Indonesia reported a record number of new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as the Omicron variant spreads across the Southeast Asian archipelago.The number of daily infections topped 57,000, according to the government's COVID-19 taskforce, surpassing the previous peak of 56,757 cases recorded in July last year during the country's Delta wave."The national figure for positive cases in this third wave increased sharply and faster compared to the second wave," taskforce spokesma

Pfizer and BioNTech will soon ask United States (US) regulators for emergency authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine for children under age five, US media reported Tuesday.This is the last age group in the US that is not yet eligible for coronavirus shots.As early as Tuesday, the companies could seek emergency authorization for a two-dose vaccination regimen for children under five and as young as six months, The New York Times and other news outlets said.The move comes as the Omicron variant w

Wariness and outright hostility to vaccines did not start with COVID-19 but date back to the 18th century when the first shots were given.From real fears sparked by side effects to fake studies and conspiracy theories, we take a look at anti-vax sentiment over the ages:1796: First Jab, First Fears Smallpox killed or disfigured countless millions for centuries before it was eradicated in 1980 through vaccination.In 1796 the English physician Edward Jenner came up with the idea of usin

Vaccine mandates have been divisive ever since the first rollout two centuries ago, and they continue to split public opinion today as governments scramble to inoculate populations against the coronavirus.With Austria set to become the first country in Europe to impose COVID-19 vaccinations on Friday, AFP looks at vaccine orders in Europe – and whether they work:Backlash, Workarounds In Austria, those who do not become vaccinated against COVID under the new mandate will face a 600 eu

Vaccination could reduce the risk of long COVID, research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the United Kingdom (UK) suggests.The study, of more than 6,000 adults, found those who were double-vaccinated had a 41 percent lower likelihood of self-reporting COVID symptoms 12 weeks after first testing positive.Overall, 9.5 percent of the double-vaccinated group reported experiencing long COVID, defined as symptoms lasting more than four weeks, compared with 14.6 percent of a socio-dem

The speed at which scientists worked to develop the first COVID jabs was unprecedented. Just nine months after the United Kingdom went into lockdown, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan officially became the first person in the world outside a trial to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. But the virus is mutating, and the emergence of the Omicron variant last month is already focusing attention on the next generation of jabs.So what do we know about the new COVID-19 vaccines?

The COVID-19 global vaccination campaign – the largest in history – began a year ago with Britain launching its drive on 8 December, 2020.Now half the world's population has had at least one shot. But with richer countries now administering third booster doses, many in poorer ones are still waiting for their first jab.These glaring inequities have come to dog the campaign with the emergence of the Omicron variant, as have controversies over rare side effects and opposition to ma

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines being used in the United Kingdom (UK) as boosters give the best overall boost response, according to a UK trial of seven different jabs.The trial is the first study of how well COVID booster jabs work and justifies the UK's early decision to use these two vaccines for boosters.All the vaccines tested raised immunity against COVID to some degree.Researchers said there were promising signs the boosters would still protect against illness and death from Omicr

I am an epidemiologist working in global health and have worked in the field of vaccines for nearly 15 years.

Today we can say that we are entering into a new phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many of the countries that have been worst affected by the virus - such as the United Kingdom (UK) - having vaccinated enough of their vulnerable patients and health staff to avoid the worst of the pressure on their health systems, even though the virus continues to widely circulate. With more than a billion vaccines made a month, there should theoretically be enough for everyone.There is, however,