Moderna’s warning on new Covid variants amid global surge
There is a 20 per cent chance that new Covid variants may be more dangerous that the ones already known, Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in an interview on Thursday amid a fresh surge in many countries in the world. “I think there’s an 80 per cent chance that the variants that we’re going to see in the future are manageable from a severity standpoint and vaccine production.
But I think we should always be very cautious, because there’s a 20 per cent chance that something happens in some of the new variants that is very virulent,” he told Bloomberg Television. Several European countries – inluding France, Germany and Italy – are witnessing a spike in Covid cases.
Here are top updates on global Covid cases:
1. With 2,96,498 fresh Covid cases, the overall tally in Germany rose to 1,98,93,028. More than 1.28 lakh people have died in the European nation so far; 288 died since Thursday, according to news agency Reuters.
2. France added 148,635 new Covid patients on Thursday; 112 patients died. This is another European country where a fresh surge has been worrying.
3. In Italy, 81,811 new Covid cases were added, as compared to 76,260 a day before.
4. The United Kingdom – where a rise in patients has been reported again – is giving a fourth dose to the vulnerable population, joining other countries like Israel in the move. A booster dose of vaccine continues to provide robust protection against hospitalisation for older people nearly four months after getting the third dose, new data from the UK’s Health Security Agency on Thursday showed, Reuters repored.
5. AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 prevention cocktail has been approved by the EU drug regulator. It can be used for patients with immune system problems or severe reactions to other coronavirus vaccines, news agency AFP reported.
6. In China, a drop in cases was witnessed with 1,366 cases on Thursday (down from 2,054 the day before) but asymptomatic cases are said to be on a rise.
7. In Shanghai city, Covid cases jumped more than 60% in a single day to a record 1,609.
8. China has been registering a fresh wave after two years putting pressure on dynamic clearance” strategy aimed at minimising COVID-19 infections. The spike is believed to be driven by BA.2 Omicron variant.
9. South Korea is another Asian country where March saw a big surge.
10. In United States, experts have warned of a spike in cases too like Europe.