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UK Report: Booster Effectiveness Against Omicron Decreases Within 10 Weeks

2021-12-24 FreeNews

By Caroline Vakil

The Hill

A United Kingdom Health Security Agency report published on Thursday suggests that the effectiveness of the COVID-19 booster against symptomatic infections of the omicron variant wanes within 10 weeks.

The report included 147,597 delta and 68,489 omicron cases, which were reported between Nov. 27 and Dec. 17. It analyzed the percentage of vaccine effectiveness between reported cases of the two strains in individuals who had received a two-dose regimen of the Astrazeneca, Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Researchers then compared the vaccine effectiveness of those who received a Pfizer or Moderna booster between reported cases of omicron and delta.

In all cases, data showed that the vaccines’ effectiveness against omicron was lower compared with their effectiveness against delta. The effectiveness of both the Moderna and Pfizer boosters was also found to decrease within weeks of people receiving the extra dose.

“Among those who received an AstraZeneca primary course, vaccine effectiveness was around 60% 2 to 4 weeks after either a Pfizer or Moderna booster, then dropped to 35% with a Pfizer booster and 45% with a Moderna booster by 10 weeks after the booster,” the report said.

Those percentages were a far cry from the vaccine effectiveness for individuals who had delta.

Vaccine effectiveness was between 80 and 100 percent in the first week for people who received either Pfizer or Moderna booster, and had only slightly dipped to just over 80 percent by the 10th week for those with the Pfizer booster.

In the 10th week, for individuals who received the Moderna booster and had delta, vaccine effectiveness was closer to 100 percent.

Researchers also compared the effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna boosters for individuals who received an initial two-dose regimen of the Pfizer vaccine.

“Among those who received a Pfizer primary course, vaccine effectiveness was around 70% after a Pfizer booster, dropping to 45% after 10-plus weeks and stayed around 70 to 75% after a Moderna booster up to 9 weeks after booster,” the report said of that data.

“These results should be interpreted with caution due to the low counts and the possible biases related to the populations with highest exposure to Omicron (including travellers and their close contacts) which cannot fully be accounted for,” the report noted.

The report also said, “There are insufficient severe cases of Omicron as yet to analyse vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation, but this is expected to be better sustained, for both primary and booster doses.”

The CEO of Pfizer said earlier this month in an interview with CNBC that it was possible that people would need to receive a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in light of the omicron variant.

The post UK Report: Booster Effectiveness Against Omicron Decreases Within 10 Weeks appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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UK, France with Record High Daily Covid Infections, FDA Okays 2nd Covid Pill, Ecuador Vax Mandate, World Stats

2021-12-24 FreeNews

The UK set another daily Covid record on Thursday with 119,789 confirmed cases. There were a further 147 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

It has also been a record-breaking week for booster and third jabs in the UK, with more than 968,665 administered on Wednesday, the highest number to date.

Prof Clare Bryant – a professor of immunology at the University of Cambridge – told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that additional booster shots in the form of a fourth dose would be needed at some point, but exactly when was not yet clear.

“We are looking at fourth shots,” she said.

“I suspect it’s a question of when those will need to be introduced because of course a waning in immunity means that you may catch the virus a little bit more easily but don’t forget you’re still very well protected against severe disease and that’s absolutely critical.”

France on Thursday recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, as the country deals with a fifth wave of the virus.

More than 91,000 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in France on Thursday, according to Reuters.

“Today’s figures are not good,” said French Health Minister Olivier Véran. France will likely see 100,000 new daily cases soon, Varén warned earlier this week.

French health officials also recorded 179 new deaths and 61 COVID-19 hospitalizations in the intensive care unit due to COVID-19 on Thursday. Reuters noted that French President Emmanuel Macron is hoping to avoid enacting new restrictions and mandates, but the country’s government has said that all options would be considered.

Last week, French Prime Minister Jean Castex warned that the omicron variant was “spreading at lightning speed” throughout Europe and said the new strain will likely be dominant in France by early next year. Due to the rapid spread of the variant, France restricted travel from the U.K. last week, a move that the British government criticized as being not “effective or proportionate.”

Castex also said the government would be taking steps to address vaccine hesitancy, saying it was “not acceptable that the refusal of a few million French people to be vaccinated puts the life of an entire country at risk.”

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FDA authorizes Merck COVID-19 pill

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday authorized a COVID-19 treatment from Merck, marking the second pill to become available to fight the virus.

This authorization is more limited than one on Wednesday for a Pfizer pill. The FDA authorized the Merck pill, developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, for high-risk adults “for whom alternative COVID-19 treatment options authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate.”

That is, if other options are not available, the Merck pill can be used.

The drug is also only authorized for adults over the age of 18, as it “may affect bone and cartilage growth.”

There are also concerns that the Merck drug could cause birth defects if used during pregnancy, so the FDA said the drug is not recommended for use during pregnancy.

Antivirals are seen as potentially critical weapons in the fight against COVID-19, because they can be taken at home, without an IV or injection. But from the data, the benefit of molnupiravir appears very limited. In a clinical trial, a five-day course of the pill was shown to be only modestly effective– initially a 50 percent reduction in risk of hospitalization or death, but the company later revised it down to 30 percent. By comparison, Pfizer’s drug was 89 percent effective at reducing severe illness or death.

But the advantage over Pfizer’s drug, authorized on Wednesday, is in the numbers. The White House said Wednesday that 3 million courses of the Merck pill would be available in January, compared to 265,000 for Pfizer.

Testing challenge: Like the Pfizer pill, the Merck pill is also intended to be used within five days of symptoms beginning. That poses some logistical challenges, given that testing will need to be widely available enough that people can get their results back and seek the treatment from a health care provider within five days.

Antiviral may help at-risk, unvaccinated

A clinical trial has found that antiviral drug remdesivir reduces serious outcomes and hospitalization in unvaccinated high-risk COVID-19 patients, if administered in the early stages of their infection.

A three-day course of remdesivir cut hospitalization and death rates for COVID-19 by 87 percent.

Remdesivir, an infusion treatment manufactured by Gilead Sciences, was the first treatment ever to be authorized for use against the coronavirus in hospitalized patients.

The new study shows it can be effective on an outpatient basis as well.

A total of 562 patients took part in the study over an eight-month period.The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was meant to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a three-day course of remdesivir in high-risk, non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Key caveat: The findings are based on research that predates both delta variant and omicron.

Also unclear is how well remdesivir would work early on in coronavirus patients who are vaccinated. The study focused on unvaccinated patients, the group most likely to become seriously ill or die if infected.

Remdesivir is an infusion drug, meaning it’s delivered intravenously. That could prove difficult to do outside a hospital, especially since treatment occurs over the course of three days.

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Ecuador makes COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for all eligible residents

By Joseph Choi

The Ecuadorian government on Thursday issued a vaccine mandate for all eligible residents, making Ecuador the most recent country to issue this strict measure against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exceptions to the far-reaching vaccine mandate will be made for people who cannot safely receive the vaccine, the government said. All other Ecuadorians ages five and above will be required to get the shot.

Ecuador’s Minister of Public Health Ximena Garzón cited the spread of new variants of concern, such as omicron, for the new requirement. To encourage vaccinations, 24-hour health centers will be kept open over the Christmas holiday, the health ministry said in the announcement.

The ministry stated that the country has enough vaccines in stock to immunize all its residents and stressed that the vaccines are considered to be safe and effective.

Roughly 77 percent of Ecuador’s population over the age of 5 is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, Reuters reported. The news wire noted that the Ecuadorian government had said that it wanted to vaccinate 85 percent of its population this year.

Indonesia, Micronesia, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan have all issued similar vaccine mandates, and Germany and Austria are expected to do so next year.

The Ecuadorian health ministry said earlier this week that the delta variant of COVID-19 is still the most prevalent variant of concern in the country, though several cases of omicron have been confirmed.

According to the World Health Organization, Ecuador has so far confirmed more than 538,000 COVID-19 cases and over 33,000 related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

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WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

278,579,623

view by country

Deaths:

5,402,473

Recovered:

249,343,813

#	Country, Other	Total Cases	New Cases	Total Deaths	New Deaths	Total Recovered	New Recovered	Active Cases	Serious, Critical	Tot Cases/ 1M pop	Deaths/ 1M pop	Total Tests	Tests/ 1M pop	Population
	World	278,579,623	+70,452	5,402,473	+1,727	249,343,813	+157,671	23,833,337	88,596	35,739	693.1
1	USA	52,788,451		834,455		40,964,993		10,989,003	16,128	158,113	2,499	797,357,949	2,388,258	333,865,970
2	India	34,772,657		479,133		34,215,977	+7,051	77,547	8,944	24,837	342	669,809,816	478,431	1,400,013,310
3	Brazil	22,226,573		618,228		21,414,318		194,027	8,318	103,481	2,878	63,776,166	296,926	214,788,179
4	UK	11,767,262		147,720		9,961,369		1,658,173	872	172,006	2,159	393,792,547	5,756,183	68,412,092
5	Russia	10,343,353	+24,703	302,269	+998	9,180,379	+41,213	860,705	2,300	70,832	2,070	237,300,000	1,625,044	146,026,801
6	Turkey	9,247,606		81,125		8,880,050		286,431	1,128	107,935	947	115,788,134	1,351,444	85,677,346
7	France	8,889,636		122,295		7,701,093		1,066,248	3,147	135,747	1,867	182,873,794	2,792,537	65,486,626
8	Germany	6,954,549		110,636		6,048,800	+56,000	795,113	4,636	82,616	1,314	89,622,218	1,064,660	84,179,211
9	Iran	6,179,817		131,262		6,019,343		29,212	2,807	72,213	1,534	41,183,363	481,238	85,578,003
10	Spain	5,718,007		89,019		5,002,310		626,678	1,515	122,228	1,903	66,213,858	1,415,385	46,781,501
11	Italy	5,517,054		136,245		4,950,780		430,029	1,023	91,447	2,258	133,238,576	2,208,473	60,330,623
12	Argentina	5,428,957		116,979		5,248,682		63,296	832	118,517	2,554	27,302,336	596,024	45,807,426
13	Colombia	5,115,194		129,640		4,953,642		31,912	342	98,973	2,508	29,166,085	564,330	51,682,656
14	Indonesia	4,261,208		144,042		4,112,524		4,642		15,340	519	61,372,344	220,932	277,788,835
15	Poland	4,017,420		93,445		3,500,570		423,405	2,080	106,322	2,473	26,591,417	703,748	37,785,440
16	Mexico	3,943,764	+3,363	298,508	+149	3,295,433	+1,522	349,823	4,798	30,121	2,280	12,237,083	93,463	130,930,373
17	Ukraine	3,637,038	+6,647	94,432	+248	3,408,294	+14,874	134,312	177	83,907	2,179	16,626,864	383,585	43,345,954
18	South Africa	3,374,262		90,662		3,094,902		188,698	546	55,855	1,501	20,985,692	347,381	60,411,197
19	Netherlands	3,028,137		20,621		2,467,623		539,893	572	176,149	1,200	19,205,114	1,117,173	17,190,813
20	Philippines	2,838,032	+310	51,050	+69	2,777,661	+227	9,321	899	25,400	457	24,937,631	223,193	111,731,346
21	Malaysia	2,731,713		31,265		2,652,585		47,863	329	82,836	948	40,221,291	1,219,662	32,977,399
22	Czechia	2,442,600	+7,353	35,640	+18	2,221,551	+500	185,409	767	227,466	3,319	46,569,944	4,336,809	10,738,296
23	Peru	2,271,549		202,424		N/A	N/A	N/A	890	67,507	6,016	21,333,592	634,004	33,648,965
24	Thailand	2,204,672	+2,671	21,528	+27	2,144,952	+2,766	38,192	899	31,469	307	17,270,775	246,520	70,058,404
25	Iraq	2,091,834		24,108		2,061,781		5,945	96	50,343	580	16,729,836	402,625	41,551,946
26	Belgium	2,030,878	+4,421	28,110	+30	1,595,493	+8,548	407,275	692	174,115	2,410	26,752,030	2,293,548	11,664,037
27	Canada	1,945,754		30,131		1,814,426		101,197	455	50,896	788	51,486,352	1,346,745	38,230,215
28	Romania	1,801,081		58,463		1,729,714		12,904	453	94,554	3,069	16,837,470	883,937	19,048,269
29	Chile	1,796,232		38,954		1,708,111		49,167	581	92,789	2,012	26,960,138	1,392,697	19,358,220
30	Japan	1,730,905	+303	18,386	+3	1,710,822	+145	1,697	34	13,748	146	29,038,151	230,635	125,905,043
31	Vietnam	1,604,712		30,531		1,184,428		389,753	7,493	16,270	310	73,432,477	744,523	98,630,273
32	Bangladesh	1,582,368		28,054		1,546,664		7,650	1,352	9,469	168	11,345,341	67,892	167,109,072
33	Israel	1,360,919		8,241		1,342,718		9,960	79	145,927	884	37,251,801	3,994,403	9,326,000
34	Pakistan	1,292,728	+322	28,898	+4	1,254,301	+197	9,529	652	5,690	127	23,048,609	101,441	227,211,952
35	Serbia	1,287,202		12,518		1,251,175		23,509	104	148,202	1,441	7,122,142	820,010	8,685,428
36	Sweden	1,273,313		15,229		1,179,355		78,729	92	124,931	1,494	14,208,757	1,394,087	10,192,160
37	Austria	1,258,377		13,595		1,211,312		33,470	430	138,554	1,497	119,026,243	13,105,433	9,082,206
38	Portugal	1,253,094		18,840		1,149,611		84,643	155	123,423	1,856	24,494,256	2,412,554	10,152,831
39	Hungary	1,237,330		38,307		1,071,772		127,251	454	128,565	3,980	9,058,668	941,243	9,624,150
40	Switzerland	1,221,424		12,128		951,091		258,205	302	139,624	1,386	13,812,799	1,578,970	8,747,980
41	Greece	1,056,583		20,198		979,526		56,859	655	102,106	1,952	44,275,964	4,278,735	10,347,910
42	Jordan	1,047,953		12,372		986,120		49,461	1,138	101,227	1,195	13,243,053	1,279,212	10,352,512
43	Kazakhstan	985,016	+460	12,960	+3	956,046	+686	16,010	528	51,550	678	11,575,012	605,772	19,107,870
44	Cuba	964,406		8,317		955,679		410	16	85,222	735	11,517,561	1,017,775	11,316,414
45	Morocco	954,199		14,823		937,133		2,243	103	25,408	395	10,710,227	285,183	37,555,645
46	Georgia	920,617	+1,976	13,367	+78	876,254	+3,076	30,996		231,435	3,360	12,643,619	3,178,492	3,977,867
47	Nepal	826,664		11,581		809,922		5,161	114	27,639	387	4,801,007	160,520	29,909,065
48	Slovakia	819,493		16,239		741,253		62,001	502	149,993	2,972	5,012,732	917,487	5,463,544
49	UAE	746,557		2,154		739,616		4,787		74,162	214	108,250,575	10,753,442	10,066,598
50	Bulgaria	732,106		30,436		605,051		96,619	479	106,546	4,429	7,252,489	1,055,485	6,871,238
51	Tunisia	722,123		25,509		694,680		1,934	82	60,172	2,126	3,293,865	274,466	12,000,987
52	Lebanon	707,123		8,996		652,174		45,953	186	104,290	1,327	4,795,578	707,278	6,780,333
53	Belarus	689,151		5,449		681,250		2,452		72,967	577	10,897,301	1,153,796	9,444,736
54	Croatia	686,590		12,179		651,995		22,416	266	168,782	2,994	3,680,897	904,864	4,067,900
55	Ireland	680,375		5,890		532,365		142,120	98	135,557	1,174	9,736,837	1,939,949	5,019,119
56	Denmark	665,142		3,173		533,022		128,947	72	114,240	545	103,773,583	17,823,481	5,822,296
57	Guatemala	624,866		16,089		607,673		1,104	5	33,953	874	3,244,302	176,283	18,403,909
58	Azerbaijan	613,059		8,257		591,724		13,078		59,671	804	5,788,891	563,453	10,273,962
59	S. Korea	596,209	+6,231	5,071	+56	485,721	+16,666	105,417	1,084	11,614	99	15,804,065	307,866	51,334,293
60	Sri Lanka	582,149		14,832		558,527		8,790		27,019	688	5,726,599	265,788	21,545,710
61	Bolivia	570,876		19,496		514,816		36,564	220	47,941	1,637	2,624,793	220,427	11,907,766
62	Costa Rica	568,860		7,343		560,239		1,278	49	110,186	1,422	2,911,504	563,947	5,162,723
63	Saudi Arabia	551,749		8,868		540,506		2,375	35	15,493	249	32,600,487	915,409	35,613,027
64	Ecuador	538,218		33,624		443,880		60,714	759	29,838	1,864	2,103,013	116,588	18,037,960
65	Myanmar	529,114		19,242		506,514		3,358		9,629	350	5,950,796	108,299	54,947,849
66	Lithuania	509,497	+1,581	7,249	+21	477,368	+3,500	24,880	112	191,094	2,719	6,538,607	2,452,395	2,666,213
67	Panama	485,512		7,406		472,874		5,232	18	109,972	1,678	4,401,180	996,896	4,414,882
68	Paraguay	465,028		16,596		447,400		1,032	49	64,038	2,285	2,010,268	276,831	7,261,719
69	Slovenia	453,093		5,528		430,849		16,716	202	217,900	2,659	2,042,333	982,193	2,079,360
70	Venezuela	442,757		5,310		431,291		6,156	681	15,636	188	3,359,014	118,622	28,317,032
71	Palestine	437,326		4,616		428,691		4,019	56	82,889	875	2,819,430	534,381	5,276,072
72	Kuwait	414,591		2,467		411,216		908	5	95,010	565	5,798,634	1,328,843	4,363,671
73	Dominican Republic	412,685		4,228		406,692		1,765	82	37,488	384	2,547,334	231,400	11,008,336
74	Uruguay	406,127		6,159		396,537		3,431	22	116,319	1,764	4,317,741	1,236,646	3,491,492
75	Mongolia	388,063	+188	2,053	+2	313,256		72,754	192	115,629	612	4,030,048	1,200,812	3,356,102
76	Ethiopia	386,164		6,885		351,393		27,886	153	3,241	58	4,015,621	33,700	119,156,945
77	Libya	384,005		5,635		372,336		6,034		54,787	804	1,995,070	284,642	7,009,043
78	Honduras	379,073	+79	10,430	+1	123,783		244,860	50	37,396	1,029	1,135,703	112,038	10,136,794
79	Egypt	378,843		21,510		314,994		42,339	90	3,602	205	3,693,367	35,115	105,178,410
80	Moldova	373,752		9,575		359,490		4,687	155	92,970	2,382	2,326,057	578,603	4,020,127
81	Norway	367,866		1,257		88,952		277,657	125	67,083	229	9,213,931	1,680,219	5,483,767
82	Armenia	344,261	+135	7,939	+3	329,983	+407	6,339		115,858	2,672	2,522,916	849,062	2,971,415
83	Oman	304,984		4,113		300,235		636	2	57,567	776	25,000,000	4,718,886	5,297,861
84	Bosnia and Herzegovina	286,792		13,243		192,218		81,331		88,225	4,074	1,459,183	448,883	3,250,698
85	Australia	282,584	+9,042	2,182	+9	227,405		52,997	132	10,895	84	53,136,147	2,048,729	25,936,149
86	Bahrain	279,056		1,394		276,722		940	1	156,021	779	7,857,660	4,393,239	1,788,580
87	Singapore	277,042		820		272,675		3,547	20	46,812	139	21,098,774	3,565,062	5,918,207
88	Kenya	274,645		5,356		249,617		19,672	16	4,947	96	2,966,713	53,439	55,515,956
89	Latvia	270,158		4,489		254,890		10,779	80	145,605	2,419	5,553,656	2,993,217	1,855,414
90	Qatar	247,269		614		244,316		2,339	12	88,065	219	3,125,886	1,113,285	2,807,805
91	Estonia	234,958		1,899		219,213		13,846	17	176,946	1,430	2,471,303	1,861,130	1,327,851
92	Nigeria	233,353		2,991		212,040		18,322	11	1,092	14	3,686,403	17,253	213,663,177
93	Finland	227,169		1,504		46,000		179,665	61	40,906	271	8,456,299	1,522,719	5,553,421
94	Zambia	225,260		3,688		208,255		13,317	217	11,768	193	2,864,498	149,646	19,141,855
95	North Macedonia	222,333		7,868		209,291		5,174		106,724	3,777	1,562,088	749,833	2,083,248
96	Algeria	215,723		6,213		148,406		61,104	26	4,792	138	230,861	5,128	45,017,901
97	Botswana	208,994		2,427		195,479		11,088	1	86,305	1,002	1,997,064	824,694	2,421,581
98	Albania	206,935		3,181		198,484		5,270	23	72,023	1,107	1,452,061	505,388	2,873,160
99	Zimbabwe	201,344		4,855		151,309		45,180	12	13,262	320	1,801,425	118,656	15,181,870
100	Uzbekistan	197,918	+165	1,475	+4	194,788	+153	1,655	23	5,790	43	1,377,915	40,308	34,184,247
101	Kyrgyzstan	184,395	+39	2,790	+2	179,497	+55	2,108	131	27,592	417	1,899,460	284,230	6,682,838
102	Mozambique	167,307		1,961		151,241		14,105	13	5,141	60	1,047,734	32,194	32,544,470
103	Montenegro	161,944		2,385		157,436		2,123	60	257,797	3,797	947,150	1,507,761	628,183
104	Afghanistan	157,878		7,346		145,355		5,177	1,124	3,925	183	814,976	20,263	40,219,662
105	Cyprus	148,663		625		124,370		23,668	60	121,823	512	9,477,138	7,766,090	1,220,323
106	Namibia	142,270		3,597		128,029		10,644	22	54,536	1,379	851,949	326,578	2,608,713
107	Ghana	134,555		1,269		129,921		3,365	5	4,201	40	2,073,433	64,737	32,028,461
108	Uganda	130,888		3,274		98,127		29,487	85	2,734	68	2,085,180	43,562	47,866,665
109	El Salvador	121,661		3,815		106,193		11,653	91	18,618	584	1,500,675	229,655	6,534,487
110	Cambodia	120,440	+6	3,007	+1	116,845	+11	588		7,060	176	2,758,095	161,670	17,060,075
111	Cameroon	108,451		1,851		105,735		865	13	3,941	67	1,751,774	63,657	27,518,900
112	Rwanda	103,170		1,345		45,522		56,303		7,685	100	3,854,653	287,125	13,425,011
113	Laos	101,865		288		7,339		94,238		13,708	39	901,338	121,291	7,431,192
114	China	100,731	+87	4,636		94,244	+59	1,851	9	70	3	160,000,000	111,163	1,439,323,776
115	Luxembourg	98,440		907		91,674		5,859	19	153,575	1,415	3,790,759	5,913,931	640,988
116	Maldives	94,444		261		92,245		1,938	23	170,300	471	1,845,843	3,328,398	554,574
117	Jamaica	92,279		2,461		64,582		25,236		30,964	826	696,106	233,574	2,980,235
118	Trinidad and Tobago	87,980		2,681		69,274		16,025	22	62,567	1,907	498,173	354,276	1,406,174
119	Senegal	74,256		1,890		72,261		105		4,269	109	907,981	52,202	17,393,570
120	Réunion	71,795		401		65,494		5,900	34	79,355	443	1,347,378	1,489,248	904,737
121	DRC	70,059		1,126		50,930		18,003		749	12	306,299	3,274	93,568,572
122	Malawi	68,470		2,319		59,530		6,621	67	3,448	117	470,967	23,717	19,857,792
123	Angola	68,362		1,743		63,924		2,695	3	1,989	51	1,242,844	36,160	34,370,759
124	Eswatini	63,440		1,269		52,253		9,918	11	53,860	1,077	421,738	358,049	1,177,878
125	Ivory Coast	62,960		707		61,183		1,070		2,303	26	1,203,455	44,018	27,340,154
126	Guadeloupe	56,035		750		2,250		53,035	23	140,009	1,874	607,573	1,518,079	400,225
127	Fiji	52,706		697		51,217		792		58,173	769	468,972	517,614	906,027
128	Suriname	51,542	+24	1,186		49,082	+205	1,274	3	86,715	1,995	166,934	280,852	594,384
129	Syria	49,961		2,863		31,571		15,527		2,756	158	113,162	6,243	18,126,723
130	Martinique	47,300		769		104		46,427	1	126,189	2,052	466,711	1,245,107	374,836
131	Madagascar	47,295		996		43,961		2,338	22	1,646	35	307,183	10,689	28,739,197
132	French Guiana	47,129		337		11,254		35,538	6	151,989	1,087	480,313	1,548,992	310,081
133	French Polynesia	46,376		636		N/A	N/A	N/A	7	163,698	2,245			283,303
134	Sudan	46,100		3,298		38,292		4,510		1,016	73	238,579	5,260	45,357,110
135	Malta	43,806		473		39,289		4,044	3	98,823	1,067	1,211,456	2,732,949	443,278
136	Mauritania	40,308		860		38,894		554	13	8,346	178	546,821	113,223	4,829,601
137	Guyana	38,998		1,042		37,245		711	5	49,231	1,315	416,343	525,585	792,151
138	Cabo Verde	38,751		351		38,135		265	23	68,599	621	211,692	374,748	564,892
139	Gabon	38,039		286		36,221		1,532	5	16,517	124	1,469,004	637,843	2,303,080
140	Papua New Guinea	36,059		589		35,301		169	7	3,921	64	249,149	27,091	9,196,749
141	Belize	31,444		592		30,371		481	4	77,019	1,450	374,157	916,456	408,265
142	Guinea	30,938		389		29,802		747	49	2,265	28	570,956	41,806	13,657,222
143	Barbados	27,486		259		26,148		1,079		95,473	900	462,785	1,607,484	287,894
144	Togo	27,405		246		26,034		1,125		3,200	29	605,053	70,647	8,564,485
145	Tanzania	26,483		734		N/A	N/A	N/A	7	426	12			62,238,700
146	Lesotho	26,004		665		14,189		11,150		11,998	307	296,569	136,838	2,167,297
147	Haiti	25,945		765		22,957		2,223		2,235	66	132,422	11,408	11,607,481
148	Benin	24,935		161		24,705		69	5	1,980	13	604,310	47,996	12,590,725
149	Seychelles	24,047		131		23,574		342		242,299	1,320			99,245
150	Somalia	23,532		1,333		12,948		9,251		1,422	81	262,138	15,843	16,545,951
151	Bahamas	23,380		713		21,736		931	2	58,628	1,788	179,357	449,758	398,786
152	Channel Islands	23,188		112		20,747		2,329		131,581	636	1,102,820	6,257,987	176,226
153	Mauritius	23,077		762		21,621		694		18,101	598	358,675	281,340	1,274,882
154	Burundi	23,009		38		773		22,198		1,854	3	345,742	27,855	12,412,003
155	Iceland	22,087		37		19,428		2,622	3	64,111	107	1,331,380	3,864,561	344,510
156	Andorra	21,571		139		19,725		1,707	31	278,526	1,795	235,283	3,037,987	77,447
157	Mayotte	21,288		185		2,964		18,139		75,353	655	176,919	626,242	282,509
158	Timor-Leste	19,833		122		19,704		7		14,632	90	211,166	155,791	1,355,446
159	Mali	19,758		652		16,882		2,224		936	31	524,355	24,840	21,109,388
160	Congo	19,490		367		12,421		6,702		3,408	64	188,207	32,914	5,718,096
161	Curaçao	18,299		186		17,451		662	3	110,847	1,127	373,749	2,264,007	165,083
162	Nicaragua	17,442		211		4,225		13,006		2,588	31			6,740,767
163	Aruba	17,165		181		16,524		460	7	159,771	1,685	177,885	1,655,745	107,435
164	Tajikistan	17,095		124		16,966		5		1,735	13			9,853,178
165	Burkina Faso	17,040		317		16,250		473		784	15	239,193	10,999	21,747,087
166	Taiwan	16,873	+20	850		15,798	+11	225		707	36	9,073,995	379,977	23,880,381
167	Brunei	15,429		98		15,189		142	1	34,777	221	677,619	1,527,349	443,657
168	South Sudan	14,275		135		12,717		1,423	2	1,254	12	290,258	25,490	11,387,235
169	New Zealand	13,719	+71	49		12,122	+108	1,548	40	2,743	10	5,498,055	1,099,149	5,002,100
170	Equatorial Guinea	13,623		175		13,410		38	1	9,262	119	263,190	178,943	1,470,802
171	Djibouti	13,555		189		13,317		49		13,432	187	255,880	253,552	1,009,180
172	Isle of Man	13,401		67		12,605		729	1	156,377	782	133,676	1,559,868	85,697
173	Saint Lucia	13,248	+23	295		12,813	+12	140	2	71,663	1,596	105,686	571,693	184,865
174	New Caledonia	12,581		280		12,103		198	4	43,451	967	42,756	147,666	289,546
175	Hong Kong	12,551		213		12,186		152		1,654	28	29,296,086	3,861,510	7,586,692
176	CAR	11,961		101		6,859		5,001	2	2,415	20	60,228	12,159	4,953,519
177	Yemen	10,105		1,981		7,002		1,122	23	328	64	265,253	8,614	30,793,565
178	Gambia	10,087		342		9,688		57	4	4,008	136	131,044	52,072	2,516,610
179	Cayman Islands	8,386		11		4,799		3,576	11	125,426	165	215,963	3,230,078	66,860
180	Gibraltar	8,014		100		7,426		488	3	237,974	2,969	441,023	13,096,062	33,676
181	Eritrea	7,829		72		7,609		148		2,163	20	23,693	6,547	3,618,781
182	Niger	7,242		273		6,879		90	2	284	11	201,513	7,904	25,495,432
183	San Marino	7,160		96		6,202		862	6	210,365	2,821	99,475	2,922,641	34,036
184	Sierra Leone	6,610		123		N/A	N/A	N/A		805	15	160,729	19,563	8,215,972
185	Dominica	6,520		44		6,173		303		90,242	609	121,399	1,680,263	72,250
186	Guinea-Bissau	6,458		149		6,296		13		3,171	73	110,294	54,159	2,036,503
187	Bermuda	6,014		106		5,674		234		97,097	1,711	685,295	11,064,209	61,938
188	Grenada	5,948	+8	200		5,679		69		52,502	1,765	91,182	804,841	113,292
189	Liberia	5,929		287		5,535		107	2	1,133	55	128,246	24,508	5,232,754
190	Liechtenstein	5,819		69		5,438		312	17	151,976	1,802	80,413	2,100,159	38,289
191	St. Vincent Grenadines	5,810		79		5,137		594	7	52,126	709	93,427	838,211	111,460
192	Chad	5,701		181		4,874		646		333	11	157,235	9,184	17,119,650
193	Comoros	5,336	+213	153	+1	4,428	+5	755		5,949	171			896,889
194	Faeroe Islands	5,039		13		4,557		469	5	102,550	265	627,000	12,760,242	49,137
195	Sint Maarten	4,748		75		4,594		79	10	108,914	1,720	62,056	1,423,499	43,594
196	Monaco	4,606		38		4,207		361	4	116,161	958	54,960	1,386,059	39,652
197	Antigua and Barbuda	4,216		118		4,048		50	1	42,532	1,190	18,559	187,228	99,125
198	Saint Martin	4,008		56		1,399		2,553	7	101,115	1,413	78,366	1,977,042	39,638
199	Sao Tome and Principe	3,741		57		3,676		8		16,615	253	15,154	67,304	225,156
200	Caribbean Netherlands	3,245		22		3,115		108		122,070	828	30,126	1,133,281	26,583
201	Turks and Caicos	3,219	+11	26		3,105	+3	88		81,516	658	94,789	2,400,390	39,489
202	British Virgin Islands	3,016		39		N/A	N/A	N/A	7	98,795	1,278	82,570	2,704,730	30,528
203	Saint Kitts and Nevis	2,815		28		2,769		18	1	52,368	521	57,508	1,069,837	53,754
204	Bhutan	2,659		3		2,642		14		3,391	4	1,277,933	1,629,732	784,137
205	Greenland	2,249				1,875		374	2	39,515		132,563	2,329,140	56,915
206	Anguilla	1,629		5		1,582		42		107,171	329	51,382	3,380,395	15,200
207	St. Barth	1,621		6		N/A	N/A	N/A		163,391	605	56,491	5,694,083	9,921
208	Diamond Princess	712		13		699		0
209	Wallis and Futuna	454		7		438		9		41,469	639	20,508	1,873,219	10,948
210	Saint Pierre Miquelon	96				74		22		16,690		13,534	2,352,921	5,752
211	Falkland Islands	83				N/A	N/A	N/A		22,871		8,316	2,291,540	3,629
212	Macao	77				77		0		116		5,019	7,577	662,385
213	Montserrat	45		1		43		1		9,007	200	3,230	646,517	4,996
214	Vatican City	27				27		0		33,582				804
215	Solomon Islands	20				20		0		28		4,500	6,323	711,689
216	Western Sahara	10		1		8		1		16	2			618,966
217	MS Zaandam	9		2		7		0
218	Palau	8				8		0		439		14,878	816,530	18,221
219	Vanuatu	7		1		6		0		22	3	23,000	72,392	317,716
220	Marshall Islands	4				4		0		67				59,779
221	Samoa	3				3		0		15				200,359
222	Saint Helena	2				2		0		328				6,104
223	Micronesia	1				1		0		9				116,801
224	Tonga	1				1		0		9				107,461
	Total:	278,579,623	+70,452	5,402,473	+1,727	249,343,813	+157,671	23,833,337	88,596	35,739.2	693.1

Highlighted in green

= all cases have recovered from the infection

Highlighted in grey

= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

[back to top ↑]

Latest News

December 24 (GMT)

Updates

24,703 new cases and 998 new deaths in Russia [source]

23 new cases in Saint Lucia [source]

1,581 new cases and 21 new deaths in Lithuania [source]

310 new cases and 69 new deaths in the Philippines [source]

135 new cases and 3 new deaths in Armenia [source]

1,976 new cases and 78 new deaths in Georgia [source]

7,353 new cases and 18 new deaths in Czechia [source]

20 new cases in Taiwan [source]

6,647 new cases and 248 new deaths in Ukraine [source]

The post UK, France with Record High Daily Covid Infections, FDA Okays 2nd Covid Pill, Ecuador Vax Mandate, World Stats appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Five-year-old boy fighting for life after being mauled by dog

2021-12-24 FreeNews

A five-year-old boy is fighting for life in a Queensland hospital after being attacked by a dog.

The boy's family had been house sitting a property in Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast when the owner's dog attacked him around midday on Christmas Eve, mauling the young child's back and neck.

He sustained life-threatening bites before going into cardiac arrest.

The boy's grandmother leapt into action, trying to pull the bull terrier cross american bulldog off the boy.

The grandmother is also in hospital but in a stable condition.

The boy was transported to Gold Coast University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

https://twitter.com/QldAmbulance/status/1474215149682585601

He remains there in a critical condition tonight.

Queensland Ambulance Service's Paul Young said multiple paramedics, including the aigh acuity response unit, attended the scene.

"They were house sitting a house, so it's not their dog and they were playing in the backyard and apparently the dog has just turned," Mr Young said.

headline

How to track Santa's arrival in Australia

2021-12-24 FreeNews

Having a survived the treacherous year that was 2021, Christmas is officially at our doorsteps.

Santa, too, is well on his way, making last minute preparations for his annual journey across the globe.

Children waiting anxiously in anticipation of the big man will be able to track his movements in just a matter of hours, as he treks across the world, departing from the North Pole.

NORAD and other agenices across the globe will be tracking Santa this Christmas.

Deep in the Rocky Mountains, a special US military unit monitors the skies for weapons capable of destroying whole cities. But today, the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), takes on a different task – tracking Santa.

NORAD will give minute-by-minute updates as to where Santa's sleigh is around the world.

The website that shows where Santa is on his journey went live earlier this week.

The tracking allows eager and impatient kids to know when to expect Santa to come down their chimney – if they haven't already gone to bed.

While NORAD is seen as being on the cutting edge of new technology, the Santa tracker dates back generations.

The Santa tracker was first unveiled in 1955, when NORAD was known as the Continental Air Defence Command.

NORAD tracks Santa's progress across the globe each year.

At the time, the military had no interest in tracking where Santa Claus was.

But a telephone hotline allowing kids to speak to Santa just happened to be one digit off the Command's number. Consequently, they were deluged with calls asking about Santa.

headline

Police to suspend search for missing swimmer at Canterbury river

2021-12-24 FreeNews

The wait for the family of a swimmer missing in Canterbury’s Waimakariri River goes on as police suspended their search until after Christmas.A teenage man entered Waimakariri River north of Christchurch just after 7pm on Wednesday…

headline

Ex-Cop Kim Potter Guilty in Fatal Shooting of Daunte Wright

2021-12-24 FreeNews

By Caroline Vakil

The Hill

Kim Potter, the former Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright earlier this year after shouting “Taser,” on Thursday was found guilty of first- and second-degree manslaughter.

Judge Regina Chu required that Potter be taken into custody and held without bail. Potter’s sentencing date was set for Feb. 18.

In a press conference following the verdict, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) declined to give specifics regarding what sentence he would be calling for Potter to receive, only saying that he wanted “a fair one.”

“Accountability is not justice. Justice is restoration,” Ellison said. “Justice would be restoring Dante to life and making the Wright family whole again. Justice is beyond the reach that we have in this life for Daunte. But accountability is an important step, a critical, necessary step on the road to justice for us all.”

Officers said they pulled Wright over in April after noticing that he had been driving with an expired tag and an air freshener illegally hanging from his rearview mirror. Officers tried to arrest him after learning that there was a warrant out for his arrest regarding a misdemeanor weapons violation.

Wright reportedly struggled against officers who tried to get him out of the car. Potter could be heard saying “Taser” in body camera footage while brandishing her gun toward him. Potter could later be heard saying “I just shot him” after the 20-year-old drove away.

Shortly after the fatal shooting, Potter resigned from the Minnesota police department.

Potter took the witness stand last week, breaking down at one point and saying “I’m sorry” as she was being cross-examined by prosecutors.

She said she had made a mistake and had sought to use her stun gun against Wright instead of her gun. The defense team claimed that an officer could have been dragged by Wright’s car, saying Potter would have been within her rights to use such force.

A use-of-force expert testifying for the prosecution argued otherwise during the trial.

“The use of deadly force was not appropriate and the evidence suggests a reasonable officer in Officer Potter’s position could not have believed it was proportional to the threat at the time,” University of South Carolina School of Law professor Seth Stoughton said on the stand.

The trial was also emotional for the family of Wright, whose father reminisced about his son and noted their close relationship.

“He was me and my wife’s first child,” Arbuey Wright said during emotional testimony on Wednesday, USA Today reported.

“I miss him a lot. Every day.”

The post Ex-Cop Kim Potter Guilty in Fatal Shooting of Daunte Wright appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Prime Minister delivers Christmas message

2021-12-24 FreeNews

In his annual Christmas message, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has encouraged everyone keep those who are doing it tough in their thoughts.

"There are six families in Devonport in northern Tasmania, from the Hillcrest Primary School this Christmas, who are completely devastated," Mr Morrison said.

"This Christmas we'll shed a tear and raise up prayers for them, I believe right across the country."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivers his Christmas address for 2021.

Mr Morrison also acknowledged that while many Australians will be gathering for the first time in a while, many will also be alone this Christmas.

He said that the pandemic, especially the emergence of the Omicron variant, has continued to rattle the country.

"But together, always together and only together, do we keep pushing through," Mr Morrison said.

The Prime Minister also thanked Australians who are working around the Christmas period.

Scott Morrison

"They are driving trucks, delivering critical supplies, they're giving us our booster shots and doing our COVID tests."

Mr Morrison said no matter whatever the challenges, Christmas was a time of hope.

"Whatever comes our way, we back ourselves to overcome and to push through, as we have during the course of this pandemic, saving lives and livelihoods like few other countries in the world."

Watch the full message at the top of this story.

headline

Murderer Andrew Ronald MacMillan denied parole again as 'undue risk'

2021-12-24 FreeNews

A Dunedin murderer has been denied parole again, as he continues to work with a psychologist on why he keeps being returned to prison and to develop a safety plan for his release.Andrew Ronald MacMillan, 55, is serving a life sentence…

headline

Hundreds forced to isolate after WA records five COVID-19 cases

2021-12-24 FreeNews

Western Australia has recorded five new local cases of COVID-19, while venues have been restricted to only seated service, as authorities race to contain a COVID-19 outbreak.

Hundreds of people who went to a music event have been directed to go into isolation until January 3 after a positive case attended on Sunday morning.

Premier Mark McGowan yesterday announced new restrictions which will be in effect until at least 6am on Tuesday, December 28.

Some people in Perth are isolating after a potential COVID-19 exposure in Northbridge.

All nightclubs were ordered to close and masks were mandated indoors in Western Australia from 6pm yesterday.

Mr McGowan has today announced all licensed hospitality venues will only be allowed to provide seated service.

He said the restriction would allow Christmas lunches and dinners, but would impact service at pubs and bars.

The case which sparked the outbreak was an unvaccinated 25-year-old backpacker who travelled into the state from Queensland 12 days ago, and is originally from France.

Mr McGowan said advice from the Australian Border Force was that the man arrived in Australia before the onset of the pandemic, on January 7, 2020.

Mr McGowan said the man entered WA on December 12, before it was mandatory to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the state.

"At the time, Queensland was set as a very low-risk jurisdiction as they had virtually no COVID in that state which meant people entering WA from Queensland were not required to be vaccinated at that point in time."

Mr McGowan said the five new cases today, of which at least two were not vaccinated, had been recorded as of 9am after 10,267 tests were taken yesterday.

He said more positives cases were expected to be discovered.

The new cases include a close contact of the backpacker, who also attended the Mess Hall event on Sunday, December 19.

The other three cases are casual contacts of backpacker who also attended the event and did not know the backpacker.

The fifth was announce mid-way through the premier's COVID-19 update and no other details are known.

Mr McGowan said anyone who attended the event had to get tested and self-quarantine until January 3.

WA Police have locked down the Fremantle Old Fire Station Hostel, where about 100 of 400 attendees at the event have been staying.

Mr McGowan said the hostel was not suitable to quarantine in so the attendees would all be provided with more suitable accommodation.

A number of new exposure sites across Perth have been published on WA.gov.au.

WA changes its classifications for entry from Queensland and South Australia

Mr McGowan has this afternoon announced that Queensland and South Australia will be declared 'high risk' zones as of 12.01am on Christmas Day due to their escalating COVID-19 situations.

https://twitter.com/MarkMcGowanMP/status/1474257185089622017

Under the 'high risk' setting, travel to WA from Queensland or SA will be limited to approved travellers only.

He has taken to social media to urge all Western Australians in Queensland or SA to "come home now".

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Plans ruined as flights cancelled, COVID-19 test results not returned

2021-12-24 FreeNews

Many Christmas plans have been ruined or are in limbo after a number of flights were cancelled due to crew members being forced into COVID-19 isolation.

The Melbourne and Sydney route has been worst hit, with around a dozen Virgin flights and around 10 Jetstar flights cancelled.

Around 20 planned flights to Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania have also not taken off.

Jetstar A320

Passengers took to social media to lash out at the airlines, claiming they had been left in the dark.

"I feel like screaming," one Twitter user wrote.

"Daughter in Sydney did all the right things. Double vacc, boostered, PCR test, Qld border pass. Jetstar just cancelled her flight to Bris. No explanation."

In a statement, Jetstar said a "large number" of their frontline workers were having to test and isolate as COVID-19 close contacts in Sydney and Melbourne, forcing some "late adjustments".

"We appreciate the frustration this causes, especially as customers are travelling for Christmas, and sincerely apologise for the impact these changes are having on travel plans," the statement read.

"We are working to minimise any delays and re-accommodating passengers on flights as close as possible to their original departure times across both Jetstar and Qantas services."

Virgin Australia is also reported to have made some changes to its schedule.

Both airlines told 9News that they contacted all passengers yesterday and last night at the latest, and they are getting them on free replacement flights today.

Qantas has cancelled a small number of flights, but it is understood this was due to lack of demand.

Other travellers have been left stranded at the airport after failing to get their COVID-19 tests returned in time.

A woman has told 9News she had been tested on Wednesday morning but was left without results and unable to board her flight today.