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PARIS: The world passed the milestone of 1.5 million global coronavirus deaths on Thursday (December 3), as several nations plan to provide much-hoped-for vaccines early next year to break the cycle of lockdowns and restrictions.
But even when the latest positive news about a vaccine was announced, with candidate Moderna showing it confers immunity for at least three months, several countries set new COVID-19 records.
Italy recorded 993 deaths, surpassing the previous record of 969 at the beginning of the year in which it was the first European country to be hit by the pandemic.
Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, has passed one million cases even as authorities have considered easing restrictions and Britain has recorded over 60,000 deaths.
The hardest-hit country in the world, the United States, has recorded the highest daily death toll – 2,731 – since March, as the number of hospitalized for the virus exceeded 100,000 for the first time.
READ: UN Chief Examines Countries That Ignored COVID-19 Facts, WHO Guide
And Robert Redfield, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that difficult times lie ahead in January and February.
“I actually believe it will be the most difficult time in this nation’s public health history,” he said, warning that up to 450,000 may have died in the United States by February.
VAXX HACK
The pandemic is showing little sign of slowing, with more than 10,000 new deaths recorded around the world every day since November 24, a rate never before achieved, according to an AFP tally.
As the world tires of economically crippling restrictions, attention has turned to the race for a vaccine.
As the world tires of economically crippling restrictions, attention has turned to the race for a vaccine. (Photo: AFP / Francois Lo Presti)
Britain became the first Western country on Wednesday to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for general use, putting pressure on other countries to quickly follow suit.
But leading US infectious disease scientist Anthony Fauci said Britain “sped up” the approval process.
“In all fairness to so many of my British friends, you know, they ran around the corner of the marathon and joined in the last mile,” he told CBS News.
Also on Thursday, a study showed that the Moderna vaccine, which was recently shown to be 94% effective, causes the immune system to produce powerful antibodies that last for at least three months.
Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men attended the funeral of Rabbi Aharon David Hadash in Jerusalem. (Photo: AFP / Menahem Kahana)
In anticipation of the approval of these vaccines, France has announced that its vaccinations will be free and will start in January for one million elderly in nursing homes, in February for 14 million people at risk and in the spring for the rest of the population. .
France also mourned the latest high-profile figure to succumb to COVID-19, former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing, who died at the age of 94.
The Belgian government also said it intends to start vaccinating the most vulnerable in January.
READ: COVID-19 vaccines will be free for everyone in Portugal, says the health minister
But the raised hopes haven’t just caught the attention of governments: IBM said on Thursday that hackers are targeting the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain.
The tech giant said it was “unclear” whether a series of cyber attacks it uncovered against companies involved in an effort to distribute doses around the world were successful.
IBM could not identify who was behind the attacks, but said the accuracy of the operation signals “potential hallmarks of the nation-state trade.”
‘THE VACCINE CANNOT’ REVERSE THE DAMAGE ‘
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that even if the vaccines were quickly approved, the world would continue to fight the aftershocks of the pandemic.
“Let’s make no mistake. A vaccine cannot repair the damage that will extend for years, even decades to come,” Guterres said during the opening of a special UN summit on the virus.
Daily COVID-19 infections by region of the world from February 2 (Infographic: AFP)
Guterres reiterated his call for vaccines to be considered a “global public good” shared around the world.
More than 180 countries have joined Covax, a global collaborative initiative of the World Health Organization to work with manufacturers to fairly distribute vaccines.
However, South Africa, the continent’s worst-hit country, missed Covax’s initial payment deadline, local media reported Thursday.
Even assuming a successful vaccine is available, many countries are preparing for the next battle: convincing skeptical populations that they should be vaccinated.
Former US presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have volunteered to bring a vaccine in front of the camera if it will help promote public confidence.
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