workers and the risk of new variants spreading and claiming more lives At the same time other dangerous threats continue to allow COVID19 to thrive mdash misinformation vaccine hoarding and vaccine nationalism and lack of global solidarity he saidrdquoI urge world leaders to fully support the global vaccination strategy I launched with the World Health Organization last month We need to get vaccines into the arms of 40 per cent of people in all countries by the end of this year mdash and 70 per cent by mid2022 I call on them to deliver with urgency and scale address funding gaps and coordinate their actions for successrdquo Guterres saidPsaki tests positive for COVID symptoms mildWhite House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that she has tested positive for COVID19 and will return to work after a 10day quarantine following a negative resultIn a statement on Sunday Psaki said that she has been vaccinated against the virus and was currently experiencing mild symptoms reports Xinhua news agencyAustralia formally recognises CovaxinAustraliarsquos medicines and medical devices regulator formally recognised Indiarsquos Covaxin as the countryrsquos border was reopened for the first time in nearly 20 months Hyderabadbased Bharat Biotechrsquos Covaxin and AstraZeneca and Oxford Universityrsquos Covishield are the two widely used vaccines in IndiaThailand allows vaxxed tourists from 63 nationsThailand will allow fully vaccinated tourists from 63 lowrisk nations to enter the country without quarantine from Monday the media reported On October 21 the government announced that from November 1 fully vaccinated travellers from 47 countries and territories will be allowed to enter Thailand without quarantine later adding 17 more countries to the listFDA delays EUA of Moderna vaccine for teensUS drugmaker Moderna has confirmed that the FDA has delayed granting the emergency use authorisation EUA to its COVID vaccine for teenagers aged 12 to 17 over the risk of myocarditis mdash inflammation of the heart muscle The FDA needs more time to complete its assessment and the review may not be completed until January 2022 the drugmaker saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever