Israel's airstrikes have prevented rescuers from reaching the site of a strike that targeted the group's anticipated leader Hashem Safieddine
mena2 hours ago
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention on Thursday reported 481 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus, along with 540 recoveries and no deaths.
Total active cases stand at 18,640.
The new cases were detected through 260,132 additional tests.
The total number of cases in UAE as on September 1 are 1,015,879, while total recoveries stand at 994,898. The death toll now stands at 2,341.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized updated Covid-19 booster shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna that target the dominant BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, as the government prepares for a fall vaccination campaign that could begin in a few days.
Both vaccines also include the original version of the virus targeted by all the previous Covid shots.
The FDA authorised the shots for everyone over age 12 who has had a primary vaccination series and is at least two months out from a previous booster shot, shorter than prior recommended intervals. That marks a shift from the current shots based only on the original virus that are available to people 50 and older or who are immunocompromised.
Moderna's retooled vaccine was authorized for those aged 18 and above while the Pfizer/BioNTech shot will be available for those aged 12 and above, the FDA said.
“As we head into fall and begin to spend more time indoors, we strongly encourage anyone who is eligible to consider receiving a booster dose with a (duel targeted) Covid-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said in a statement.
Experts have said that the updated vaccines will be important for older people and those who are immunocompromised but said there is limited data to support the level of protection the government has promised.
"The idea is they want protection against infection to be generated as quickly as possible in the population, but it’s unclear yet how clinically efficacious these vaccines are against BA.5 infection, and if a shorter wait period will impact efficacy because of interference by the prior immunity," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.
The government has already started working on the fall rollout, which could begin in the next few days after the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) outside expert panel meets on Thursday and agency Director Rochelle Walensky makes a final recommendation.
Pfizer said it has some doses ready to ship immediately and can deliver up to 15 million doses by September 9.
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