COVID-19 is expected to become an endemic disease as early as 2024, according to US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer executives on Friday.

"We believe COVID-19 will transition to an endemic state, potentially by 2024," Global President of Pfizer Vaccines Nanette Cocero said during the company's Analyst and Investor Call.

It could reach the endemic level when populations around the world would have enough immunity from vaccines, or hospitalizations and deaths are taken under control, she added.

Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said the duration will depend on the evolution of the disease, and how effectively vaccines are deployed around the world where vaccination rates are low.

"It seems like over the next year or two, some regions will transition to an endemic model while other regions will continue in pandemic mode," he said.

"The emergence of new variants could also impact how the pandemic continues to play out," he added.

While a pandemic, like COVID-19, is a global epidemic that has spread over all countries in the world, an endemic affects a particular populations or countries.

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 5.34 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions since December 2019, with more than 273 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University./aa

Abdul Aziz Wahabzadeh, an Afghan-origin man who received New Zealand’s highest bravery award for his valor in confronting and chasing Brenton Tarrant, the terrorist who attacked worshippers in a mosque in Christchurch in 2019, said Friday that “the terrorist was the loser and Muslims were the winners.”

New Zealand on Thursday honored 10 people for the “extraordinary courage” they exhibited in the face of deadly Islamophobic attacks on mosques in 2019, said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

At Thursday's ceremony, Abdul Aziz and Dr Naeem Rashid were awarded the New Zealand Cross, according to a statement on the Prime Minister's official website.

Only two other people have received the New Zealand Cross since its inception in 1999.

“Abdul Aziz displayed great courage and bravery challenging the gunman, with complete disregard for his own safety. Aziz’s actions deterred the gunman from reentering the Linwood Islamic Centre and ultimately forced him to flee the Mosque,” the statement said.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Abdul Aziz said: “At the end of the day, he achieved nothing, but we achieved a lot.”

“The rest of his life is behind bars, away from his family, loved ones, and everything," Abdul Aziz said, adding, "But we, as Muslims, are Alhamdulillah (Allah's blessings) with our loved ones and everything."

“I know we lost our loved ones and we missed them, but we have achieved a lot,” he said.

“Above all, we showed to humanity that we can sacrifice our lives to save the lives of others,” he remarked, adding that he is the one who has taken lives, "not us."

"The day I saw him when he ran away was completely different from the day I saw him when he was sentenced," Abdul Aziz added.

"Alhamdulillah, we are Muslims, we believe in Allah. Those who lost their lives became martyrs. They are in a better place than us, we believe. But, of course, we will miss them.”

On March 15, 2019, Tarrant, an Australian white supremacist, killed 51 people and injured 40 more at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.

Last year, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in the first such ruling ever handed down in the island country.

Abdul Aziz, who was inside the Linwood Mosque at the time of the attack, has been hailed as a hero for confronting the gunman, chasing him away, and saving more lives.

Abdul Aziz did not hide when the shooter advanced toward the Linwood Mosque during Friday prayers, killing those in his path. Instead, he picked up the first thing he could find -- a credit card machine -- and ran outside screaming ‘come here!'./aa

Argentina announced on Friday that one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be sent to its Andean neighbor, Bolivia, on Monday in a bid to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The "free donation" of vaccines to Bolivia will be "the largest donation of doses between countries in South America since the global pandemic was declared,” said the Health Ministry in a statement.

It also said the "pandemic is a global challenge that requires a solidarity strategy aimed at equitable access to vaccines designed to generate immunity against COVID-19."

An Argentine delegation headed by Health Minister Carla Vizzotti and Sabina Frederic, the president of the White Helmets Commission will depart for Bolivia on Monday to deliver the donation and "to share experiences on vaccination strategies".

The vaccines will be sent by the Argentine Air Force in a special Hercules C-130 airplane.

Argentine officials have highlighted the importance of equitable access to vaccines, saying this donation is a collaborative effort between Argentina and Bolivia to bolster quick and safe access to vaccines in order to fight the spread of the pandemic.

To date, Argentina has donated more than 1.7 million vaccine doses to different nations from South America to Africa, such as Angola and Barbados, among others.

Argentina, with a population of over 45 million, has registered more than 5.37 million coronavirus cases, 116.874 deaths according to data from the Health Ministry.

Bolivia, with a population of more than 11 million, has registered 559,000 COVID-19 cases and 19,372 deaths, according to US-based John Hopkins University.

Bolivia's Health Ministry says more than 4.35 million people older than 16 years old have received first dose of the vaccine while 3.44 million have received both doses./aa

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach has warned of a “massive” fifth wave of coronavirus in the country due to the omicron variant.

Speaking to reporters in Hanover, Lauterbach said studies in other countries showed that the omicron infections were doubling more quickly than the previous variants.

“In my opinion, we will not be able to prevent the omicron wave in our country, it will be a massive challenge for our hospitals and intensive care units, but also for the society as a whole,” he said.

Lauterbach, who is a trained epidemiologist, called on people to observe anti-coronavirus measures throughout the Christmas season and get tested frequently.

Germany’s fourth wave have started to stabilize this week after the government has imposed tougher restrictions, but the authorities are alarmed this time by the rapid spread of the omicron variant in the neighboring countries.

On Friday, the Robert Koch Institute reported 50,968 new coronavirus infections and 437 deaths.

The country recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus cases earlier this month with nearly 75,000 new infections and more than 500 deaths in a single day./aa

At least 100,000 people in the far north of Cameroon have been displaced due to clashes between herders, fishermen, and farmers over the past two weeks, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.

More than 85,000 people have fled into neighboring Chad in recent days, while at least 15,000 Cameroonians have been internally displaced, according to UNHCR estimates.

“Indications are that displacement into Chad has accelerated fast, as the total is nearly triple the figure reported last week when 30,000 people had crossed the border seeking safety,” a UNHCR statement said.

“Casualties from the fighting have also risen to 44 people killed and 111 injured, compared to 22 dead and 30 wounded reported last week. In total, 112 villages were burned down,” the statement added.

The vast majority of new arrivals in Chad are children, and 98% of the adults are women, it said, adding some 48,000 have found refuge in 18 urban sites in the Chadian capital N’Djamena, and 37,000 people are scattered across 10 rural sites along Chad’s bank of the Logone River.

“In Far North Cameroon, security forces have been deployed and disarmament operations are underway. While few incidents have been reported during the past week, tensions remain high,” UNHCR said.

It, however, said that due to insecurity, it cannot access Logone Birni rural district where the clashes started.

Clashes initially broke out on Dec. 5 in the border village of Ouloumsa following a dispute between herders, fishermen, and farmers over dwindling water resources

“The climate crisis is exacerbating the competition for resources, especially water. The surface of Lake Chad has decreased by as much as 95 per cent in the past 60 years,” UNHCR said.

Fishermen and farmers have dug vast trenches to retain the remaining river water so they can fish and cultivate crops.

But the muddy trenches are trapping and sometimes killing cattle belonging to the herders, sparking tension and fighting.

Chad is home to close to a million refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) and Cameroon hosts more than 1.5 million refugees and IDPs.

The UNHCR said financial resources to respond to the situation in both countries remain critically low./aa

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has thanked Elon Musk, the founder of electric carmaker Tesla and space exploration company SpaceX, for helping with the launch of Turksat 5A, a Turkish communications satellite.

The Turkish Presidency Friday released the video of Thursday's conversation between the two, during which they discussed a number of issues ranging from the digital economy, Turkey's National Space Program, and the country's first domestic electric car TOGG.

Erdogan said the Turksat 5B satellite will be launched into space on Sunday via SpaceX, and thanked Musk for helping Turkey with the January launch of the 5A satellite.

"We'll gift you with an NFT (non-fungible token) of satellite art created by 5,000 of our children," he added.

Musk expressed gratitude for the gift, saying that he looks forward to "launching the satellite and doing many things with Turkey in the future."

Musk, the richest man in the world, was recently named Person of the Year 2021 by Time magazine./agencies

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another injured in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Donbas region, the Ukrainian military said.

Pro-Russian separatists violated the cease-fire five times on Thursday, according to a statement by the Ukrainian army.

The violations were in Pisky, Zolotoy 4, Travneve, Pavlopil, and Novoluganska regions of Donbas, it added.

The development comes amid rising tensions over Russia’s military buildup on the Ukrainian border.

For the second time this year, Moscow has moved thousands of troops of the border, leading to accusations by the West and Kyiv that it is planning an invasion.

Russia has rejected the claims as “a lie,” but the US, European Union and NATO have persisted with calls for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy, while also warning of sanctions and other countermeasures if Moscow attacks Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden also held a two-hour video call last week, in which the Russian leader sought guarantees that NATO will not expand eastward, according to the Kremlin.

“Putin warned … [that] it was NATO that was undertaking dangerous attempts to gain a foothold on Ukrainian territory, and building up its military capabilities along the Russian border,” read a Kremlin statement.

“It is for this reason that Russia is eager to obtain reliable, legally binding guaranties ruling out the eventuality of NATO’s eastward expansion and the deployment of offensive weapons systems in the countries neighboring Russia.”

They also spoke about the lack of progress in implementation of the 2015 Minsk agreements, which were aimed at stopping the conflict between pro-Russia separatists and Kyiv.

The terms of the agreements included a cease-fire in the region, prisoner exchanges, and withdrawal of pro-Russia groups, while also allowing Kyiv to make a constitutional amendment that would give Donbas special status.

However, their implementation has been hindered by repeated allegations of violations by both sides./agencies

European countries have accelerated vaccination of children aged 5-11 amid surging cases of the coronavirus.

On Nov. 25, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the same age group. However, these children will be given a lower dose than their peers aged 12 years or above.

There are approximately 27 million children of the 5-11 age group in the EU.

In Austria, several provinces, including the capital Vienna, started to vaccinate children of the same age group even before the EMA's approval.

On Nov. 15, 200 children were administered a dose in Vienna and then the practice spreads across the country.

Hungary

Vaccination of children aged 5-11 in Hungary started on Dec. 14.

While the vaccination continues in 77 hospitals across the country, it has been announced that so far 38,000 children have been vaccinated.

Greece

In Greece, vaccination of children aged 11-15 began on Dec. 15. More than 30,000 appointments for vaccination have been made so far.

Greece has obtained 60,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children. After the new vaccine purchase in January 2022, more children will be able to make appointments.

Vaccines will be administered in children's hospitals and certain vaccination centers.

Spain

Spain began vaccinating children aged 5-11 on Dec. 15.

The Health Ministry announced that 1.3 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have so far been received for children and 3 million more doses will be delivered next month.

The ministry announced plans to provide the first dose of the vaccine to all children aged 5-11 by the end of January. The interval between the first and second dose in this age range was reported to be eight weeks.

France

As of Dec. 15, France started vaccinating children of the same age group, who are considered to be "at risk." This corresponds to about 360,000 children.

Vaccination of all children in the 5-11 age group is planned to be started after Dec. 20.

Germany

Germany's Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) recommended Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for the same age group on Dec. 9.

After evaluating all the data available so far, STIKO decided to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11 years with various diseases.

Switzerland

On Dec. 10, Switzerland’s health regulator Swissmedic approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5-11.

However, vaccination is expected to begin in the first weeks of January 2022.

Belgium

The Belgian government is waiting for the recommendations of the country's health council before officially launching a vaccination campaign for children.


After Thursday’s meeting in this regard, authorities are expected to announce a decision on Dec. 20.

It is estimated that the UK will also evaluate the issue and make a decision before the Christmas holidays.

On Nov. 3, the US started vaccinating children in the same age group and more than 5 million children have been vaccinated so far.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 5.33 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 273 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University./aa

Amid growing inflationary pressures and concerns over the coronavirus omicron variant, international markets seem to be on a mixed course, particularly after the divergence of various central banks on monetary policies.

Inflation data from the European Union will be in focus on Friday.

The Bank of England (BoE) hiked interest rates on Thursday after the US Fed accelerated its reduction in asset purchases and signaled at least three rate hikes for next year.

The BoE increased the policy rate from 0.1% to 0.25% for the first time since August 2018.

Citing concerns over the rapidly spreading omicron strain, the bank said “additional measures will push down on GDP in December and in 2022 Q1.”

It added that upward pressure on inflation is expected to dissipate over time, as supply disruption eases, global demand rebalances from goods to services, and energy prices stop rising.

While keeping interest rates unchanged, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced it plans to end a pandemic emergency purchase program by the end of March.

The ECB has had a more dovish stance so far compared to other major central banks, including the BoE and the US Federal Reserve, relying on an unprecedented expansionary monetary policy to support the eurozone economy during the pandemic.

In a Friday announcement, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) did not change its interest rates and signaled a continuation of its loose monetary policies.

The BoJ extended its pandemic-relief loan scheme for small and medium-sized companies by six months until September 2022.

However, it decided that a funding program for corporate bonds and commercial securities, mainly issued by large companies, will not go beyond March.

Over in the US, the number of people filing first-time unemployment claims increased by 18,000 to reach 206,000.

The country’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 57.8 in December, the lowest level in the past 12 months.

The service sector PMI was at a three-month low of 57.5, while industrial production remained below expectations with a monthly increase of 0.5% in November.

US President Joe Biden signed a bill on Thursday to raise the US debt limit, avoiding the first American government default in history.

The debt limit was raised by $2.5 trillion to around $31.4 trillion, and it will finance the government’s debt obligations through 2023, including the 2022 midterm elections.

The developments led to major US stock indexes closing lower on Thursday, despite a strong opening.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 29 points, or 0.08%, to 35,897, while the S&P 500 slipped by 41 points, or 0.87%, to 4,668.

The Nasdaq plummeted by 385 points, or 2.47%, to 15,180, with a sell-off in stocks of tech companies./aa

Oil prices decreased on Friday spurred by anticipated lower global oil demand from surging COVID-19 omicron variant cases and the potential adoption of more restrictive measures.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $74.53 per barrel at 0719 GMT for a 0.65% decrease after closing the previous session at $75.02 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $71.80 per barrel at the same time for a 0.80% loss after trade ended at $72.38 a barrel in the previous session.

With reports of more cases of the omicron coronavirus variant across Europe, countries are bracing for a new wave and weighing additional measures to curtail its spread.

After reporting the first death from omicron on Monday, the UK recorded its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases on Wednesday since the start of the pandemic.

France on Thursday announced tighter border controls with the UK, where an exponential rise in cases of the new omicron variant has emerged.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also warned the government could impose further curbs to limit the spread of the variant.

Spain extended entry limitations from nine southern African countries until Dec. 29 to contain the omicron surge.

The market is also closely watching developments before the next meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, on Jan. 4.

At the previous meeting on Dec. 2, the cartel agreed to raise output by 400,000 barrels per day in January. However, they did not rule out holding urgent meetings to review their policy depending on pandemic developments./aa