Hugely promising results from a coronavirus vaccine trial fuelled optimism around the world on Tuesday, even as tighter restrictions were imposed in Europe and the Middle East to try and stem the worst pandemic in a century.
The vaccine news brought some relief from an otherwise grim picture worldwide, which included the death of veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat from coronavirus complications at the age of 65.
Stocks in some of the industries hit hardest by travel curbs, social distancing and lockdowns rebounded on hopes that the world may return to normal, after pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced Monday that their vaccine candidate was 90 percent effective in preventing COVID-19.
A vaccine is seen as the best hope to break the cycle of deadly virus surges and severe restrictions across much of the world since COVID-19 first emerged in China late last year and unleashed devastation on the global economy.
"Investors have every right to be more bullish," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, an online stockbroker, calling it "potential game-changing news".
Pfizer and BioNTech said they could pass the final hurdles for a US rollout this month, and could supply up to 50 million doses globally this year and up to 1.3 billion next year.
The scientific community reacted positively but some pointed out that data from the ongoing trial was still needed for review, including the ages of the participants.
The Pfizer candidate also needs to be stored in specialist deep freezers, creating a potential supply chain complication, particularly for poorer nations in warmer climates.
The vaccine candidate is one of more than 40, but no other has yet made similar claims about effectiveness.
Brazil's health regulator announced Monday it had suspended clinical trials of another vaccine—one of the most advanced candidates—being developed by China's Sinovac after an "adverse incident" involving a volunteer recipient.
'A very dark winter'
The novel coronavirus has infected close to 51 million people worldwide, with more than 1.2 million deaths.
On Tuesday, 6,867 new deaths were recorded worldwide, with the highest daily tolls in France, Spain and the United States.
The US remains the hardest-hit nation at more than 10 million cases and nearly 240,000 deaths, and the pandemic was one of the top issues for voters in this month's presidential election.
Joe Biden, who had slammed President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis, spared no time in announcing a COVID-19 taskforce on Monday after being declared the winner of the election.
"We're still facing a very dark winter," Biden said.
Trump had clashed repeatedly with his own government experts, often refusing to back restrictions or even wear a mask in public. After the Pfizer announcement, he claimed—without evidence—that the news was delayed until after the election to damage him.
There was a separate breakthrough when the US Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted emergency approval to a synthetic antibody treatment developed by the pharma company Eli Lilly.
Bamlanivimab, which was shown to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and emergency room visits, is the first major drug to be approved that was designed specifically for the coronavirus.
'Stage of critical danger'
Rising infection and death rates have made Europe the current focal point of the pandemic and governments have struggled to cope.
In Italy, virus restrictions were increased in five regions on Tuesday meaning that a total of seven of Italy's 20 regions are now "orange" zones.
Another four regions are subject to even tighter "red" restrictions, with most shops, bars and restaurants shut and residents' movements restricted.
Hungary, one of the hardest-hit countries in terms of deaths in proportion to the population, has also announced new national restrictions to come into force on Wednesday.
In Greece, the government stopped supermarkets from selling "non-essential goods" in order to avoid unfair competition against smaller shops that have been forced to close, following a similar move in France.
In the Middle East, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Tuesday announced a fresh two-week lockdown despite a grinding economic crisis that has already battered businesses.
"We've reached a stage of critical danger as private and public hospitals don't have the capacity to receive severe cases," Hassan Diab said in a televised address.
The region was also mourning the death of Erekat—a long-time architect of plans to end the conflict with Israel through the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called the passing of "a brother and friend... a great loss for Palestine and our people".
Explore further
© 2020 AFP
Citation: Coronavirus vaccine results fuel hopes for return to normal (2020, November 10) retrieved 10 November 2020 from https://ift.tt/36pKPIu
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
"fuel" - Google News
November 10, 2020 at 07:50PM
https://ift.tt/36pKPIu
Coronavirus vaccine results fuel hopes for return to normal - Medical Xpress
"fuel" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WjmVcZ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Coronavirus vaccine results fuel hopes for return to normal - Medical Xpress"
Post a Comment