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Rabu, 02 Desember 2020

UK PM Johnson might take COVID-19 shot on TV, but won't jump queue: Press secretary - CNA

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson might be persuaded to take a COVID-19 vaccination on television to show it is safe but he would not have one before those in greater need, his press secretary said on Wednesday (Dec 2).

Johnson, 56, who spent time in intensive care earlier this year after contracting COVID-19, has hailed the UK approval of Pfizer Inc's vaccine as a global win and ray of hope amid a pandemic that has hurt the economy and upended normal life.

But, like other leaders, Johnson cannot be seen to be jumping the queue for the vaccine, ahead of more vulnerable people. However, he wants to illustrate its safety to try to persuade others to take it when it is more widely available.

Asked if the prime minister would take the shot live on television, press secretary Allegra Stratton said she had not asked him directly.

"I don't think it would be something he would rule out," she said. "But I think we also know that he wouldn't want to take a jab that should be for someone who is extremely vulnerable, clinically vulnerable and who should be getting it before him."

READ: UK approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use, first in the world

READ: After year-long sprint, COVID-19 vaccines finally at hand

Johnson has said the shots would be voluntary, and a snap YouGov poll found that 20 per cent of Britons were either not confident or not very confident that it was safe. There was support for the health minister Matt Hancock getting a shot live on TV, with 66 per cent backing the idea.

Britain's government has said the health service will prioritise vaccinations, putting older residents in care homes and their carers first, then all those over 80 and frontline health workers.

Johnson has spoken openly of his struggle with COVID-19 in April, saying he fought for his life and that it was 50-50 whether the doctors were going to put him on a ventilator.

He said his weight was an underlying condition that made his condition worse and has since spoken frequently about his attempts to lose the pounds. Stratton said she did not know whether his weight might put him in a more vulnerable group, adding that he has been exercising more.

Johnson's spokesman also said it was a matter for Buckingham Palace whether 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth received a vaccination. A palace spokesman declined to comment on whether the queen would get a shot, saying royal medical matters were traditionally kept private.

The queen and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, who would be in the second priority tier for a vaccine, have spent national lockdowns this year with a small number of staff at Windsor Castle to the west of London.

They are planning to stay there over Christmas, rather than travelling to Sandringham in eastern England as they traditionally do.

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2020-12-02 16:28:18Z
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UK PM Johnson might take COVID-19 shot on TV, but won't jump queue: Press secretary - CNA

Johnson, 56, who spent time in intensive care earlier this year after contracting COVID-19, has hailed the UK approval of Pfizer's vaccine as a global win and ray of hope amid a pandemic that has hurt the economy and upended normal life.

But, like other leaders, Johnson cannot be seen to be jumping the queue for the vaccine, ahead of more vulnerable people, but he wants to illustrate its safety to try to persuade others to take it when it is more widely available.

Asked if the prime minister would take the shot live on television, press secretary Allegra Stratton said she had not asked him directly.

"I don't think it would be something he would rule out," she said.

"But I think we also know that he wouldn't want to take a jab that should be for someone who is extremely vulnerable, clinically vulnerable and who should be getting it before him."

READ: UK approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use, first in the world

READ: After year-long sprint, COVID-19 vaccines finally at hand

Britain's government has said the health service will prioritise vaccinations, putting older residents in care homes and their carers first, then all those over 80 and frontline health workers.

Johnson spoke openly of his struggle with COVID-19 in April, saying he fought for his life and that it was 50-50 whether the doctors were going to put him on a ventilator.

They are planning to stay there over Christmas, rather than travelling to Sandringham in eastern England as they traditionally do.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

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WeChat blocks Australian prime minister in doctored image dispute - CNA

SYDNEY: The Chinese social media platform WeChat blocked a message by Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison amid a dispute between Canberra and Beijing over the doctored tweeted image of an Australian soldier.

China rebuffed Morrison's calls for an apology after its foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian posted the picture of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child on Monday (Nov 30).

The United States called China's use of the digitally manipulated image a "new low" in disinformation.

Morrison took to WeChat on Tuesday to criticise the "false image", while offering praise to Australia's Chinese community.

In his message, Morrison defended Australia's handling of a war crimes investigation into the actions of special forces in Afghanistan, and said Australia would deal with "thorny issues" in a transparent manner.

But that message appeared to be blocked by Wednesday evening, with a note appearing from the "Weixin Official Accounts Platform Operation Center" saying the content was unable to be viewed because it violated regulations, including distorting historical events and confusing the public.

Tencent, the parent company of WeChat, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

READ: Shame and vindication as Australia digests report of Afghan military killings

Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan, with senior commandos reportedly forcing junior soldiers to kill defenceless captives in order to "blood" them for combat, a four-year investigation found.

Australia said last week that 19 current and former soldiers would be referred for potential criminal prosecution.

China's embassy has said the "rage and roar" from Australian politicians and media over the soldier image was an overreaction.

"HYPOCRISY IS OBVIOUS TO ALL"

Australia was seeking to "deflect public attention from the horrible atrocities by certain Australian soldiers", it said.

Other nations, including the United States, New Zealand and France - and the self-ruled island of Taiwan which China claims as its own - have expressed concern at the Chinese foreign ministry's use of the manipulated image on an official Twitter account.

"The CCP's latest attack on Australia is another example of its unchecked use of disinformation and coercive diplomacy. Its hypocrisy is obvious to all," the US State Department said on Wednesday, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

State Department deputy spokesman Cale Brown said the fabricated image of the soldier was "a new low, even for the Chinese Communist Party".

"As the CCP spreads disinformation, it covers up its horrendous human rights abuses, including the detention of more than a million Muslims in Xinjiang," Brown wrote in a tweet.

France's foreign affairs spokesman said on Tuesday the tweeted image was "especially shocking" and the comments by Zhao "insulting for all countries whose armed forces are currently engaged in Afghanistan".

China's embassy in Paris hit back on Wednesday, saying the soldier image was a caricature by a painter, adding that France has previously loudly defended the right to caricature.

WeChat has 690,000 active daily users in Australia, and in September told an Australian government inquiry it would prevent foreign interference in Australian public debate through its platform.

Morrison's message had been read by 57,000 WeChat users by Wednesday.

Zhao's tweet, pinned to the top of his Twitter account, had been "liked" by 60,000 followers, after Twitter labelled it as sensitive content but declined Canberra's request to remove the image.

READ: Twitter rejects call to remove Chinese official's fake Australian troops tweet

Twitter is blocked in China, but has been used by Chinese diplomats.

China on Friday imposed dumping tariffs of up to 200 per cent on Australian wine imports, effectively shutting off the largest export market for the Australian wine industry.

A group of parliamentarians from 19 countries that has lobbied against China's actions in Hong Kong, where it has cracked down on dissent, and in the far western region of Xinjiang campaigned on social media for the public to drink Australian wine.

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2020-12-02 12:01:22Z
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UK's Johnson hails 'fantastic' news of vaccine authorisation - CNA

LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was "fantastic" that the country's medicines regulator had formally authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use, a move that he said would get the economy moving again.

"It's fantastic that the MHRA has formally authorised the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19," he said on Twitter. "The vaccine will begin to be made available across the UK from next week.

READ: UK approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use, first in the world

READ: After year-long sprint, COVID-19 vaccines finally at hand

"It's the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again."

England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said it would take until spring to fully vaccinate the vulnerable population who wish to receive the jab.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

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2020-12-02 09:01:21Z
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UK becomes first country to approve Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for use - The Straits Times

LONDON (REUTERS, AFP) - Britain on Wednesday (Dec 2) became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use and said that it will be rolled out from early next week.

A vaccine is seen as the best chance for the world to get back to some semblance of normality amid a global pandemic that has killed nearly 1.5 million people and upended the global economy.

"The government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for use," the British government said.

"The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week."

Britain’s vaccine committee will decide which priority groups will get the jab first, such as care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and people who are clinically extremely vulnerable.

Both Pfizer-BioNTech and United States biotech firm Moderna have reported preliminary findings of more than 90 per cent effectiveness - an unexpectedly high rate – in trials of their vaccines, which are both based on new messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.

Pfizer said Britain’s emergency use authorisation marks a historic moment in the fight against Covid-19.

"This authorisation is a goal we have been working towards since we first declared that science will win, and we applaud the MHRA for its ability to conduct a careful assessment and take timely action to help protect the people of the UK," said Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla.

"As we anticipate further authorisations and approvals, we are focused on moving with the same level of urgency to safely supply a high-quality vaccine around the world."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the programme would begin early next week. Hospitals, he said, were already ready to receive it. "It is very good news," Mr Hancock said.

The announcement came as England exited a month-long coronavirus lockdown, but most of the country remained under restrictions as a new regional system for cutting infection rates kicked in.

The four-week lockdown, which began in November, was imposed to stop surging rates of infection, ease pressure on health services, and to allow families to gather for Christmas.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a Covid survivor, succeeded in winning a vote on the measures in parliament late Tuesday, despite significant opposition within his own Conservative ranks.

“All we need to do now is to hold our nerve until these vaccines are indeed in our grasp and indeed being injected into our arms,” he told lawmakers before the vote.

Until then “we cannot afford to relax, especially during the cold months of winter”, he warned.

UK approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use, first in the world - CNA

LONDON: Britain on Wednesday (Dec 2) became the first western country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, jumping ahead of the United States and Europe after its regulator cleared a shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for emergency use in record time.

The vaccine will be rolled out from early next week in a major coup for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government, which has faced criticism over its handling of the coronavirus crisis with Britain enduring the worst official COVID-19 death toll in Europe.

A vaccine is seen as the best chance for the world to get back to some semblance of normality amid a global pandemic that has killed nearly 1.5 million people and upended the global economy.

"The government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use," the government said.

Britain touted the approval as a global win and a ray of good hope amid the gloom as big powers race to approve an array of vaccines and inoculate their citizens.

"I'm obviously absolutely thrilled with the news, very proud that the UK is the first place in the world to have a clinically authorised vaccine," British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

He added that the UK expects to have "millions of doses" by the end of the year.

China has already given emergency approval for three experimental vaccines and has inoculated around 1 million people since July. Russia has been vaccinating frontline workers after approving its Sputnik V shot in August before it had completed late-stage testing on safety and efficacy.

READ: After year-long sprint, COVID-19 vaccines finally at hand

'HISTORIC MOMENT'

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech have said their vaccine is 95 per cent effective in preventing illness, much higher than expected.

Pfizer said Britain's emergency use authorisation marks a historic moment in the fight against COVID-19.

"This authorisation is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win, and we applaud the MHRA for their ability to conduct a careful assessment and take timely action to help protect the people of the UK,” said CEO Albert Bourla.

"As we anticipate further authorisations and approvals, we are focused on moving with the same level of urgency to safely supply a high-quality vaccine around the world."

Britain's medicines regulator approved the vaccine in record time. Its US counterpart is set to meet on Dec 10 to discuss whether to recommend emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the European Medicines Agency said it could give emergency approval for the shot by Dec 29.

"The data submitted to regulatory agencies around the world are the result of a scientifically rigorous and highly ethical research and development programme," said Ugur Sahin, chief executive and co-founder of BioNTech.

READ: US scientists developing nasal spray to prevent COVID-19

FIRST IN LINE?

Britain's vaccine committee will decide which priority groups will get the jab first: Care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and people who are clinically extremely vulnerable will be first in line.

Britain has established three routes to get the vaccine out to the country, a programme it has described as "challenging" because it needs to be shipped and stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius or below.

Hancock said 50 hospitals have been set up across England and are waiting to accept the vaccine.

Large vaccination centres are also being set up now, and in time local health centres known as general practitioners and pharmacists will provide the jab in the community if they have those capabilities.

The community element is likely to take on a larger role if a rival vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca is approved, because it does not need such cold storage and is easier to deliver, Hancock added.

Pfizer has said its vaccine can be stored for up to five days at standard refrigerator temperatures, or for up to 15 days in a thermal shipping box.

Johnson said last month that Britain had ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine - enough for just under a third of the population as two shots of the jab are needed per person to gain immunity.

Other frontrunners in the vaccine race include US biotech firm Moderna, which has said its shot is 94 per cent successful in late-stage clinical trials. Moderna and Pfizer have developed their shots using new messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.

AstraZeneca said last month its COVID-19 shot, which is based on traditional vaccine technology, was 70 per cent effective in pivotal trials and could be up to 90 per cent effective.

BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments

Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram

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2020-12-02 07:14:49Z
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Selasa, 01 Desember 2020

Australia's prime minister sends WeChat message to Chinese diaspora in spat - CNA

SYDNEY: Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used Chinese social media platform WeChat to criticise a "false image" of an Australian soldier posted on Twitter by the Chinese government.

China has rebuffed Morrison's calls for an apology after its foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian posted the digitally manipulated image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child on Monday (Dec 30).

China's embassy said the "rage and roar" from Australian politicians and media over the image was an overreaction.

In a WeChat message on Tuesday night, Morrison wrote that the diplomatic dispute over the image of the soldier "does not diminish respect and appreciation for the Chinese community in Australia".

He defended Australia's handling of a war crimes investigation into the actions of special forces in Afghanistan, and said Australia is able to deal with "thorny issues" like this in a transparent manner.

READ: Shame and vindication as Australia digests report of Afghan military killings

Australia has previously said 19 soldiers will be referred for potential criminal prosecution for the killings of unarmed Afghan prisoners and civilians.

WeChat told an Australian government inquiry in October it had 690,000 active daily users in Australia. Morrison's message had been read by 50,000 WeChat users by Wednesday morning.

Zhao's tweet, pinned to the top of his Twitter account, had been "liked" by 54,000 followers, after Twitter labelled it as sensitive content but declined the Australian government's request to remove the image.

Twitter is blocked in China, but has been increasingly used by Chinese diplomats who have adopted combative "Wolf Warrior diplomacy” tactics this year.

China on Friday imposed dumping tariffs of up to 200 per cent on Australian wine imports, effectively shutting off the largest export market for the Australian wine industry, amid a worsening diplomatic dispute that has seen a serious of trade reprisals imposed by China.

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2020-12-02 00:43:33Z
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Rabu, 02 Desember 2020

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Selasa, 01 Desember 2020