In the Western Pacific, Japan’s surge in new COVID-19 cases and death counts leads the region, followed by the Philippines and Malaysia; the region as a whole did record a slight decline in new cases over the past week but there was a four percent increase in deaths. Elsewhere, many EU countries are starting to report levelling off or lower new case numbers which the ECDC says ‘may be evidence that some countries may have peaked’, however case notification rates remain generally high. Read more. Globally, the Americas contributed over half of all new COVID-19 cases last week. More in the weekly WHO epi update on Dec 8
In related news:
-The UK’s Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine approval and vaccination campaign roll-out was expedited through a rolling evaluation of data as it emerged from clinical trials, while in the USA, a review of the vaccine for emergency use authorisation will take place tomorrow, with all data amassed, at a meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (livestreamed on the on the FDA’s YouTube, Facebook and Twitter feeds and webcast from the agency’s website). More on new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine findings from CIDRAP.
-Australia’s TGA issued a statement on Dec 2 regarding the UK government’s emergency use authorisation of the COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 supplied by Pfizer/BioNTech
-A STAT News article, ‘Detailed data on AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine show it has moderate efficacy’, summarises the analysis of trials continuing across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa.
-In the last week, Imperial College, London updated its scenario analysis tool Covidsim.org which allows the user to project the global coronavirus epidemic course (including expected number of people requiring hospitalisation) for all countries; and the World Bank published details of a new global dashboard that compiles publicly available Google search data which ‘can be used to effectively assess the spread of the coronavirus in real-time for almost 200 countries worldwide’. The blog notes that ‘search interest precedes official data by more than a week, on average, predicting spikes in the incidence of the disease’.
-WHO looks at possible 'e-vaccination certificates' for travel: Read more
Before you travel, call Travelvax Australia’s telephone advisory service on 1300 360 164 (toll-free from landlines) for country-specific advice and information. You can also make an appointment at your nearest Travelvax clinic to obtain vaccinations, medication to prevent or treat illness, and accessories for your journey.