‘Group of 7’ urged by over 200 leaders to vaccinate world’s poorest countries

Jun 8 2021

The Group of 7 are an informal group of the world’s wealthiest democracies consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the USA. These countries (G7) are being urged by around 230 figures, consisting of more than 100 former prime ministers, presidents and foreign ministers, to pay two-thirds of the $66bn needed to vaccinate poor countries. The Guardian revealed the information from a letter ahead of the G7 summit to be hosted by Boris Johnson in Cornwall, with the letter stating that the countries must make 2021 a turning point in global cooperation.

Johnson stated on Sunday that he would be asking his G7 coalition members to rise to the greatest challenge of the post-war era by vaccinating the world by the end of next year. There are currently no specifics on funding or dose-sharing. There are currently fewer than 2% of people in sub-Saharan Africa which have been vaccinated, whereas the UK has 70% of the population immunised with at least one dose.

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Photo Source: The Independent

Wuhan lab COVID-19 leak gains traction with US report

Jun 8 2021

A US government national laboratory report on the origins of COVID-19 having been leaked from a Wuhan lab is being considered plausible and deserving of further investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported this on Monday, revealing that the study was prepared in May 2020. Drawing on genomic analysis of the virus, the study was prepared by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which defined to comment on the Wall Street Journal Report.

President Joe Biden revealed that intelligence agencies are considering two scenarios – that the virus leaked due to a laboratory accident or that it emerged from human contact with infected animals. US officials have also accused China of not being transparent about the origins of COVID-19. A conclusion is yet to be decided upon.

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Photo Source: The Indian Express

Virologist Chris Barbara confirms vaccine efficacy against COVID-19 variants

Jun 8 2021

Speaking to The Malta Independent, virologist Chris Barbara stated that the vaccines available in Malta, notably Pfizer and AstraZeneca, are effective agains the COVID-19 variants. Following the registering of the first Indian variant (Delta) case in Malta last Friday, the virologist assured the public that vaccines are effective against the variants and that this is backed by various studies.

Barbara quoted a UK study which shows that Pfizer vaccines build up 88% immunity against the Delta variant when a person is fully inoculated. Full AstraZeneca vaccinations provide 60% effectiveness. Barbara also emphasised that the Indian, UK, Brazil and South African variants are variants of concern, which, so far, the vaccine is effective against. For a variant to render the vaccine ineffective, the variant would have to be classified as ‘high consequence’. There has yet to be such a case with COVID-19 globally.

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Photo Source: Christopher Barbara FB, Reuters

Spain opens travel borders for vaccinated tourists

Jun 8 2021

Fully vaccinated people, alongside people who provide negative PCR COVID-19 tests and cruise ships, can now visit Spain for its summer tourism season starting Monday. Tourists from the United States and other countries outside the EU can also visit Spain, following their ban in March of last year. Spain’s Health Minister Carolina Darias stated that ‘Spain is a safe destination’ and that the country was ‘in the process of reclaiming its global leadership in tourism.’

European travellers will, starting Monday, be allowed to enter with a cheaper antigen test. Travellers from the UK, however, would still need to quarantine after visiting Spain as the country has yet to remove the latter from its at-risk list. Non-essential travellers Brazil, India and South Africa are still banned due to the variants being of major concern.

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Photo Source: Schengen Visa