Herald section
The latest health reporting from The Belfast Herald.
Data from Israel's Health Ministry shows the COVID-19 vaccine is 99.2% effective against serious illness, reduces mortality by 95.8%, and decreases hospitalisation risk by 98.9% among fully vaccinated individuals.
Hungary surpasses 400,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 2,995 new infections and 107 fatalities reported. The country continues to manage a high caseload with 81,179 active infections and 4,147 hospitalised patients.
The country begins immunising managed isolation and quarantine staff under strict infection control, starting with 70 border workers at the Jet Park Hotel.
Three cases of the P.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2 have been confirmed in Ireland, all associated with recent travel from Brazil. Public health teams are following up on all cases, and enhanced measures are in place.
Africa surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19.
Venezuela initiated its COVID-19 vaccination program using the Sputnik V vaccine, prioritising frontline health workers after receiving 100,000 doses. The country plans to expand to the general public in April.
Zimbabwe began its national vaccination programme using China's Sinopharm vaccine, with Health Minister and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga receiving the first dose. The initial phase targets high-risk groups and includes 200,000 donated doses.
The Indian government issues new Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) guidelines that would be mandatory for travelers from the United Kingdom, Europe, Brazil, and South Africa to conduct self-paid molecular COVID-19 testing, beginning from February 22 at 23:59 p.m. IST.