Coronavirus Updates

More than one billion doses of vaccines against the coronavirus have been administered worldwide since vaccines became available five months ago. The vaccines have been administered in some 2017 countires and territories., according to the AFP. More than half of the vaccines have been given in the United States, China and India.

No new deaths from the coronavirus were reported in Israel for Thursday, according to the Health Ministry. It is the first time in ten months that there was a day without a COVID-19 related death.

The US State Department added some 116 countries to its Do Not Travel advisory list, saying they have a very high level of the coronavirus. The list now stands at 150 countries. Among the countries listed as “Level 4:Do NOt Travel” are France, Germany, Greece, Canada, Mexico and Israel. The recommendations do not bar Americans from travel to those countries.

Yemen launched its first inoculation campaign against the coronavirus. Vaccines were offered beginning on Tuesday in the capital of Aden, as well as in 13 Yemeni governorates under the control of the internationally recognized government, Arab News reported. The vaccine campaign is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief). Yemen received 360,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 31 under the COVAX program to privide vaccines to poorer countries. It is expectged to recieve 1.9 million doses in total for 2021.

The United Arab Emirates could impose restrictions on the movement of residents who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to reports citing Dr. Saif Al-Dhaheri, spokesman for the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority. The UAE has about 9 million residents and is vaccinating all those ages 16 and up. So far, some 65% of those eligible have been vaccinated.

The European Union’s medical regulator, the European Medicines Agency, said it found a “possible link” between the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine and rare blood clots that formed in a small number of vaccine recipients. The company will have add a warning about the clots to its vaccine labels. Vaccine maker Astra Zeneca also is required by the regulator to put a warning on its label. Johnson & Johnson last week halted the European rollout of its one-dose shot after the US Food and Drug Administration called for a pause in its use.

At least 22 patients in an Indian hospital have died due to a disruption in the oxygen supply. An oxygen tanker leaked outside a hospital dedicated for COVID-19 patients in India’s Maharashtra state, causing the deaths, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing an official in the Nashik district of Maharashtra. All of the dead were on ventilators and required a constant oxygen supply. The supply of oxygen was cut off for about half an hour, after the tanker sprang a leak during refilling.

The Palestinian Authority will purchase 4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus and another 500,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. The deals amounting to $27.5 million were announced by the PA on Tuesday. The announcement comes a day after reports that the Palestinians received 72,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through the COVAX initiative to provide vaccines to poorer countries. Some 43,000 of the vaccines were given to the PA for the West Bank, and 28,800 to Hamas in Gaza. The vaccines arrived at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and were transferred to Nablus and Gaza.

Egypt agreed to purchase 20 million doses of vaccines against the coronavirus manufactured by the Chinese company Sinopharm. The first 500,000 doses of the vaccine are set to arrive this month, Egypt’s heath ministry announced on Tuesday. Egypt has a population of 100 million. It so far has received only 1.5 million vaccine doses of AstraZeneca and Sinopharm.

Israel has signed a deal with Pfizer to acquire millions of doses of its vaccine against the coronavirus in 2022. The agreement announced by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday includes an option to acquire millions of additional doses of the vaccine as well. The deal had been held up by political maneuvering. This deal reportedly does not require government approval.