Covaxin, the first COVID-19 vaccine developed in India, is "highly efficacious" and presents no safety concerns, according to a study published in the Lancet on Thursday.Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, gained emergency approval from the World Health Organization (WHO) last week and has already been cleared for use in 17 countries.The United Nations (UN) body has described it as "extremely suitable for low- and middle-income countries due to easy storage requirements"

Activists and politicians have cautiously welcomed an unexpected United States-China declaration that vowed to boost climate co-operation.The European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) described the move as encouraging and an important step, but Greenpeace said both countries needed to show more commitment.The US and China are the world's two biggest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitters.They said they would work together to achieve the 1.5 Celsius (C) temperature goal set out in the 2015 Paris

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned on Thursday against a return to Cold War-era tensions in the Asia-Pacific, urging greater cooperation on pandemic recovery and climate change.Amid growing tensions with the United States (US) over Taiwan, partially offset by a surprise deal between Beijing and Washington on climate, Xi said all countries in the region must work together on joint challenges."Attempts to draw ideological lines or form small circles on geo-political grounds are bound to f

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:US Jabs 900k Kids The United States (US) has immunised about 900,000 children aged five-to-11 in the first week the Pfizer vaccine is authorised for them, a White House official says.One For All ... US pharma giant Merck vows to make sure its new anti-coronavirus pill is made available in wealthy and poor countries at almost the same time, avoiding the pitfalls of vaccine inequity seen so far. Russia Compuls

After being let go from his part-time job as a waiter last year during the pandemic, Danny Goh hit rock bottom.For eight months, he struggled to find work to support his wife and four young children.

A COVID-hit Chinese city is offering thousands of dollars for anyone giving clues in tracing the source of its latest outbreak, as part of a "people's war" to stamp out one of the country's largest resurgences in months.China reported 43 local cases on Tuesday in a Delta-driven surge that has fanned out to 20 provinces and regions, keeping new case numbers in the double-digits over the past three weeks.As more countries lift COVID measures, Beijing officials have stuck stu

The World Health Organization's (WHO) chief scientist said Tuesday she was looking forward to the "second generation" of COVID-19 vaccines, which could include nasal sprays and oral versions.Soumya Swaminathan said such vaccines could have advantages over the current crop as they would be easier to deliver than injections and could even be self-administered.Swaminathan said there were 129 different candidate vaccines that have got as far as clinical trials –being tested on huma

A synthetic antibody treatment developed by Regeneron reduced the risk of developing symptomatic COVID by more than 80 percent up to eight months after receiving the treatment, the United States (US) biotech firm said Monday.The results are "particularly important to those who do not respond to COVID-19 vaccines including people who are immunocompromised," said Myron Cohen, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientist who is leading a government-sponsored study into the t

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:Danish Health Pass Returns The Danish government says it is bringing back the health pass less than two months after scrapping COVID restrictions as new infections soar.No Moderna For Under 30s France's National Health Authority advises against the use of the Moderna vaccine for people under the age of 30, after a study finds that it slightly increases the risk of myocarditis and pericarditis.Romanians urged to

There is a never-ending stream of data about COVID and at times it can seem completely contradictory. So where do we stand at the moment?The number of people testing positive is continuing to fall, but are we wrong to constantly tout this number around? It is looking certain that the epidemic in schoolchildren is in decline, but why, and will it last? And do we need to pay more attention to infections in older age groups?