First modification:
Amid a new wave of Covid-19 infections in France, the Health Ministry recommended reducing the deadline for the booster dose of the vaccine from five to three months. In other news, the United States will reopen its borders to travelers from eight African countries on December 31, and Cuba closes the year with three vaccines of its own and 85% of its population immunized.
On a Christmas Eve marked, for the second year in a row, by the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization reported that it has already been detected in 110 countries.
In Europe, although the situation varies by country, the record numbers of infections experienced by France, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom, among others, force States to adopt new strategies and adopt new regulations regarding vaccines and doses of reinforcement.
To date, almost 278.5 million cases have been registered worldwide, of which about 5.4 million people have died according to accumulated data from Johns Hopkins University.
Here are the most important news about the global health situation this November 24:
- France could reduce booster vaccine term to three months
While the Omicron variant spreads through France, the national health authority recommended that the booster dose of the vaccine be given three months after the last dose.
On Wednesday, January 22, Health Minister Olivier Véran said that the booster dose would not be extended “for the moment” to adolescents. However, the national health authority recommended the administration of a booster dose in children aged 12 to 17 years with comorbidities. It specifies that it will decide later on whether to administer this booster to all adolescents, pending the results of a clinical trial conducted by Pfizer to evaluate efficacy and tolerance in adolescents.
Health authorities announced on Friday, December 24, that they had registered 94,124 new infections from the coronavirus, an unprecedented level since the beginning of the pandemic. He also said 3,254 people are currently in critical care, the highest level since May 26, and they have reported 167 new hospital deaths, bringing the total number of Covid-19-related hospital deaths to 95,429. in France.
- The United States lifts travel restrictions on eight African countries
More than a month after the Omicron variant was detected in southern Africa, the United States is reopening its borders. Travel restrictions on eight African countries, which were imposed at the end of November to try to stop the spread of this new variant, will be lifted as of December 31, according to a White House spokesperson on Twitter.
People from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa are currently prohibited from entering the United States. The decision came as President Joe Biden had just reopened the borders to travelers from around the world in early November, provided they were vaccinated against Covid-19, after 20 months of restrictions.
In the United States, where the Omicron variant is already clearly dominant, 265,770 new cases were recorded on Friday, although that did not deter millions of citizens from traveling to celebrate the Christmas and New Year holidays as a family. According to the country’s Automobile Association, more than 109 million people will travel by plane, train or car from December 23 to January 2, 34% more than the previous year.
These movements are accompanied by a vaccination rate that seems to be accelerating again, especially with booster doses of which 1.3 million were inoculated in the last 24 hours. “The best gift you can give yourself is a booster dose,” tweeted Cyrus Shahpar, White House head of Covid-19 data.
- Cuba ends 2021 with three vaccines of its own and more than 85% of its population immunized
The island’s immunization rate is the second highest in the world among countries with more than one million inhabitants. A vital figure for Cuba and not only for health reasons. The path of economic recovery goes through the reactivation of international tourism, a sector on which the doubts that the omicron variant projects now hang.
The Cuban biopharmaceutical industry, with a recognized worldwide trajectory, opted for several of its own formulas to stop contagions, based on previous knowledge of other vaccines developed in the country. Three vaccines received the green light from the Cuban regulatory entity: Abdala, Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus, but none have been approved by the WHO.
To date, more than 9.5 million Cubans have been fully vaccinated. The advance of vaccination led the authorities to reopen the borders in November, lift the limitation on international flights, resume face-to-face classes in schools and eliminate restrictions on public transport and restaurants.
With AFP, EFE and Reuters
.