Health & Science

• Tuesday, March 16th 2021 - 09:53 UTC

  WHO insists that AstraZeneca vaccine is safe; EU countries suspend jabs on isolated cases of blood clots

  

  REUTERS – The World Health Organization's director-general said on Monday that systems meant to protect public health were working, as several countries suspended the use of the AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine to investigate possible side-effects.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2021 - 09:40 UTC

  Bolsonaro appoints his fourth Health minister, a cardiologist

  

  With Covid-19 infections and deaths seeing in Brazil, President Jair Bolsonaro confirmed on Monday that he will appoint cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga as the replacement to health minister Eduardo Pazuello. This would be the third change for the position in less than a year.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2021 - 08:37 UTC

  German doctors call for an “immediate return” to lockdown to avoid third wave of Covid-19

  

  Intensive care doctors in Germany warned on Monday that the country would need to make an “immediate return” to partial lockdown if it is to avoid stumbling into a dangerous third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Monday, March 15th 2021 - 09:06 UTC

  Brazil becomes second worst Covid-19 country; a time bomb for neighboring countries, WHO reports

  

  Brazil has surpassed India to become the second worst-hit country from the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. With 11,483,370 cases and 278,327 deaths, Brazil is now one spot behind the United States, which is the worst-affected globally with more than 30 million cases and 546,605 deaths, according to figures by WorldMeters.

• Saturday, March 13th 2021 - 09:40 UTC

  IDB initiative to help Latin America better compete for Covid-19 vaccines

  

  The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced a first-of-its kind initiative that would help Latin American and Caribbean countries better compete to obtain lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines. The instrument would help both countries and vaccine makers resolve indemnity obligations, thereby removing a key obstacle to vaccine contract negotiations.

• Saturday, March 13th 2021 - 09:26 UTC

  Argentina extends the sanitary emergency until 31 December

  

  The Argentine government has extended until 31 December the current sanitary emergency first decreed on 12 March 2020, just days ahead of the social, preventive and mandatory distancing to contain the effects of the pandemic.

• Saturday, March 13th 2021 - 08:59 UTC

  Foreign investment in China in Jan-Feb up 31,5% year on year

  

  China, which achieved a V-shaped economic recovery last year, attracted 176.76 billion yuan (US$ 27.18 billion) in foreign investments in January-February, up 31.5% year-on-year, the commerce ministry in Beijing said on Friday.

• Saturday, March 13th 2021 - 08:47 UTC

  WHO extends emergency approval for Jansen's on shot vaccine, reiterates support for AstraZeneca

  

  The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that it was aware of blood clot concerns linked to “a specific batch” of AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, but maintained that to date, no-one has died from any coronavirus vaccine. The development comes after several European countries suspended the rollout of the jab as a precaution.

• Saturday, March 13th 2021 - 08:00 UTC

  German ruling coalition lawmakers resign for brokering face mask procurement deal

  

  Lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling party and coalition had to declare by writing that they hadn't received money for consulting or procurement related to the Covid 19 situation, following claims several of them were involved in face mask purchases. Party officials said that all 240 conservative lawmakers had sent back their declaration as requested.

• Friday, March 12th 2021 - 13:24 UTC

  Falklands tighten up vessel entry policy

  

  The Falkland Islands’ Executive Council this week agreed to tighten the policy governing the entry of vessels into the islands’ territorial waters and ports. Under the new policy, any vessel which has suspected or reported cases of Covid-19 “should not seek to enter Falkland Islands territorial waters and ports,” the Falklands government has confirmed.