Vaccine effectiveness will likely drop against Omicron: Moderna CEO

The head of drugmaker Moderna said COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus as they have been against the Delta variant.

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“There is no world, I think, where (the effectiveness) is the same level . . . we had with Delta,” Moderna Chief Executive Stéphane Bancel told the Financial Times in an interview.

“I think it’s going to be a material drop. I just don’t know how much because we need to wait for the data. But all the scientists I’ve talked to . . . are like ‘this is not going to be good’.”

UAE residents have mixed feelings about travel amid COVID-19 variant Omicron

First image of Omicron shows many more mutations than Delta variant

Teen alcohol and nicotine use in Europe is up, WHO urges preventive measures

Substance use is on the rise among teenagers in Europe, Central Asia and Canada and girls now match or even exceed boys when it comes to smoking and drinking, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report on Thursday.

Health

Latest hunger data spotlights extent of famine risk in Gaza, Sudan and beyond

Dangerous levels of acute hunger affected a staggering 281.6 million people last year – the fifth year in a row that food insecurity has worsened – heightening growing fears of famine and “widespread death” from Gaza to Sudan and beyond, UN agencies warned on Wednesday.