Early data shows a new vaccine from US company Moderna is nearly 95 per cent effective in protecting against Covid-19.
The news comes less than a fortnight after Pfizer revealed their own encouraging vaccine results and is adding to hopes that vaccines could bring an end to the coronavirus pandemic.
Like Pfizer’s vaccine, Moderna’s candidate uses messenger RNA (mRNA), a new technology not used in a licensed vaccine before.
But one advantage that Moderna’s vaccine has over Pfizer’s candidate is that theirs doesn’t need to be kept at the same very low temperatures.
CNN reports Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be kept at minus 75 degrees Celsius, while Moderna’s vaccine can be kept at minus 20 degrees Celsius, which means it can be stored in freezers that are already readily available.
However, like Pfizer, the data on the Moderna vaccine is still early with several questions hanging over it. And it presents another problem – cost. The Guardian reports Moderna has been pitching its vaccine at $53 a dose, which could put it out of reach for some countries.
The company’s first target is also the US market, which means the rest of the world will have to wait for the vaccine.
The US has now reported more than 11 million cases of Covid-19, with the most recent million coming in just the past week .
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More bad news for bubble
As the race for a Covid vaccine continues, South Australia is in a race of its own, trying to contain a feared second wave of the virus in Adelaide.
Gyms and some schools have closed in the region, with new limits on gatherings introduced and other states quickly shutting their borders with South Australia.
And this latest outbreak has seen Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern concede there’s little chance of a full trans-Tasman travel bubble in the near future.
She says the situation in Adelaide “underscores ... why it’s so important that New Zealand has not rushed into this”.
Other Covid measures considered
Masks will be compulsory on all forms of public transport in Auckland and on all flights nationwide from Thursday, with the Government indicating further measures could be on the way.
Jacinda Ardern says such measures are required because Kiwis “all want a summer break that has freedom attached to it”.
Those requirements could include compulsory use of the Covid Tracer app in certain situations.
The initial approach to the new mask mandate will be to educate people, but police will have the power to enforce the new requirements.
Those caught breaking the rules could face up to six months in prison or a fine of several thousand dollars, so if you want to familiarise yourself with when and where face coverings are required – and what the exemptions are – you can do so here .
Meat industry in damage control
The Government’s shot down a claim that China has found the coronavirus on frozen beef from New Zealand.
Jacinda Ardern says some New Zealand meat was kept in the same cool store as beef products from Argentina that had tested positive for Covid-19.
She says the Government hasn’t been advised New Zealand products themselves tested positive for the virus, but she wants to get to the bottom of the claims , given the potential harm they could cause to New Zealand’s $9 billion meat industry.
Survey suggests big ECE problems
A new survey has found nearly a quarter of early childhood teachers have so little confidence in their early learning centres, they wouldn’t send their own children there .
Eleven per cent of respondents to the Child Forum survey also said their centre usually operated with fewer than the legal minimum number of staff.
Some respondents added that the owners and managers of their centres didn’t care about children’s welfare.
Child Forum chief executive Sarah Alexander says the percentage of respondents who wouldn’t send their own children to their centre was "shockingly high" and that policymakers should pay more attention to early childhood teachers.
Damning report into council’s culture
A scathing report into the hostility that exists between Tauranga City councillors has been made public.
The bruising 19-page read from a review and observer team details a “significant break down in trust” at the council.
The report strongly recommends the council request the Local Government Minister to help them address behaviour and “underlying growth and development issues”.
The full report can be found here .
Other news of note this morning:
- Amnesty International says Belgium authorities “abandoned” thousands of elderly people who died in nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic.
- A tiny East Cape community is reeling after a mother and two children died in a car accident at the same spot another relation was killed.
- The National Party is once again facing scrutiny for misleading election advertising .
- 'Revolutionary' Kiwi-designed 3D medical scanners are about to be trialled around the world.
- Christchurch residents are at risk of having their bins confiscated if they break recycling rules.
- Some of New Zealand’s historic newspaper names could soon be a thing of the past.
- A Belgian racing pigeon has sold for the record price of $3.29 million.
- And a Cromwell motelier is warning people to check the fine print after discovering his lifetime jewellery warranty did cover a lifetime – just not his .
And finally...
A letter simply addressed "To Nana" has found its way to its rightful owner after an appeal by Waipū postie Barbara Stewart went viral.
Stewart had been trying to find the recipient of the pink-and-white polka-dot envelope for a week before she posted about it on her community Facebook page.
That appeal was seen in Australia, where it’s believed the letter was posted from, and the mystery was soon solved.
And while the sender has been left a little red-faced, Stewart says she doesn't mind going the extra mile to help a letter get to its destination.
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