COVID-19
Study shows 99% on Indonesia’s most populous island have COVID antibodies

Almost all residents of Indonesia’s most populous island of Java have antibodies against COVID-19, owing to a combination of prior infection and vaccination against the virus, a government-commissioned survey showed, Reuters reported.
The March study of 2,100 people, conducted on Java, home to 150 million people, and Bali, Indonesia’s top tourism destination, revealed 99.2% of people had COVID antibodies, a six percentage point increase from a December survey.
Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, which conducted the survey with the health ministry, on Monday told Reuters the antibody levels in the latest survey were higher due to a wider booster shot rollout, as recipients had stronger protection.
Indonesia’s daily case numbers have decreased significantly since a spike in February driven by the Omicron variant. About 60% of its 270 million people have been vaccinated against COVID.
Pandu said the stronger antibodies may explain the faster rate at which Omicron variant infections declined in Indonesia.
The December study, of 22,000 people, was conducted nationwide and showed 86% of Indonesians had antibodies.
The world’s largest Muslim-majority nation has recently loosened many of its pandemic restrictions, including waiving quarantine for foreign tourists and lifting a two-year ban on the mass exodus tradition during the Muslim holiday season of Eid al-Fitr.
COVID-19
CDC admits to making major mistakes in COVID-19 pandemic

America’s leading health agency announced Wednesday that it is planning a complete overhaul of its structure and operations due to major mistakes in handling the COVID-19 pandemic response, Anadolu News Agency reported.
“To be frank, we are responsible for some pretty dramatic, pretty public mistakes — from testing, to data, to communications,” said Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a statement.
“For 75 years, CDC and public health have been preparing for COVID-19, and in our big moment, our performance did not reliably meet expectations,” she said of the agency’s 11,000-plus staff members. “I want us all to do better, and it starts with CDC leading the way.”
The death toll from the pandemic in the US stands at more than one million people since March 2020.
The CDC first faced scrutiny over its COVID-19 response in the early days of the pandemic for its poor response to testing and monitoring the rapid spread of the virus, Anadolu reported.
During the later stages of the pandemic, the agency faced criticism for shifting or confusing guidance when it came to mask-wearing, social distancing and designating isolation periods for people who tested positive.
Walensky said the overhaul was not directed by the White House, insisting it was a CDC initiative.
“I feel like it’s my responsibility to lead this agency to a better place after a really challenging three years,” she continued. “It’s not lost on me that we fell short in many ways. We had some pretty public mistakes, and so much of this effort was to hold up the mirror…to understand where and how we could do better.”
The CDC reboot will revamp the entire organization from top to bottom, everything from operational procedures to the culture of the agency itself.
Walensky said the organization will move away from its previous focus on academic studies and shift towards prioritizing responding to emerging diseases like COVID-19 and monkeypox so the agency can meet its fullest potential.
The CDC will also create a new executive council to implement the widespread changes, Anadolu reported.
COVID-19
UK first to approve Omicron COVID shot with Moderna nod

Britain, the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine in late 2020, has now also given the first green light to a variant-adapted shot that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus, Reuters reported.
The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) gave the so-called bivalent vaccine made by U.S. drug company Moderna (MRNA.O) conditional approval as a booster for adults on Monday.
Later on Monday, the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) backed the use of the variant-adapted shot in the country’s booster campaign starting September.
No serious safety concerns were identified with the new Moderna formulation, the MHRA added on Monday.
COVID-19
India reports nearly 16,000 new COVID cases, 68 deaths

India reported nearly 16,000 new COVID cases and 68 fatalities, according to the Union Health Ministry data on Saturday.
The data also showed active cases came down by 4,271 in a span of 24 hours to stand at 119,264, constituting 0.27 percent of the total infections.
The new 15,815 coronavirus infections and 68 deaths pushed the overall figures to 44,239,372 cases and 526,996 deaths, according to the data.
The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.54 percent, the health ministry said.
-
Sport5 days ago
FIFA brings opening match of World Cup in Qatar forward by one day
-
Latest News4 days ago
Dozens dead and missing in Parwan floods
-
Business5 days ago
IEA trade delegation heads to Moscow
-
Latest News4 days ago
On eve of takeover anniversary, Ghani defends decision to flee Afghanistan
-
Latest News5 days ago
More than 600,000 Afghans return home in past year
-
Sport2 days ago
ICC announce Afghanistan’s tour program for 2023 to 2027 cycle
-
Health5 days ago
US and Britain roll out campaigns after poliovirus detected in water samples
-
Latest News3 days ago
Afghan refugees in UK told to look for private accommodation