World Coronavirus Dispatch: Access to mRNA shots is the new pandemic divide

Study finds long Covid has as many as 200 symptoms, Africa sees a record million cases in a month, and other pandemic-related news across the world

mRNA vaccine access carves up world into haves and have-nots

Adding to the list of inequities that the pandemic has only worsened, nations are freshly divided on the lines of access to mRNA vaccines. Developed and rich nations have stocked up billions of vaccine doses developed employing the revolutionary messenger RNA technology, that are proving more and more effective in preventing infections and serious disease caused by virulent and deadly variants. However, the US and and handful of European nations have access to these doses, while the rest the world is in a desperate race to catch up. From South Korea to Indonesia and South Africa, governments are seeking to set up mRNA production and develop other collaborations in the space, but they’re also realising it could take them years to master the new science, leaving their countries reliant on less potent vaccines that potentially expose them to repeated waves of Covid and delay their economies from re-opening. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 188,929,998

Global deaths: 4,066,629

Vaccine doses administered: 3,537,747,876

Nations with most cases: US (33,975,711), India (31,026,829), Brazil (19,262,518), France (5,895,453), Russia (5,810,335).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

UK warns curbs may return if cases get out of control

With daily infections jumping as high as 48,000 and hospitalisations by 43% in a week, mainly due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the UK is completely bewildered on how to respond to the virus even as it presses ahead with its plan to end all legal curbs in three days. A government minister said that some restrictions may return if infections get out of control “Of course if we get into a situation where it’s unacceptable and we do need to put back further restrictions, then that is something the government will look at,” Lucy Frazer told Sky News. Read here

Africa records a million new cases in a month, its fastest increase so far

The coronavirus is sweeping across Africa at a pace not seen before in the pandemic, the World Health Organization said, highlighting the severity of a third wave driven by the spread of the Delta variant. One million Covid infections were reported on the continent in the past month alone, pushing the overall caseload to six million, according to the WHO, which urged wealthier nations to distribute more vaccine doses. The effect of the Delta variant in Africa has seen hospitalisations rise, unlike in the western nations where vaccinations are relatively widespread. Meanwhile, deaths have surged 43 percent in the past week on the continent. Read here

Long Covid has more than 200 symptoms, study finds

Post-Covid symptoms in people, popularly known as long Covid, are as many as 200 from from brain fog and hallucinations to tremors and loss of smell, a new study has found. The study, published in the Lancet’s journal EClinicalMedicine, surveyed 3,762 people with confirmed or suspected long Covid from 56 countries. It identified 203 symptoms, of which 66 were tracked for seven months. The most common symptoms were fatigue, post-exertional malaise (where people’s health worsens after physical or mental exertion) and brain fog. Other effects included visual hallucinations, tremors, itchy skin, changes to the menstrual cycle, sexual dysfunction and others. Read here