The US president urges state authorities to once again make mask-wearing obligatory in public places to combat the disease as the “war is far from won”
US President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris (left), delivers remarks on COVID-19 response and vaccinations in the South Court Auditorium of White House in Washington, DC, on Monday. Pic/AFP
President Joe Biden has announced that 90 per cent of the adults in the US would be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination by April 19 and the rest 10 per cent no later than May 1, amidst warning from a top expert that the country was facing an “impending doom”. Biden also urged state authorities to once again to make mask-wearing obligatory in public places to combat the disease as the “war is far from won”.
Biden’s announcement on the vaccination schedule came on a day when the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr Rochelle Walensky warned that the US faces “impending doom” as Coronavirus cases and hospital admissions rise across America, the worst-hit by the pandemic.
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The US has recorded around 60,000 new cases daily for the past week, a rise of around 7 per cent. The US has reported more than 30,331,000 confirmed cases and over 550,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker. The vaccination drive under the Biden administration has been going in at an unprecedented pace. As many as 100 million shots have been administered in less than 60 days of his administration and they are now moving on to the next 100 million shots in just 40 days.
“I’m pleased to announce that at least 90 per cent of all adults in this country will be eligible to be vaccinated by April 19, just three weeks from now, because we have the vaccines,” Biden told the media at the White House on Monday. “For the vast, vast majority of adults, you won’t have to wait until May 1. You’ll be eligible for your shot on April 19. Finally, the final 10 per cent will be eligible no later than May 1,” he said.
EU president warns of domino effect
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has warned of the “domino effect” of the health crisis brought about by the raging pandemic. “We risk that the COVID crisis sets off a number of other crises, especially in developing countries,” she said while addressing a high-level meeting on international debt architecture and liquidity on Monday.
World leaders support int’l pandemic treaty
Twenty-five world leaders have supported a proposal from European Council President Charles Michel to draw up a new international treaty on pandemic preparedness in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Leaders including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha signed an opinion piece along with Michel and WHO Director-General.
Canada to not use AZ jab for those under 55 years
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has recommended that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine should not be used in adults under 55 years of age at this time, while rare cases of serious blood clots were being probed. The NACI said the cases “have been recently reported in Europe following post-licensure use of the vaccine.”
4,27,964
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours
12,77,88,017
Total no. of cases worldwide
27,94,421
Total no. of deaths worldwide
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