Washington (AFP)
Pfizer / BioNtech recommends a third dose of its vaccine to increase its effectiveness at a time when the highly contagious Delta variant is causing epidemic outbreaks in Asia and Africa and is pushing up the number of cases in Europe and the United States.
In this context, the Olympic flame arrived in Tokyo on Friday for a ceremony without an audience and two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games (23 July-8 August).
Japanese organizers and authorities announced Thursday that the majority of events will take place behind closed doors.
The public should however be allowed at certain sites outside Tokyo.
The Japanese government had just announced the reinstatement of a state of health emergency in Tokyo from Monday until August 22, a device that will thus encompass the entire period of the Olympics, while the city currently has around 900 cases of Covid-19 per day of which now 30% of Delta.
This variant, which first appeared in India, is the most contagious listed since the appearance of the pandemic in early 2020.
Its rise and the lifting of health restrictions in many parts of the world have led the World Health Organization (WHO) to warn that the "world is at a dangerous point in this pandemic" whose death toll has exceeded four million dead.
- Six months after the 2nd dose -
The Pfizer / BioNTech alliance has announced plans to request "in the coming weeks" authorization for a third dose of its vaccine against Covid-19, in the United States and in Europe in particular.
"Preliminary study data show that a booster dose given 6 months after the second dose has a consistent safety profile, while eliciting high levels of neutralizing antibodies" against the virus, including against the Beta variant , appeared in South Africa.
These levels are "5 to 10 times higher" than those seen after the initial two doses.
The two companies also pointed out that their vaccine had shown good results in the laboratory against the Delta variant, and that a third dose would therefore be able to boost immunity against it as well.
Tests are underway to "confirm this hypothesis," they said.
Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world with nearly 270 million inhabitants, is facing its worst epidemic wave since the start of the crisis, with hundreds of deaths and more than 30,000 new cases every day. .
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The health system is overwhelmed by an influx of patients, and Indonesians are snapping up ivermectin, an antiparasitic treatment acclaimed as a miracle cure against Covid-19, despite official recommendations against this product.
"We no longer have any because many customers have come to buy them", testifies Yoyon, head of a professional association of pharmacists in the capital.
The country widened its restrictions on Wednesday, while drastic measures had already been in place since Saturday on the islands of Java and Bali.
The new restrictions, in effect until July 20, will apply to dozens of cities, from Sumatra (west) to West Papua (east).
- USA: cases are increasing again -
Elsewhere in Asia, Vietnam has declared containment in Ho Chi Minh City.
From Friday, the nine million residents will be required to stay at home for two weeks, after 8,000 cases have been recorded in the city.
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South Korea, once considered a model in the face of the coronavirus, reported nearly 1,300 new infections on Thursday, a record since the start of the pandemic.
The Australian government has announced that it will send 300,000 doses of the vaccine to Sydney, the country's largest city, which is in its third week of containment.
In the United States, where the vaccination campaign was successful, the cases of Covid-19 are increasing again, according to data from health authorities.
Canada has started to ease travel restrictions for its citizens, but unvaccinated foreign travelers will not be allowed to re-enter the country for "a while" in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's words.
The health situation is "catastrophic" in Tunisia, which has recorded in recent weeks a record number of Covid-19 contaminations, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health announced on Thursday, referring to the "collapse" of the health system.
Libya therefore decided on Thursday to close its borders with Tunisia.
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In Brazil, the second most affected country in the world by the pandemic after the United States, the Delta variant "is already circulating" in the state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in the country, local health authorities have announced.
The Chilean government announced Thursday an easing of restrictions, without however reopening the borders, while 73% of its 19 million inhabitants are vaccinated.
A curfew remains in force, however.
In Europe, France reopens its nightclubs on Friday after around 16 months of closure, but the strict health protocol imposed by the government has finally dissuaded most from resuming their activity.
the French Secretary of State for European Affairs also advised the French on Thursday "to avoid Spain and Portugal" this summer.
The health situation has deteriorated sharply in recent days in Spain, with an explosion in the number of Covid-19 contaminations among young people, and Catalonia (north-east) decided on Tuesday to reimpose restrictions.
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In Portugal, the share of the Delta variant in new coronavirus cases detected in the country has increased to almost 90%, according to a report.
In Russia, a country which recorded several daily death records in Moscow and Saint Petersburg last week, the situation is worsening while the vaccination of the population is very sluggish.
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© 2021 AFP