From digital certificates to health passports, countries and airlines across the globe are hoping to re-launch travel by letting people prove their Covid-free status. But with patchy vaccine access around the world and mounting concerns over data privacy, questions are swirling about how the measures will work in practice.
The former Uruguayan president José “Pepe” Mujica criticized the government of Luis Lacalle Pou and assured that the Covid-19 pandemic “helped” to improve his image. ”The pandemic is white (in reference to the color of the ruling party)“ and ”brought a big help“ to the government, said the former president in a radial interview on Wednesday. ”He has no responsibility, but he positioned himself well in the situation and knew how to take advantage of it”, he assured.
The great Brazilian football star Pele received his first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, calling it an “unforgettable day.” The 80-year-old Brazilian football great posted the news on his social media channels along with a picture of himself receiving the shot in his right arm.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU executive would propose a digital vaccination passport later this month, she said on Monday. Members of the bloc will then decide whether to press ahead with the scheme to allow each other to recognize citizens' proof of vaccination.
The tide is changing and willingness to get a Covid-19 vaccine is on the rise compared to last year, according to a survey of six industrialized countries published on Monday. More people in the United Kingdom, the United States and even vaccine-skeptical France now accept the idea of getting a coronavirus jab, KekstCNC, an international consultancy, said in the survey conducted in February.
Without a great media hype, the first 192,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines from the Chinese laboratory Sinovac arrived in Montevideo in the early hours of Friday morning. However, a police operation was deployed throughout the day to begin distributing the vaccines, which will begin to be administered on Monday, March 1, to a small group of essential workers in different parts of the capital and the interior of the country.
Frozen vials of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine may be stored at temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for a period of up to two weeks, the US Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday. The move loosens a previous requirement that the vaccine should be stored at ultra-low temperatures, between -80 to -60 deg C.
The Falkland Islands Government has received its second batch of Covid-19 vaccines, supplied by the UK government. These 2,200 doses arrived today via the South Atlantic Airbridge and are of the same Oxford/AstraZeneca type as the first batch received at the beginning of the month.
Uruguay will be receiving the first batch of Covid-19 vaccines next Thursday evening and the official inoculation campaign will begin on Monday March first. Over the weekend those in charge of vaccination will be the first to receive the shots, according to president Luis Lacalle Pou.
The Argentine government has published a list of 70 influential figures, mostly politicians and close friends and family members, who have received preferential vaccine Covid-19 treatment, at the Posadas Hospital in Buenos Aires.