Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 268.6 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.28 million.
COVID-19 Vaccinations
56% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
8.45 billion doses have been administered globally, and 34.88 million are now administered each day.
Only 7.1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.
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Japan has found eight new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, a government spokesperson said on Friday, bringing its total to 12. All the cases have been found during testing of arrivals at airports. Two of the new cases were close contacts of the first case, a diplomat from Namibia.
US regulators have expanded eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to 16- and 17-year-olds due to concerns about the new Omicron variant of the virus. The US Food and Drug Administration said it amended its emergency use vaccines authorizations to allow youths aged 16-17 to receive a third shot. New Mexico is suffering one of the highest levels of new coronavirus infections in the country, its hospitals reaching record capacity levels.
South Africa is preparing to offer people booster doses of the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, a senior health official said today.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach defended restrictions on the unvaccinated and mandatory COVID-19 jabs for medical and nursing staff due to be passed by parliament today. Germany, in the grip of a fourth wave of infections, has a relatively low rate of vaccination compared with the rest of Europe.
AstraZeneca said on Friday it will supply Singapore with its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, Evusheld, by the end of the year. Evusheld can act as another layer of protection, alongside vaccines, for people who are at high risk of COVID-19 infection.
Omicron was first detected in southern Africa and Hong Kong and Africa accounts for 46% of reported cases globally, Richard Mihigo, coordinator of the WHO's Immunisation and Vaccine Development Programme for Africa, told an online briefing.
Just 7.5% of more than one billion people in Africa have had primary vaccine shots.
The World Health Organization has warned wealthy countries against hoarding COVID-19 vaccines for booster shots as they try to fight off the new Omicron variant, threatening supplies to poorer countries where inoculation rates are low.
Japan researchers use ostrich cells to make glowing COVID-19 detection masks
📷A coronavirus sample glows on a face mask filter under an ultraviolet light after being sprayed with a fluorescent dye containing antibodies. Photograph: Kyoto Prefectural University
Japanese researchers have developed masks that use ostrich antibodies to detect COVID-19 by glowing under ultraviolet light.
Scientists at Prefectural University in western Japan started by creating a mask filter coated with ostrich antibodies targeting the novel coronavirus, based on previous research showing the birds have strong resistance to disease.
In a small study, test subjects wore the masks, and after eight hours, the filters were removed and sprayed with a chemical that glows under ultraviolet light if the virus is present. The filters worn by people infected with COVID-19 glowed around the nose and mouth areas.
The team hopes to further develop the masks so that they will glow automatically, without special lighting, if the virus is detected.
JHU’s Daily COVID-19 Data in Motion
Sources: WEF, John Hopkins University.