In the United Kingdom, the vaccination of teenagers aged 12 to 15 can begin – for the time being with a single dose of the vaccine. According to the American press, some Hasidic pilgrims returning to Israel from Ukraine have falsified COVID-19 test results. The number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients in Singapore has doubled. This and other news about the Covid-19 pandemic can be found in the BBC review.
Medical authorities in the United Kingdom have announced that all healthy teenagers aged 12 to 15 in the country can receive a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. According to Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, this will help prevent disruptions in school attendance, which is a major concern for the British people. Previously, the government’s Committee on Immunization Practices said that vaccinating teenagers just to prevent infection was ineffective because the risk of serious disease in children is low. However, sanitary doctors have taken into account the upcoming complication of the epidemiological situation in winter. They claim that the closure of schools is unlikely, but most likely students with a positive test result for COVID-19 will have to isolate themselves for 10 days, which will lead to a disruption of face-to-face learning. The doctors’ recommendations will now be submitted to the government for approval. If it agrees, the children will be offered a vaccine produced by Pfizer. Most likely, the vaccination will take place in schools and parents will have to give their consent. However, if children and their parents have different opinions about vaccination, the final decision on this matter will be made by the teenagers themselves. It is currently impossible to quantify the extent to which vaccination will help reduce the spread of the virus – vaccines are less effective at preventing infection with the Delta variant than with previous variants. However, doctors say vaccinating teenagers will provide “sufficient additional benefit” and help avoid school closures during quarantines.
Israel suspects Hasidic pilgrims returning from Ukraine of falsifying coronavirus test results, writes The New York Times. Last week, the Israeli Health Ministry announced that dozens of pilgrims had arrived in the country infected despite negative test results.
Pilgrims return to Israel from Ukraine. Later, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said that strict measures would be taken against the perpetrators of the “intentional spreading of disease. According to an American publication, fewer than 1,500 of the 17,000 pilgrims who returned to Israel from Uman on Thursday and Friday tested positive for the coronavirus. On Sunday, September 12, officials announced that Israeli police had summoned at least 154 Israelis for questioning on suspicion of using false documents. They can be charged with fraud, falsifying documents and spreading a disease under aggravating circumstances, the Ministry of Public Security said. Perpetrators of these crimes could face up to five years in prison. Recently, the number of COVID-19 cases in Israel reached the highest point of the entire pandemic, but in the last ten days it has dropped significantly. According to officials, this is due to the introduction of booster shots for about one-third of the population. However, the number of deaths is still 42% of the record high reached in late January.
The New Zealand government has extended strict isolation in the country’s largest city, requiring Auckland’s 1.7 million residents to stay home for at least another week to suppress small outbreaks of the Delta strain.
On Monday, health officials reported 33 new cases of “Delta” infection, all in Auckland. Over the weekend, the numbers were 23 and 20 cases, respectively.
Although Singapore is one of the world’s leading countries in vaccination coverage (81% of the population is fully vaccinated), the number of cases has unexpectedly increased and the number of severe COVID-19 patients has doubled. As a result, the authorities will have to suspend plans for a return to normal life in September.
Special robots patrol the streets of Singapore alongside the police to ensure compliance with anti-COVID measures. The number of daily infections this month has returned to the peak levels seen earlier this year. Over the weekend, the country recorded more than 1,000 new cases, ten times more than a month ago. However, as noted by Reuters, many experts are not overly concerned about the increase in cases, mainly due to the relatively low number of serious cases and the high percentage of vaccinated individuals in Singapore.
On Monday, state media in Vietnam reported that restrictions would be expanded in Ho Chi Minh City, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, Hanoi and several of the country’s provinces are seeking to ease restrictions, and aviation authorities have proposed resuming domestic flights. Ho Chi Minh City officials said extending the restrictions until the end of September is necessary to isolate the virus’ sources of spread, speed up vaccination and prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed in a city of 9 million people. Although about one million people in the country have recently been vaccinated daily, the number of vaccinated people in Vietnam is 5.2% of the population of 98 million. This is one of the lowest rates in the region.
The Indian government is concerned that the decline in COVID-19 infection rates and related deaths may result in many citizens refusing to receive the second dose of the vaccine. Such an approach to the epidemic threatens to undermine the progress made against COVID-19.
In India, more than 744 million doses have been administered, with 60% of the country’s 944 million adult population receiving their first dose and 19% fully vaccinated with two doses. According to data from Our World in Data, cited by Reuters, the country has the highest number of partially vaccinated people in the world, largely because of the government-recommended extended interval between doses – from 12 to 16 weeks.
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