69 COVID-19 cases registered with 134 recoveries

Aug 3 2021

Malta has registered 69 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours from 3,157 swab tests, while 134 patients have recovered. No deaths were registered in the past 24 hours. This information was announced by the official Facebook page of Malta’s Ministry for Health.

As of Monday 2nd August 2021, 762,832 vaccine doses were administered of which 400,760 were 1st doses. 385,049 people are currently fully vaccinated.

To date, Malta has registered 34,508 COVID-19 cases in total, of which: 32,145 have recovered, 423 died and 1,544 are still active.

Mater Dei Hospital is currently treating a total of 31 COVID-19 positive patients, 5 of whom are in the ITU. The average age of yesterday’s cases was 34.

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Andrew Hoy becomes Australia’s oldest ever Olympic medallist

Aug 3 2021

3-time Olympic gold medallist Andrew Hoy has broken yet another record after he became Australia’s oldest-ever Olympic medallist. It was an eventful Monday for the 62-year old equestrian, as he won silver with teammates Shane Rose and Kevin McNabin in the equestrian team eventing discipline. A few hours later, Andrew tasted success individually when he he won his first ever bronze medal in the eventing jumping final. These medals made him the oldest ever Australian medallist in the Olympics

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A post shared by Andrew Hoy (@hoyeventing)

Andrew also holds the record for the most Olympics an Australian athlete has ever participated in. Andrew’s first ever Olympics was in 1984 in Los Angeles and the only Olympics he’s missed out from ever since was the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics. Australia this year though took the decision to take him to Tokyo, and he didn’t disappoint.

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First out transgender Olympic athlete fails to register a single lift

Aug 3 2021

Laurel Hubbard was subject to a lot of controversy this summer. This year, Laurel made history as the first out transgender woman to ever compete at the Olympics, when New Zealand added her to their weightlifting roster. Hubbard’s participation in the Olympics caused somewhat of a stir worldwide with many arguing against the transgender athlete’s participation in the women’s category due to the presence male hormones and testosterone.

Unfortunately she didn’t manage to register a single lift, which meant that her Olympic journey finished as DNF. Chinese world record weightlifter, Li Wenwen broke three Olympic records on her way to the gold medal.

Laurel still received praise for being brave and proud and for also inspiring many young athletes. Many other athletes have also made a difference, like Canadian footballer Quinn who will be the first non-binary and transgender person to receive a medal when Canada play against Sweden in the Olympic final.

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A post shared by Quinn (@thequinny5)

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COVID-19 vaccine shots offered to all kids over 12 in Germany

Aug 3 2021

Children and teenagers aged 12 and older in Germany will be offered COVID-19 vaccinations as top health officials reveal on Monday. German Health Minister Jens Spahn stated that the promise to give the vaccine to everybody who wants in summer will be kept as there are enough jabs for all age groups. In a meeting addressing the 16 German state health ministers, Spahn stated that children and teenagers can decide to receive the jab after a medical consultation and thus protect themselves and others.

The push by the German government to vaccinate the country’s youth follows the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommendation that the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer may be administered to 12 to 15-year-olds two months ago. Despite this, the country’s standing committee on vaccination, the Stiko, has expressed reluctancy to give the go-ahead for all youngsters.

The Stiko explicitly recommended the vaccination only for the age group between 12 and 16 if they suffer from specific chronic illnesses. The committee claimed that there not enough study results yet available to showcase any long-term effects of the vaccine on the younger population. Its stance may be updated once more data becomes available.

The urgency to vaccinate the age group comes as schools across the country are set for reopening. Given the vulnerability of the young unvaccinated youth and potential to spread the delta variant, politicians have lobbied to get the younger ones immunised in order to avoid school closure.

The vaccination will remain voluntary as for every age group, with 20% of those between 12 and 17-years of age having received at least on shot in Germany so far. 10% are fully vaccinated. Germany’s family minister stated how the decision is an important step in order to protect children and teenagers from the virus in the best possible way.

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Photo Source: Medscape