In Brief : Two die after getting tainted Moderna jabs

TOKYO • Two people died after receiving Moderna vaccine shots that were among lots later suspended following the discovery of contaminants.

Japan's health ministry yesterday said the men, in their 30s, died this month within days of receiving their second Moderna doses. The cause of the deaths is being investigated.

Japan halted the use of 1.63 million Moderna doses shipped to 863 vaccination centres, more than a week after the domestic distributor, Takeda Pharmaceutical, received reports of contaminants in some vials.

REUTERS

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Philippines logs new high in daily cases

MANILA• President Rodrigo Duterte has lengthened coronavirus curbs in the Philippine capital region and some provinces, his spokesman said yesterday, as the country logged a new peak in daily infections.

There were 19,441 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, a record-high for the third time in the past nine days.

The government has extended the second-highest level of quarantine curbs in the capital region until Sept 7. Although some businesses can operate at up to 50 per cent on-site capacity, restaurant dine-in, personal care services and religious activities are still prohibited in the capital region.

REUTERS

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Delta strain 'doubles hospitalisation risk'

LONDON• People who contract the Delta variant of Covid-19 are more than twice as likely to be hospitalised as those infected with the Alpha strain, according to a UK study, raising the prospect of a greater burden on health services this winter.

The review of more than 43,000 virus cases in England, most of them unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal on Friday, and highlighted the protection shots provide against hospitalisation from both variants.

"Our analysis highlights that in the absence of vaccination, any Delta outbreaks will impose a greater burden on healthcare than an Alpha epidemic," said Dr Anne Presanis, a lead author of the study and a senior statistician at Cambridge.

BLOOMBERG

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Unvaccinated teacher infects 26

WASHINGTON• An unvaccinated teacher at an elementary school in California spread the Delta variant of the coronavirus to at least 26 other people, including 12 students, a new study by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday.

The teacher, who reported attending social functions, became symptomatic on May 19 but did not take a Covid-19 test until May 21, initially believing the symptoms were due to allergies.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE