Vaccines for over 12 year olds approved in UK to avoid lockdowns

Sep 14 2021

British officials approved COVID-19 vaccination to children over the age of 12 last Monday. The government is hoping that expanding the vaccination rollout to younger ages will help avoid lockdowns in winter. Jabs for children, along with booster shots for at-risk adults, form part of a ‘tool kit’ to control the spread of the virus during the last two seasons of the year.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce the news at a conference on Tuesday, with chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recommending kids over 12 receive a single dose of the Pfizer jab. This comes despite the government’s vaccine advisors saying that the step would have only marginal health benefits.

Britain held off on vaccinating the 12-15 age group, vaccinating only over-16s. Almost 90% of those eligible have had at least one dose in the UK. The measure is being put into effect as the UK consider wider societal factors such as education and children spreading the virus to other vulnerable groups.

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Photo Source: CIDRAP

The top 22 players in FIFA 22 revealed with some surprise ratings making headlines

Sep 14 2021

Yesterday, FIFA announced the 22 highest rated players on their various social media accounts. The ratings forced a mixed reception from the fans, with many stating that they are wrong whilst others accepting them. Like last year, Messi has again retained his status of highest rated with a 93 rating whilst Ronaldo’s shock 91 rating provided a heated debate amongst fans.

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Ronaldo’s 91 rating means that for the first time since FIFA 10, the Portuguese super star will not be in the top 2 rated players of the game. Polish striker Robert Lewandowski replaced Ronaldo as the 2nd highest rated player in FIFA with his 92 rating. This is an upgrade of 1 from last year’s edition.

Players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and N’golo Kante rounded up the top 10. Jan Oblak again retained his position as the highest rated goalkeeper with a 91 rating. Another shock was the exclusion of Erling Haaland from the top 22 players and the rating downgrade of ever reliable Mohamed Salah.

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Malta should accept Sputnik jab certificate say expats in Russia

Sep 14 2021

Maltese expats in Russia are placing pressure on local health authorities to start accepting the Sputnik vaccine certificate. The Maltese in Russia Association (MiRA) is also asking the Superintendent of Public Health to scrap the quarantine system for Maltese who took a Sputnik jab. Other requests include removing Russia from Malta’s list of dark red countries, to allow Maltese from Russia to visit on the basis of PCR tests and to allow unvaccinated Maltese from Russia to quarantine at home.

Greece and Cyprus are accepting tourists vaccinated with Sputnik, according to MiRA, with other EU countries developing bilateral deals to mutually recognise national vaccination certificates. The association said that Malta doesn’t have to accept the Sputnik vaccine but it should at least recognise the certificate. Despite Russia’s incidence rate being on par with that of Malta, the association argues that there are other countries with much higher incidence rates of COVID-19 per capita which are not on Malta’s red list.

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Photo Source: Anadolu Agency, Financial Times

€45,000 investment to help kids with disabilities develop musical skills

Sep 14 2021

Children with disabilities in Malta are being offered the opportunity to develop skills in playing musical instruments. In a collaboration between the Malta Arts Council and he Malta Trust Foundation, the project was launched during a press conference wherein €45,000 will be provided to the Arts Ministry over a three year period. This monetary investment will go into purchasing and maintaining musical instruments a Villa Bianca Birkirkara. The residence will be the country’s first centre which offers such opportunities to kids with diverse disabilities such as autism.

Malta Trust Foundation chairwoman Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca signed the agreement with the arts council and stated how this is a historic project which fill ‘fill a gap in the field of music and performing arts for children with diverse needs who to date have not had an opportunity to develop such skills. Minister Jose Herrera highlighted the importance of inclusion as Villa Bianca, in its final renovation stages, was donated to the foundation for the benefit of helping children with disabilities.

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Photo Source: Jose Herrera FB, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca FB