Covid-19: the pressure on the hospital still decreasing, a billion vaccines for poor countries

The pressure on the hospital continues to drop in France, a billion vaccines will be distributed to poor countries, new quarantine in Chile despite an advanced vaccination, two positive cases on an American cruise despite the vaccination ... Here is an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.

To discover

• Covid-19: vaccination as the only remedy

Read also: Covid-19 surveillance: Health regains control of wastewater

• In France, the pressure on the hospital continues to drop

Pressure on the hospital continues to decrease, with the number of people hospitalized at its lowest since the end of October, according to data released Thursday by Public Health France.

The number of people currently in critical care treating the most serious cases is 2,245 compared to 2,326 patients on Wednesday.

This figure is at the lowest since October 22.

74 people were admitted to critical care in 24 hours.

• The G7 will pledge to distribute a billion vaccines to poor countries

G7 leaders will pledge to distribute one billion doses of anti-Covid vaccines to poor countries during their summit which is being held from Friday to Sunday, the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating presidency of the group, announced on Thursday.

Read also: Covid-19: does the progression of the epidemic in the United Kingdom sign the failure of vaccines?

The goal is to

"end the pandemic"

in 2022, said Downing Street, specifying that London would give 100 million excess doses thanks to the progress of its vaccination program.

The United States has for its part already committed to provide 500 million vaccines, which are counted in the billion doses of the G7.

• Brazil: Supreme Court gives green light for Copa America

The Supreme Court of Brazil on Thursday authorized the conduct of the Copa América football in this country, however hard hit by the pandemic, a majority of its judges having rejected the appeals for the cancellation of the tournament.

Read also: Vaccination of obese people, blind spot of the vaccine campaign

• Two cases of Covid-19 aboard one of the first cruises in North America since the pandemic

Two individuals tested positive for Covid-19 Thursday aboard the Celebrity Millennium, one of the first cruise ships to sail in North America since the start of the pandemic, despite

"a crew and passengers vaccinated"

, a the cruise line Royal Caribbean announced in a press release.

• Chile: new quarantine in the capital despite very advanced vaccination

Chilean health authorities on Thursday imposed a new total quarantine in the metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile and its seven million inhabitants, due to the increase in cases of coronavirus although 57% of the target population is already fully vaccinated.

• Africa: far from vaccination targets (WHO)

Nearly 90% of African countries will not meet the goal of vaccinating one tenth of their population by September, if they do not urgently receive at least 225 million doses of vaccine, the Organization warned on Thursday. World Health Organization (WHO).

Read also: Nicolas Baverez: "Let's get Africa out of the Covid-19 trap"

• Insufficient vaccination in Europe

In Europe, 30% of the population has received a first dose of vaccine and 17% is fully vaccinated, the European branch of the WHO said Thursday, calling to avoid the

"mistake"

of the escalation of cases during the summer 2020.

• South Africa "technically" in a third wave

South Africa has

"technically

" entered a 3rd wave of Covid-19, with more than 9,000 new contaminations identified in the past 24 hours, according to the South African National Institute of Communicable Diseases.

• Italy: two successful organ transplants from COVID-positive donors

Italy announced Thursday two organ transplants from donors who tested positive for Covid-19 to negative patients without causing infection in the latter, a

"world first"

, according to the National Transplantation Center.

Read also: Covid-19: for Easter time, Italy put under cover

• Cycling: the Quebec and Montreal GPs canceled in 2021

The two major North American cycling prizes, scheduled for September 10 and 12 in Quebec City and Montreal, have been canceled due to health requirements related to the pandemic, the organization of the two Quebec races announced Thursday.

• Moderna seeks authorization for its vaccine for adolescents in the United States

The American biotechnology company Moderna announced Thursday that it had filed with the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) an application for authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States.

Read also: Vaccines: Pfizer and Moderna post excellent financial results

• Germany: limited vaccination for young people aged 12 to 17

The German Vaccination Commission (Stiko) recommended Thursday to limit the vaccination against Covid-19 of young people aged 12 to 17 to those already suffering from pathologies and who may thus develop serious forms of the new coronavirus.

• More than 3.7 million dead

The pandemic has killed more than 3,764,250 people around the world since the end of December 2019, according to an assessment established by AFP from official sources on Thursday.

After the United States, which has 598,765 dead, the countries with the highest number of deaths are Brazil (482,019), India (359,676), Mexico (229,353) and Peru (187,479).

These figures, which are based on daily reports from national health authorities, are generally underestimated.

They exclude the upward revisions carried out a posteriori by certain statistical organizations.