Coronavirus News highlights: Novavax vaccine heads to US FDA advisory committee

Track the latest Covid news and updates from India and across the world with DH.

Novavax Covid vaccine heads to US FDA advisory committee

Advisers to the USFood and Drug Administration on Tuesday will consider whether to recommend Novavax Inc's Covid-19 vaccine for adults, which the drugmaker hopes can become the shot of choice among some American vaccine skeptics.

Novavax's shot is a more traditional type of vaccine employing technology that has been used for decades to combat diseases including Hepatitis B and influenza.(Reuters)

German foreign minister cuts trip short after positive Covid test

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is cutting a a trip abroad short after testing positive for the coronavirus on her first stop in Pakistan, her ministry confirmed on Tuesday.

Baerbock, who met earlier Tuesday with her Pakistani counterpart in Islamabad, has cancelled all further dates of the trip, which also included stops in Greece and Turkey, said the ministry.

She tested positive after lunch after she had noticed that she lost her sense of taste, said the ministry. A rapid antigen test she took in the morning had been negative, it added. (Reuters)

Food allergy may cut risk of Covid-19 infection by 50%: Study

Are you allergic to certain foods? You may be at 50 per cent lower risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, finds a study.

US researchers at National Jewish Health and Vanderbilt University speculated the reason to be a different type of inflammation, caused by type 2 cytokines and common among food allergic individuals.

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Covid-19 infection may up risk of psychiatric disorders: Study

People infected with Covid-19 had a roughly 25 per cent increased risk of developing a psychiatric disorder in the four months following their infection, compared with those who had other types of respiratory tract infections, finds a study.

Researchers at Oregon State University in the US found that Covid-19 patients had a 3.8 per cent rate of developing a psychiatric disorder compared with 3.0 per cent for other respiratory tract infections.

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Karnataka Health Department on alert as Covid-19 cases surge

The Karnataka Health Department has undertaken a slew of measures following the rise of Covid cases in the state in the last one week. The meeting of Covid Experts committee has discussed the prevailing situation and the department has undertaken a serological survey.

The state recorded 230 fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate has gone up to 1.92 per cent and active cases in the state have risen to 2,441.

Experts suggest to make masks compulsory, implement guidelines, and conduct genomic sequencing tests. They have also suggested increasing the number of Covid tests and to keep vigil on International passengers, sources in the Health Department said on Tuesday.

North Korea reports 61,730 more people with fever amid Covid-19 outbreak

North Korea reported 61,730 more people with fever symptoms amid its first-ever coronavirus outbreak, North Korean state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

Relief, caution in Beijing as city lifts Covid dine-in curbs

After staying home for more than a month, Chen Chunmei joined a long line of customers at a popular Beijing restaurant where diners tucked into massive bowls of crayfish following an easing of Covid restrictions in the Chinese capital.

Last month, the city of 22 million stopped people from eating out, closed gyms and sealed off dozens of subway stations to try and stamp out a coronavirus outbreak.(AFP)

Oil prices rose on Tuesday on an expected demand recovery in China as the world's second-biggest economy relaxes tough Covid-19 curbs, and on doubts that a higher output target by OPEC+ producers would ease tight supply.

Afghanistan to receive monkeypox test kits from WHO

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan announced that the World Health Organization (WHO) will provide monkeypox test kits to the the war-torn nation as the virus has been confirmed in 27 countries with nearly 800 cases.

According to officials from the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), the Afghan health sector currently lacks kits to test for monkeypox, reports TOLO News.

"PCR machines were handed over to the MoPH during the outbreak of Covid-19 in Afghanistan. These machines cannot be used to test for monkeypox," said Javid Hazhir, a Ministry spokesman.

So far, Afghanistan has not reported any monkeypox cases.

India records 3,714 fresh Covid cases, 7 deaths

India recorded 3,714 fresh Covid cases in last 24 hrs, a marginal decline against 4,518 infections reported on previous day, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday morning.

In the same period, the country registered seven Covid deaths, taking the nationwide death toll to 5,24,708.

Meanwhile, the active caseload has risen to 26,976 cases, accounting for 0.06 per cent of the country's total positive cases.

Shanghai eases Covid-19 curbs as outbreak fades

China reports 209 new Covid-19 cases

Mainland China reported 209 new coronavirus cases on June 6, of which 57 were symptomatic and 152 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday.That compares with 171 new cases a day earlier - 31 symptomatic and 140 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. (Reuters)