Health and Healthcare Systems

COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 16 February

An empty city street is seen on the first day of a five-day lockdown implemented in the state of Victoria in response to a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, February 13, 2021.  REUTERS/Sandra Sanders - RC2BRL9GU0AC

Global pandemic news ... Victoria, Australia was placed under a snap lockdown over the weekend. Image: REUTERS/Sandra Sanders

Joe Myers
Writer, Forum Agenda

Listen to the article

  • This daily round-up brings you a selection of the latest news and updates on the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as well as tips and tools to help you stay informed and protected.
  • Top stories: WHO approves Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine; Oxford trials vaccine in children for first time; EU to study virus mutations.
Have you read?

1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have now passed 109.1 million globally, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 2.4 million.

Australia's medical regulator has granted provisional approval for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine.

South Korea has struck a deal to buy COVID-19 vaccines for 23 million more people. It comes after authorities decided to scale back initial vaccination plans, citing delays and efficacy concerns.

Colombia will begin COVID-19 vaccinations from tomorrow, after the first doses arrived in the country.

The European Union is set to start a new programme to study mutations in the COVID-19 virus, in an effort to prepare future vaccines.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said yesterday any path out of lockdown would be 'cautious' but 'irreversible'.

The Czech government is planning to reopen schools for more students from 1 March, with regular testing in place.

Zimbabwe has received its first COVID-19 vaccines – 200,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines donated by China.

The incoming head of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has warned against vaccine nationalism, saying it will slow progress in ending the pandemic.

Data from Israel suggests that the Pfizer vaccine is performing as well in a large population as it did in trials, preventing 94% of symptomatic infections.

Discover

What is the Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship?

2. WHO approves Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

The World Health Organization has given emergency use listing to two versions of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, meaning they can be rolled out globally through the vaccine sharing facility COVAX.

"One of the vaccines is produced by SKBio in the Republic of Korea and the other is produced by the Serum Institute of India," Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing. "Although both companies are producing the same vaccine, because they are made in different production plants, they required separate reviews and approvals."

He also reiterated calls for a rapid, but equitable, rollout of vaccines globally. And, it's vital that demand for vaccines is built by ensuring people have the right information and fighting misinformation, false or misleading statements, he said.

Daily COVID-19 vaccine doses administered per 100 people
Vaccination programmes continue at pace in many countries. Image: Our World in Data

3. Oxford Uni to test COVID-19 vaccine among children

The University of Oxford has said it's launched a study to assess the safety and immune response of the COVID-19 vaccine it's developed with AstraZeneca in children.

The mid-stage trial will examine the vaccine's effectiveness in people between 6 and 17, with 300 volunteers expected to be enrolled.

AstraZeneca has a target to produce 3 billion doses of the vaccine this year, which is easier and cheaper to distribute than some others.

Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

COVID-19

Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how COVID-19 is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

COPD kills more than lung and breast cancer combined. It's time to change that

Nitin Kapoor

November 22, 2024

A historic leap in cancer vaccines – here’s what you need to know

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum