The European Commission paid out 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) to Spain on Tuesday from the EU-wide fund allocated to support member states during the coronavirus crisis.
"The European Commission has today disbursed €9 billion to Spain in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country's financial allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)," the commission said in a statement.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) was established to provide up to 723.8 billion euros to support post-pandemic reforms and projects in EU member states. Before allocating the funds, the commission reviews recovery plans presented by member states based on country-specific recommendations and assesses whether they dedicate at least 37% of expenditure to climate objectives and 20% to the digital transition.
Out of the $10.5 billion disbursed to Spain, 3.9 billion euros is reserved for investment in innovative renewable energy, 3 billion euros to support the digitalization of small and medium enterprises and self-employed, and 2.4 billion euros to reduce youth unemployment and facilitate vocational training.
"Today's disbursement follows the recent successful implementation of the first borrowing operations under NextGenerationEU. By the end of the year, the Commission intends to raise up to a total of €80 billion in long-term funding, to be complemented by short-term EU-Bills, to fund the first planned disbursements to Member States under NextGenerationEU," the statement reads.
European leaders agreed upon the RRF in July 2020 as part of NextGenerationEU, a temporary recovery instrument designed to mobilize investments and jump-start Europe's economy, battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A licensed Chicago pharmacist has been arrested for selling Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 vaccination cards online and could face a prison term of up to 120 years, the US Justice Department said on Tuesday.
"A licensed pharmacist was arrested today in Chicago on charges related to his alleged sale of dozens of authentic Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 vaccination cards on eBay," Justice Department said in a statement. "If convicted, he faces a sentence of ten years in prison per count."
The Justice Department said the pharmacist, Tangtang Zhao, sold 125 vaccination cards to 11 buyers for approximately $10 per card and is being charged on 12 counts of theft of government property.
Zhao worked at a pharmacy that administered coronavirus vaccines and the facility is required by law to provide a CDC vaccination record card to each recipient.
FBI Chicago Field Office Special Agent in Emmerson Buie said that improperly distributing vaccine cards constitutes a federal crime and doing so puts Americans at risk.
The Malaysian King has urged the leaders of political parties to cooperate in combating COVID-19 in spite of the constitutional crisis, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday, according to the New Straits Times newspaper.
On Monday, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s government resigned over a loss of trust from lawmakers caused by the negative economic consequences of lockdowns.
Ibrahim said that during a two-hour meeting with the king, party leaders agreed to a new "peaceful" political landscape to better cope with COVID-19 challenges.
"Everyone has shared their views, and there has been a consensus to put a stop to the old ways of politics that is boring. The new political landscape must focus on development," the opposition party leader said, as quoted by New Straits Times.
Ibrahim also mentioned that forming a new political landscape is more important to the king and his deputy rather than appointing a new prime minister. The monarch reportedly asked lawmakers of the parliament to send him the names of the preferred candidates for the post of prime minister by August 18.
Malaysia is now facing a COVID-19 outbreak. Every day, over 20,000 people contract the disease in the country with 32 million citizens. A total of 12,740 Malaysians have died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
The CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Chinese company Sinovac, increases the risk of temporary paralysis of the facial nerve, according to a study by Hong Kong researchers published in The Lancet.
Scientists from the University of Hong Kong compared health reports collected from patients who got the first shot of the CoronaVac or the BNT162b2 (Fosun–BioNTech, equivalent to Pfizer–BioNTech) vaccine within 42 days following injection with the baseline for the general population.
The study determined that there was a higher risk of developing temporary facial nerve palsy, or Bell's palsy, in those vaccinated with CoronaVac, equivalent to an additional 4.8 cases per 100,000 people. The number for those vaccinated with the BNT162b2 was an additional 2 cases per 100,000 people.
"Our findings suggest an overall increased risk of Bell's palsy after CoronaVac vaccination," the study concluded.
However, the researchers noted that the benefits of the vaccine "far outweigh the risk of this generally self-limiting adverse event." In 90% of cases, Bell's palsy can be cured within nine months, the study said.
The analysis covered the health data of 451,939 individuals who had received CoronaVac and 537,205 individuals who had received the other vaccine between February 23 and May 4 this year.
Bell's palsy causes sudden weakness or paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face, which leads to a temporary loss of control of the facial muscles on the affected side.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Tuesday approved the COVID-19 vaccine Moderna (Spikevax) for use in 12- to 17-year-olds.
"I am pleased to confirm that that the COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna has now been authorized in 12-17 year olds. The vaccine is safe and effective in this age group," MHRA chief executive June Raine said.
The regulator’s conditional marketing authorization is valid in Great Britain. Northern Ireland authorized the shot for use in teens aged 12-17 in July.
Raine said it was now up to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to advise the government on whether this age group should be given the Moderna vaccine as part of the national vaccination campaign.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The fifth domestic COVID-19 vaccine will appear in Russia soon, Anna Popova, the head of Russia’s consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said on Tuesday.
"In Russia … four Russian vaccines are registered, the fifth is on its way. This situation prevents the spread of the virus", Popova said during a discussion in the headquarters of the governing United Russia party.
KALININGRAD, Russia (Sputnik) - The Russian Health Ministry, supported by the foreign ministry, is engaged in a substantive professional conversation with the European Union on mutual recognition of coronavirus vaccination certificates, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
"With our support, the ministry of health and the Gamaleya institute are engaged in a substantive professional conversation with mutual recognition of the so-called COVID certificates. It seems they [EU] showed political will and made relevant statements. We focus on some technical and legal issues, including the need to guarantee the protection of personal data and ensure technological compatibility of procedures", Lavrov said at a meeting with the Association of International Road Carriers.
India has administered more than 8.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in last 24 hours under its Nationwide Vaccination drive.
This is highest ever vaccination achieved in a single day since the start of our vaccination drive, a statement from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.
Cumulatively, over 550 million vaccine doses have been administered through 62,12,108 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.
