MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday urged Filipinos to welcome Christmas Day with strong faith and hope, especially as the nation continues to recover from the effects of Typhoon Odette and the pandemic.
OTTAWA - Canada reported 11,304 new COVID-19 cases Friday (Dec. 24) afternoon, raising the cumulative total to 1,957,058 cases with 30,139 deaths according to a report by CTV.
LONDON - Britain reported another 122,186 coronavirus cases in the last 24-hours, exceeding 120,000 daily cases for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to official figures released on Friday (Dec. 24).
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shortened the isolation periods for healthcare workers infected with COVID-19, due to hospital staffing shortages driven by the surge in new cases and hospitalizations.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in an interview on Friday (Dec.24) that the COVID-19 vaccination of kids ages 5-11 may begin as early as January 2022, as the agency earlier issued the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer vaccine due to its high efficacy rate of above 90% and with very mild adverse events in its critical trial.
