Global fight against virus continues

More than 1.01 million people have died globally due to the novel coronavirus and over 33.92 million have been reported to be infected, according to Worldometers tally, report agencies.

Infections have been reported in more than 213 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Meanwhile, the head of the GAVI vaccine alliance on Wednesday urged countries that have not signed up to the COVAX vaccine facility to join the global effort to help finance doses for low- and middle- income countries.

Seth Berkley, addressing a high-level United Nations session in New York, said that 168 countries had now joined COVAX, including 76 wealthy, self-financing ones, adding: "I urge others who are wavering urgently to join us."

Neither China, Russia nor the United States have joined the facility, although World Health Organization (WHO) officials have said they are still holding talks with China.

The pharmaceutical "industry should know the enormous consolidated market we are bringing to them," Berkley said.

Another report adds: Coronavirus infection rates among adults in India have risen sharply, a survey showed on Tuesday, although a large percentage of the population has not yet been exposed, suggesting there is scope for cases to rise much further.

Meanwhile, A test that can diagnose Covid-19 in minutes will dramatically expand the capacity to detect cases in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

The $5 (£3.80) test could transform tracking of Covid-19 in less wealthy countries, which have shortages of healthcare workers and laboratories.

A deal with manufacturers will provide 120 million tests over six months.

The WHO's head called it a major milestone.

Another report adds: Results from an early safety study of Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine candidate in older adults showed that it produced virus-neutralizing antibodies at levels similar to those seen in younger adults, with side effects roughly on par with high-dose flu shots, researchers said on Tuesday.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, offers a more complete picture of the vaccine's safety in older adults, a group at increased risk of severe complications from COVID-19.

The findings are reassuring because immunity tends to weaken with age, Dr Evan Anderson, one of the study's lead researchers from Emory University in Atlanta, said in a phone interview.

The study was an extension of Moderna's Phase I safety trial, first conducted in individuals aged 18-55. It tested two doses of Moderna's vaccine - 25 micrograms and 100 micrograms - in 40 adults aged 56 to 70 and 71 and older.