New Delhi: More than a year since the global Covid-19 outbreak, cases continued to rise across countries, touching 21,72,03,653 infections and 45,14,879 deaths as of Monday. All eyes remain on boosting vaccination efforts to counter possible surges in infection numbers.
With 80 per cent of its population inoculated against the novel coronavirus, Singapore is currently the world’s most vaccinated nation. Over in New Zealand though, a death linked to the Pfizer vaccine has been reported, a first for the country that has been viewed as a success story in terms of controlling the virus spread. In Northern Ireland’s hospitals, emergency departments struggle to keep up with cases.
ThePrint brings you more details about some of the latest important global stories on the pandemic.
Singapore world’s most vaccinated country
Singapore is currently the world’s most vaccinated country, with the city-state having successfully inoculated 80 per cent of its 5.7 million population, reports Al Jazeera.
Behind Singapore, are countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uruguay and Chile, which have fully vaccinated over 70 per cent of their populations.
Israel, one of the first countries to vaccinate the majority of its population, is currently facing a surge in infections due to the deadly Delta variant.
Singapore began its vaccination roll out in January, the same month as India, and has relied mostly on vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
So far, the island-city nation has registered 67,304 cases and 55 deaths.
Also read: Coronavirus mutated same amount during pandemic as humans since Homo habilis walked earth
Woman with rare side-effect is New Zealand’s 1st Pfizer vaccine-linked death
Authorities in New Zealand Monday reported the country’s first recorded death linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, according to Reuters.
“This is the first case in New Zealand where a death in the days following vaccination has been linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine,” the health ministry said.
According to a review by the country’s independent Covid-19 vaccine safety monitoring board, the deceased is a woman who died due to myocarditis, a rare side effect of the Pfizer shot.
Myocarditis, commonly brought on by a viral infection, is a severe inflammation of the heart which can lead to heart failure, abnormal heartbeat and in some cases, death.
New Zealand has registered 3,519 cases and 26 deaths.
Northern Ireland emergency wards fill up, patients kept waiting
A third hospital in Northern Ireland has urged people to stay away except in cases of medical emergency, reports BBC.
This comes after the Western Trust, a health organisation in Northern Ireland, reported Sunday that people were waiting in the South West Acute Hospital’s emergency department and 15 were waiting to be admitted.
The Ulster and Craigavon Hospitals also faced similar situations. About 45 patients were waiting for a bed at Craigavon Hospital, and 100 were waiting in the emergency department.
Dr Alan Stout, British Medical Association NI’s GP committee chair, remarked that this was not a sign of lack of access to doctors but reflective of how sick people are.
Important post which tells shows multiple trends.
Pressure is huge.
People are very sick, hence either needing admission or hard to discharge.
Covid numbers are a real problem now.
This isn’t about access to GP, these patients largely need to be in ED, investigated or admitted. https://t.co/YolPnir5s9
— Alan Stout (@AlanStout19) August 29, 2021
The UK, of which Northern Ireland is a part, has recorded 67,31,423 cases and 1,32,437 deaths.
Israel vaccine booster shot campaign now includes 12-year-olds & above
Israel has opened up its booster vaccine rollout for Covid-19 to any person above the age of 12 years, reports Haaretz. The health ministry made the announcement Sunday after an expert panel said there is a correlation between the rollout and curbing the new wave of coronavirus infections in the country.
The ministry also announced that individuals who have received their third shot or those who have received their second dose within the past six months, will be exempted from quarantine upon return to Israel from international travel. This does not apply to “red” countries, classified as high risk, such as Brazil and Turkey.
Israel has registered 10,51,609 cases and 6,989 deaths so far.
What else we are reading:
What Went Wrong With the Pandemic in Florida: The New York Times
‘Not open for humans’: Covid changes east Asia’s Ghost Month but free spirits remain: The Guardian
Also read: Why the pandemic’s invisible deaths needs to be counted