Heena Sharma Blog

  The final-stage trial of a Chinese frontrunner vaccine candidate has been halted in Brazil due to a serious adverse event, the first time that any of the Asian nation’s rapidly developed Covid-19 shots have met with such a setback. Testing of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s vaccine, called Coronavac, has been halted in Brazil after an event that occurred on Oct. 29, said the Brazil Health Agency on Tuesday, without giving any further detail on what happened. The study is interrupted in accordance with regulations while the agency analyses if the study should continue, it said. Sao Paulo’s Instituto Butantan, which partnered with Sinovac to produce the vaccine locally, said in a statement it was surprised by the decision and is looking into details of what happened in the study. Director Dimas Covas said in a TV interview that one volunteer in the trial has died, but that the death is not related to the vaccine. Read More

  Saudi Arabia on Wednesday suspended air travel to and from India, Brazil and Argentina, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic . According to the country's Civil Aviation Authority, people with travel history to any of the mentioned countries 14 days prior to their arrival to the Kingdom, have also been barred. "Suspending travel to and from the following countries (India, Brazil, and Argentina) including any person who has been in any of the mentioned countries in the last (14) days prior to their arrival to the Kingdom," General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement. However, those who have official government invitations are excluded. According to the Johns Hopkins Unversity, there are 330,798 COVID-19 cases in the country. Read More

To zero in on the winner, UBS uses econometric tools, usually applied to assess investment opportunities Current Affairs News : With barely a month remaining for the   FIFA   World Cup to begin in Russia, a recent study by   UBS   attaches a 60 per cent likelihood that the winner will be one among Germany,   Brazil   and   Russia.   Germany, it predicts, has the highest probability – 24 per cent – to lift the winner’s trophy as compared to the other participating nations. “Simulations indicate no country has higher odds of winning the tournament than Germany, leading the table with a likelihood of 24 per cent.   Brazil   and Spain also stand a good chance of lifting the trophy, with chances of 19.8 and 16.1 per cent respectively. Host nation   Russia   will start in the Cup’s weakest group and is expected to progress to the round of 16, where it is likely to lose against Spain or Portugal,”   UBS   says. To zero in on the winner,   UBS