BEIJING: China will hold naval and air exercises with Russia, South Africa and other BRICS countries off South Africa’s coast in early to mid January, China’s defense ministry said in a statement released on Friday.
The ministry called the exercises “joint operations to safeguard vital shipping lanes and economic activities.” Strikes on maritime targets and counter-terrorism rescues will be part of the drills, it said.
Originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China, the BRICS group later added South Africa and recently expanded to include other developing nations including Indonesia, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The Chinese defense ministry did not specify how many BRICS nations will participate in the exercises.
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China, Russia, South Africa to hold naval exercise off South African coast, Beijing says
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China, Russia, South Africa to hold naval exercise off South African coast, Beijing says
EU regulator backs approval for Moderna’s combined COVID and flu vaccine
- Currently people need two separate shots to protect them against COVID-19 and influenza
- Moderna is banking on the COVID-flu combination shot
BRUSSELS: Europe’s medicines regulator recommended approval for Moderna’s COVID and flu combination vaccine on Friday, putting it on track to become the first single shot to protect people aged 50 and older against both illnesses.
Currently people need two separate shots to protect them against COVID-19 and influenza and the vaccines are updated regularly to match the viral strains in circulation.
Moderna is banking on the COVID-flu combination shot and also an mRNA-based flu shot to help it return to revenue growth as demand for COVID vaccines has collapsed in the years after the pandemic.
It hopes international markets will drive revenue growth this year, as anti-vaccine activist US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has disrupted the domestic market.
MODERNA SHARES HAVE PLUNGED FROM 2021 HIGHS
Shares of the biotech, which were flat in US premarket hours on Friday, have declined by nearly 90 percent from 2021 highs.
Last year, Moderna withdrew its US application for its COVID-flu combination shot to wait for efficacy data from a late-stage trial of its influenza vaccine.
Earlier this month, the company said it was waiting for guidance from the Food and Drug Administration on refiling the application.
US regulators initially refused to review a separate mRNA-based flu vaccine from the company, then reversed course a week later after Moderna amended its application.
EMA’s recommendation on Friday was based on data from a study of 8,000 participants that showed those who received mCombriax generated more antibodies than those who received separate shots against the viruses.
The study compared mCombriax with a combination of Moderna’s COVID-19 shot Spikevax and traditional flu shots from GSK and Sanofi.
EMA also considered data from a study of a similar mRNA flu vaccine, in which mCombriax triggered an adequate immune response. The shot contains messenger RNA with instructions for making proteins found on some strains of the influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2.
EMA’s recommendation will be reviewed by the European Commission, which will give the final sign off for marketing in the European Union. It was not clear how long that decision would take.
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