Shot works in children as younger as 12 – KIRO 7 Information Seattle

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine provides great protection for children ages 12 and older.

The company released the preliminary results Tuesday based on testing more than 3,700 teenagers ages 12 to 17 in the United States.

There were no COVID-19 diagnoses in those given two doses of the Moderna vaccine compared to four cases in children given dummy shots. In a press release, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company said the vaccine appeared 93% effective two weeks after the first dose.

Moderna officials plan to submit their youth data to the Food and Drug Administration and other global regulators early next month. The company says its vaccine produced the same signs of immune protection in children as it did in adults, and the same mild, transient side effects.

This is a move that could put the shot on the right track to become the second option for this age group in the US. Earlier this month, the US and Canada approved a vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech for use from the age of 12.

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MORE ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

– Moderna says its COVID-19 shot will work in children 12 and older

– The fourth Czech health minister resigns since the pandemic began

– In New York’s furthest neighborhood, the vaccine is a hard sell

– Japan Says US Virus Travel Warning Will Not Harm Olympiads

– For more information on AP’s pandemic, please visit https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE HAPPENS WHAT OTHER HAPPENS:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia saw a record number of daily coronavirus cases at nearly 7,300.

Malaysia has seen a rapid surge in new cases since April, straining its hospitals and causing the government to impose a lockdown through June 7. However, the infections have not abated. 7,289 new cases were reported Tuesday, bringing the country’s number to more than 525,000 – a five-fold increase since the start of the year.

It is the third largest country in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and the Philippines.

Confirmed deaths have risen to more than 2,300. The government has resisted calls for a full lockdown fearing it would lead to economic distress.

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ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s education minister says he tested positive for coronavirus but has mild symptoms.

Shafqat Mahmood took to Twitter to say he was fine. Mahmood did not say whether he had been vaccinated. Pakistan offers free vaccinations to people aged 30+.

The latest development comes hours after Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity rate dropped to 4.82%, one of the lowest infection rates in recent months. Two months ago, the positivity rate was 11 percent.

Pakistan has registered nearly 905,852 confirmed cases and 20,400 confirmed deaths.

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LONDON – The UK government has been accused of secretly imposing local lockdowns after imposing stricter restrictions on eight local areas in England that it says are hotspots for the coronavirus variant first identified in India.

On Tuesday, lawmakers and local health officials said they were not made aware of changes the Conservative government posted online last Friday.

This updated guide recommended that people in the eight locations that include Hounslow in West London, the city of Leicester, and the cities of Blackburn and Bolton should not meet inside or travel outside their areas.

Yasmin Qureshi, a Labor Party lawmaker in Bolton, said she had not been informed of the changes and said it was “typical of the incompetence of this administration”.

Cabinet Minister Teresa Coffey said the updated guidelines should come as no surprise as they merely formalized the outlines of “on file” statements the government had made for days.

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PRAGUE – The Czech Republic lost its fourth health minister since last year’s coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis said the current incumbent Petr Arenberger called him in Brussels, where Babis was attending a summit of European Union leaders to announce his resignation.

Arenberger, the director of the Vinohrady University Hospital in Prague, was sworn in by President Milos Zeman on April 7th.

He was recently targeted by the media for alleged irregularities in his tax returns. He said he had more wealth and a higher income after becoming minister than in previous years.

It also found that he was renting one of his undeclared properties to the university hospital. This deal was signed before he was named director.

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MELBOURNE, Australia – The city that was once Australia’s worst COVID-19 hotspot raised pandemic restrictions Tuesday after identifying a cluster of someone who was quarantined.

In Melbourne, indoor masks were mandatory, home gatherings were limited to five and outdoor gatherings were limited to 30, Victoria State Prime Minister James Merlino said. The restrictions apply until June 4th.

New Zealand stopped the quarantine-free trip to Victoria for three days from Tuesday evening. Health officials said they acted cautiously as there were several unknowns about the Melbourne outbreak.

The cases are linked to a Melbourne traveler who became infected in hotel quarantine in the state of South Australia earlier this month. Five cases were confirmed by the Victoria State Department of Health on Tuesday, bringing the cluster to nine since Monday.

Australia’s second largest city had an outbreak last year that peaked with 725 new cases in a single August day when the spread of the community elsewhere in Australia was virtually eliminated. The state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, is responsible for 820 of the 910 coronavirus deaths in Australia.

New Zealand and Australia opened a quarantine-free travel bubble last month. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison will visit New Zealand on Sunday for the first time since the pandemic began.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka announced Tuesday that it will immediately buy 14 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine as the island nation faces a severe shortage of gunshots and an increase in COVID-19 cases.

The decision marks a switch to the Chinese vaccine from Oxford-AstraZeneca shots made in India. Sri Lanka’s bigger neighbor has been through a virus crisis and is struggling to meet its own vaccine requirements.

Sri Lankan government spokesman Ramesh Pathirana said that due to the Indian Serum Institute’s inability to provide sufficient quantities, “we had to investigate another source.

“So we look forward to receiving some vaccines from Sinopharm.”

Sri Lanka started its vaccination campaign in January with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. But 600,000 people who received a first dose are still waiting for their second because of the shortage.

Sri Lanka has confirmed 164,201 infections with 1,210 deaths.

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The Haitian government has imposed a night curfew and other restrictions as part of an eight-day “health emergency” to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.

All outdoor activities are banned from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., according to the decree issued by President Jovenel Moise on Monday.

The decree also mandates the use of face masks for all persons in public, while temperature controls and hand washing stations are required for all public or private buildings such as banks, schools, hospitals and markets. Social distancing in public places is 1.5 meters.

The president has also ordered public institutions to reduce staff on duty by 50% while encouraging other staff to work from home.

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico has ended a nightly pandemic curfew after more than a year and allows vaccinated visitors to enter the island without a negative coronavirus test result.

The island has been under curfew since March 2020 when the first case of coronavirus was reported. Even if the curfew was changed sometimes, it mostly stayed between midnight and 5 a.m.

Incoming visitors who are not vaccinated will still be required to show a negative coronavirus test or promise to show a test result within 48 hours. The government intends to fine those who fail to comply with the tests of $ 300.

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ROME – The tiny island nation of Malta claims to have given 70% of its population at least one coronavirus vaccine to lead Europe in the vaccination race.

Health Minister Chris Fearne said 42% of the Maltese population had been fully vaccinated. The achievement has resulted in a 95% decrease in patient admissions to the COVID-19 hospital in Malta, he said.

With around half a million inhabitants, Malta is the smallest member state of the European Union. The four vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency were used.

According to the website ourworldindata.org, Malta even leads Israel and the UK when it comes to giving its population at least one shot of the vaccine.

Malta has reported around 30,000 cases and 417 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University.