Covid live news: Pfizer expects clinical data for under 5s in April; Italy to mandate vaccines for over 50s | World news

Pfizer Inc expects the latest results from a clinical trial for kids under the age of five of the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with Germany’s BioNTech SE by April, a top company scientist has said according to Reuters.

“The study has been amended to give a third dose to everybody who’s less than five at least eight weeks after their last vaccination,” Dr Alejandra Gurtman, a Pfizer vaccine researcher said at a meeting of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

She said the company aims to have data for the age group by the end of March or the beginning of April.

In December, Pfizer said it was changing the design of the trial because children between the ages of two and four who were given two 3-microgram doses of the vaccine did not have the same immune response that a larger dose of the vaccine generated in older. children.

Gurtman also said the company was studying a third dose of its vaccine in children ages five to 11, six months after their second dose.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorized in the United States for people aged five and older. On Wednesday, ACIP backed booster shots of the vaccine for ages 12 to 15.

Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Livingstone.

Pfizer has said it expects the latest results from its Covid vaccine clinical trial for children under the age of 5 – which will include booster shots – by April. Dr Alejandra Gurtman, a Pfizer vaccine researcher, said the company could even have data for the age group by the end of March.

Italy has made it mandatory for people aged 50 or more to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as the country scrambles to ease pressure on hospitals and reduce deaths amid a dramatic surge in infections.

Novak Djokovic’s attempts to compete at the Australian Open this month are over after the No 1-ranked male tennis player was told his visa has been rejected. He is due to be flown out of Melbourne on Thursday amid a spiraling outcry over his controversial “medical exemption” agreed by the tournament’s organizers.

Here’s what else has been happening over the past 24 hours:

• Record rises in daily Covid cases were reported in at least seven countries on Wednesday as the Omicron variant continues to spread. They were: France – 332,252; Portugal – 39,570; Turkey – 66,467; Italy – 189,109; Sweden – 17,320; the Netherlands – 24,000 and Israel – 11.978.
• The French Parliament suspended debate on a new Covid law as opposition lawmakers demanded explanations from President Emmanuel Macron about comments in which he said he wanted to “piss off” unvaccinated people.
• This year’s Grammy awards, set to take place on January 31, have been postponed as a result of the pandemic. In a statement, organizers said: “The health and safety of those in our music community, the live audience and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly to produce our show remains our top priority.”
• Germany is considering shortening self-isolation periods over fears that critical services could grind to a halt, according to health ministry plan. Workers in critical sectors, such as hospitals or electricity suppliers, would be able to end their isolation after five days, provided they get a negative PCR test, under the draft proposals.
• The Czech government has shortened the quarantine period for Covid positive people from seven days to five. The government also approved blanket testing in companies, effective from 17 January.
• The president of Poland has tested positive for coronavirus for a second time, after several people around him were infected. Andrzej Duda previously caught Covid in October 2020.
• Mozambique president Filipe Nyusi’s PCR results came back negative for Covid-19 after Nyusi and his wife Isaura tested positive via rapid tests days earlier, the president’s office said on Wednesday.
• Pre-departure tests for people traveling to England are to be scrapped. Boris Johnson announced that the requirement would be lifted from 4am on Friday, along with the need for travelers to self-isolate on arrival until they receive a negative PCR test result.
• The president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, has become the first world leader to get a fourth Covid jab. On monday Israel became the first country in the world to embark on a fourth Covid-19 vaccination campaign starting with those over 60.