Hailed as a cheap, easy to store not-for-profit vaccine, the AstraZeneca shot has suffered a growing number of setbacks.

American pharmaceutical companies Gilead and Merck announced Monday they have partnered to develop a new HIV therapy that could see daily medications replaced by a treatment that can be taken at longer intervals.

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine has sown division among former Eastern Bloc countries, analysts say, with some seeing it as a godsend and others as a Kremlin propaganda tool.

Difficulty breathing, concentrating and even walking: five months after being diagnosed with Covid-19, Violaine Cousineau continues to suffer severe symptoms that prevent her from resuming normal life.

Indonesia clearly provides menstrual leave for women but in reality, each company implements this rule differently.

The Red Cross warned Wednesday of a glaring gap in the plans to roll out Covid-19 vaccines around the world, saying remote communities risked missing out.

Taro Kono told a parliamentary committee that 17 cases of anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction, have been reported among the 107,558 health care workers who had been inoculated as of Tuesday.

Several studies show that Bispenol A (BPA) might raise the risk of health issues in toddlers and young children.

The AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine appears to be more than 80 percent effective at preventing severe illness among elderly, at-risk individuals after a single dose, according to preliminary research published Wednesday.

The trial that began in August involved just over 500 people who went to emergency rooms but did not need to be hospitalized.

One in four of the world's population will suffer from hearing problems by 2050, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday, calling for extra investment in prevention and treatment.

Beverly Veres' two sons are addicted to heroin but can't get the help they need, with US health services consumed by the coronavirus pandemic at a time when overdoses are surging.

Just four percent of scientific research published on Covid-19 is relevant to Africa despite the continent containing close to a fifth of humanity, according to an analysis published Tuesday.

The Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines have been "highly effective" in reducing coronavirus infections and severe illness among elderly people in Britain, with a more than 80 percent reduction in hospitalisation, official data showed Monday.

The vaccine is raising hope for a simpler mass inoculation process, given that the current two approved vaccines require two shots. It can be stored for three months at normal refrigerator temperatures and has a two-year shelf-life when frozen.

"The alternative temperature for transportation and storage will help ease the burden of procuring ultralow cold storage equipment for vaccination sites and should help to get vaccine to more sites," the US Food and Drug Administration said in a press release.

Deep in the Negev desert, Bedouin residents of a village deemed illegal by Israel say more houses have been demolished than people vaccinated, despite the Jewish state's world-beating coronavirus inoculation drive.

Israel has halted its plan to distribute surplus coronavirus vaccines as authorities examined whether it was in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's authority to order the move, the justice ministry said Thursday.

AstraZeneca's boss expressed confidence Thursday that his company can make up a huge shortfall in Covid-19 vaccine doses promised to the EU, in a grilling by MEPs alongside rival CEOs.

EU leaders met Thursday under the spectre of Europe's sluggish vaccine drive as Pfizer said its Covid jab proved 94 percent effective, raising hopes for mass immunisation campaigns to help end the pandemic.

The good news came as Ghana became the first country to receive shots under the global Covax scheme, paving the way for poorer nations to catch up with wealthier parts of the world.

Growing up as identical twins, Mayla and Sofia always did everything together, and their decision to undergo gender confirmation surgery is no exception.

Details, including when the trial would start, methods to be used and target patients have yet to be determined, the sources said. Approval of Avigan could expand treatment options in the country beyond the two currently available.

A toxic work environment can leave negative effects on the mental and physical health of survivors. While it is yet to become a hotbed issue in Indonesia, some people are beginning to share their experiences in the hope of breaking the cycle.

Anti vaccine communities are growing on and offline, spreading their beliefs to an increasing number of Indonesians.

Sputnik V -- named after the Soviet-era satellite -- was approved in Russia months before results from its final-stage clinical trials were published, leading to scepticism from experts.

The world has hit yet another grim milestone with more than 100 million coronavirus cases having been recorded around the globe. But there is another elephant in the room.

Several new variants -- each with a cluster of genetic mutations -- have sparked fears over an increase in infectiousness as well as suggestions that the virus could begin to elude immune response, whether from prior infection or a vaccine.

Officials took anal swabs from residents of neighbourhoods with confirmed Covid-19 cases in Beijing last week, broadcaster CCTV said, while those in designated quarantine facilities have also undergone the test.

"The government has bought 200,000 doses for 400 million euros ($486 million)," Spahn told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, working out at 2,000 euros per dose.