Winter is coming to the northern hemisphere, and with it the flu season – however advances spurred by the fight against COVID-19 are boosting hopes of finding a more reliable vaccine.Flu jabs have long been available to fight off the seasonal virus, but their rate of effectiveness can vary from between 40 and 70 percent.They work by injecting an inactivated virus strain into humans to trigger immunity.

Governments across the world are turning to vaccine mandates as the Delta variant continues to wreak havoc and vaccine uptake in some communities begin to slow down.New Zealand - which has abandoned its COVID-Zero strategy amid persistent infections - introduced last week a “no jab, no job” policy for doctors and teachers, while neighbouring Fiji says all of its public and private sector workers are liable to lose their jobs if they fail to get fully inoculated by November.In the United State

The coronavirus pandemic has made vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna and the mRNA technology that they use into household names. These types of jabs are new but researchers have been working for decades to try to figure out how to use messenger RNA for other vaccinations and to treat illnesses from AIDS to cancer. How Does It Work? Messenger RNA's job in the body is to help deliver specific instructions from DNA to cells.In the case of the Pfizer/BioNTec

Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis:Russia Daily Deaths Pass 1,000Russia records 1,000 deaths over 24 hours for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic – a new record for a third day running – with less than a third of Russians vaccinated and few restrictions in place. The Kremlin, which says authorities have to ensure "the economy continues working", has avoided re-introducing major measures despite calling the vaccination rate una

During the global scramble to secure vaccines, many countries in Asia-Pacific were slow off the mark. This time, they're not making the same mistake.Countries around the region are rushing to place orders for the latest weapon against COVID-19: an antiviral pill that isn't even authorized for use yet.Molnupiravir - produced by United States pharmaceutical company Merck - is being heralded as a potential pandemic game-changer, especially for those unable to get vaccinated.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said Friday its member nations had again failed to agree to suspend intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, with some countries doubting a deal could be reached unless certain delegations make "real compromises".South Africa and India have called for intellectual property rights to be temporarily lifted for coronavirus vaccines during the pandemic in order to boost production and address the gaping inequality in access between rich and

Myanmar's junta chief will be excluded from an upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, the group said Saturday, a rare rebuke as concerns rise over the military government's commitment to defusing a bloody crisis.Foreign ministers from ASEAN agreed at an emergency meeting late Friday that a "non-political representative" for Myanmar would be invited to the 26-28 October summit, current ASEAN chair Brunei said in a statement.The decision effectively

When Xi Jinping promised the world’s movers and shakers in January 2017 that China would champion globalisation, it looked as if the baton of global economic leadership was being picked up seamlessly by Beijing as Donald Trump prepared to usher in an era of American isolationism.Almost five years later a new world order has emerged, but it is not the one China’s president and others gathered in Davos that day seemed to have in mind.Instead of a continuation of the post-cold war era of growth

Eight countries and the European Union (EU) diplomatic chief on Friday urged the Myanmar junta to let a regional special envoy meet ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.The call comes as concerns grow over the military government's commitment to a "five-point consensus" agreed with regional bloc ASEAN to defuse the bloody crisis that erupted after Myanmar's 1 February coup.ASEAN foreign ministers met virtually on Friday evening to debate whether to exclude Myanmar junta

The coronavirus pandemic slowed for a seventh week in a row around the world.Here is the global state of play based on an AFP database.In Decline The number of new daily cases decreased by five percent globally to 403,300, according to an AFP tally to Thursday.The pandemic had gained ground since mid-June fanned by the highly contagious Delta variant, but since late August it has been in decline.The confirmed cases only reflect a fraction of the actual number of infections, with vary