(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) The US Food and Drug Administration approves the provision of new crown vaccines to young children, Thailand successfully develops nasal spray drugs

　　China News Agency, Beijing, June 18. Comprehensive news: The latest data from the World Health Organization's official website shows that as of 17:24 on the 17th Central European Time, there were 535,863,950 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the world and 6,314,972 deaths.

Americas: FDA approves coronavirus vaccine for children under 5

　　The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the 17th local time approved the provision of a new crown vaccine under emergency authorization to children under the age of 5.

The FDA approved Pfizer’s new crown vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old and Moderna’s new crown vaccine for people 6 months to 17 years old.

　　The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will make the final decision on whether to recommend vaccination for this group.

The CDC expert committee has held a meeting on the 17th local time to discuss the issue and is expected to make a final decision on the 18th local time.

If approved, 18 million children under the age of 5 in the United States will be vaccinated against the new crown.

Data map: A new coronavirus testing station on 14th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA tests residents.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan

　　According to US media reports on the 17th local time, the CDC found more than 300 cases of young people who developed heart inflammation after receiving the new crown vaccine.

Although cases of myocarditis or pericarditis, which involve inflammation of the heart or surrounding tissue after vaccination, are rare, the CDC said it was beyond what experts had previously expected for this age group.

The CDC is expected to organize a meeting of an independent panel of experts on the 18th local time to study the cases.

Europe: UK infections surge in a week

　　British Sky News reported on the 17th local time, citing official data, that in the past week, more than 1.41 million people in the UK were infected with the new crown virus, an increase of nearly 426,000 people, or about 43%, compared with the previous week.

The report said that the Omicron variant strains BA.4 and BA.5 may have contributed to the surge in the number of infections in this wave.

　　Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kippels said on the 16th local time that the Netherlands is facing the threat of a more contagious mutated strain of the new coronavirus, and if the epidemic intensifies, a new round of blockade measures will not be ruled out.

　　According to the latest data released by the Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, in the week ending on the 14th local time, the number of newly confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the Netherlands increased significantly by 64% compared with the previous week.

The agency believes that the surge in confirmed cases may be related to two new Omicron mutant strains.

　　German Federal Health Minister Lauterbach said on the 17th local time that, as previously expected, the new crown epidemic in Germany will intensify this summer.

Germany currently has a 7-day incidence rate of 427.8 per 100,000 people, and the mortality rate is still high among high-risk groups over 60 years old.

　　He stressed that although this should not cause panic, it still needs to be faced with caution.

The public is advised to wear masks voluntarily indoors, and people over the age of 70 are called on to receive the fourth dose of the new crown vaccine.

Lauterbach also announced that a new round of vaccination campaigns will be launched in the fall, but it will not be mandatory.

　　Moscow Mayor Sobyanin said on the 17th local time that the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Moscow is intensifying, and it is likely to encounter a new mutant strain of the new coronavirus.

Within days, Sobyanin said, the number of beds in Moscow for treating people infected with the new coronavirus increased from 12,000 to 17,000.

In the coming weeks, the number of beds will reach 24,000.

Asia: Thailand announces successful development of nasal spray anti-coronavirus drug

　　The Thai government medical organization announced on the 16th local time that the first nasal spray anti-new coronavirus drug developed by Thailand has obtained the production license of the Thai Food and Drug Administration and the ISO13485 medical equipment quality management system certification of the International Organization for Standardization. Launched in the third quarter.

In addition, a variety of new crown vaccines independently developed by Thailand are also expected to be put into use next year.

　　South Korea's Central Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 17th local time that the current 7-day compulsory isolation measures for patients diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia after diagnosis will continue to be extended for 4 weeks.

　　According to Yonhap News Agency, the number of confirmed patients with new coronary pneumonia in South Korea has recently dropped to the level before the spread of the Omikron epidemic at the end of January this year, the number of critically ill patients has also dropped to less than 100, and the occupancy rate of critically ill beds has remained at 10% for two consecutive weeks. Below, very stable.

But the death toll has yet to drop significantly.

If the epidemic prevention measures are relaxed, the epidemic may spread again. Therefore, the Korean government's epidemic prevention expert group has discussed and made a decision to continue to extend most of the current epidemic prevention measures.

Africa: Egypt to lift coronavirus-related entry restrictions

　　The WHO African Regional Office said on the 16th local time that as of now, the African continent has accumulated 11.9 million confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia and a total of 254,400 deaths.

The current COVID-19 vaccination rate in Africa is still far below the global average. In response to problems such as difficulty in obtaining vaccines and shortages, WHO recommends that countries focus on vaccinating the elderly, health workers and other high-risk groups.

　　The Egyptian government said in a statement on the 16th local time that it would lift all entry restrictions and quarantine measures related to the new crown pneumonia epidemic.

Previously, all travelers arriving in Egypt had to show a negative nucleic acid test report within 72 hours or proof of a new crown vaccination at least 14 days ago.

　　According to the latest data from the Egyptian Ministry of Health, the Egyptians have received about 86.6 million doses of the new crown vaccine.

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