One-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine approved by EU

Mar 11 2021

The one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been approved by the European Medicines Agency, making it the fourth vaccine to be endorsed in the EU after the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-Oxford University and Moderna vaccines. The new vaccine is approved for those over 18-years of age. USA, Canada and Bahrain have also approved the new shot.

EMA’s executive director Emer Cooke stated that the EU now has another option to combat the pandemic and protect lives, along with being a vaccine that can be used in a single dose. The EU has secured 400 million doses of the vaccine.

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Giorgio Chiellini reportedly retiring by the end of season

Mar 11 2021

Professional Juventus footballer Giorgio Chiellini has reportedly decided not to extend his contract with the Italian football team and will be retiring by the end of the season. The 36-year old centre-back has been one of the longest serving players, but this last season in Turin seems to be his last. Returning from injuries, he claims that they are a sign that his body needs rest.

Gazzetta dello Sport also reports that Chiellini might have already played his last Champions League game of his career as he is considering his retirement after this campaign. With younger members training to make it into the first team, Chiellini might soon open up the doors for a new player to carry the torch in the Bianconeri.

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A year since World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a global pandemic

Mar 11 2021

On March 11th 2020, the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 virus a global pandemic. Only 121,500 cases had been reported globally, as the virus swept the entire world and becoming a mainstay for over a full year. The pandemic far from over, the vaccination programmes are well underway by many countries, administering jabs at a rate previously unseen by medicine.

Johns Hopkins University claimed that 2,610,184 people have lost their lives due to the pandemic as the institution had been tracking the spread of the virus since its emergence. The virus has also affected economies, lifestyle, healthcare systems and just about every sector of human life. Malta has, as of 11th March 2021, 3,123 active cases.

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COVID-19 patients declared recovered without swab test after 15 days

Mar 11 2021

15 days after they test positive, Maltese COVID-19 patients are being labelled as recovered without having done a swab test. This means the patients are leaving quarantine without taking the final swab test and can do so if they meet three requirements. This new method was rumoured to be in effect as Sahha began announcing a higher number of daily recoveries amidst the rising positive cases.

People are receiving discharge letters stating the three requirements which allow people to leave quarantine; (1) everyone in household does not have symptoms for three consecutive days; (2) no resident in the household has tested positive throughout the quarantine period and; (3) no one joined the household within quarantine period and tested positive. Concerns were raised as these requirements aren’t necessarily checked to be met since no swab tests were being had.

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