While You Sleep: 5 Stories You May Have Missed, August 23, World News & Top Stories

Israel finds booster of Covid-19 vaccine dramatically reduces risk of infection

A third dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine significantly improved protection against infections and serious illness in people aged 60 and over in Israel compared to those who received two injections, results released by the Ministry of Health.

The data was presented at a meeting of a ministerial group of immunization experts on Thursday and uploaded to its website on Sunday, although full details of the study have not been released.

The results were comparable to separate statistics reported last week by Israeli health care provider Maccabi, one of several organizations administering booster shots in an attempt to curb the Delta coronavirus variant.

Breaking down statistics from Israel’s Gertner Institute and KI Institute, ministry officials said that among people aged 60 and over, protection against infection provided from 10 days after a third dose was four times higher than after two doses.

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G-7 leaders to discuss Afghanistan (Britain) on Tuesday

G-7 leaders will discuss the crisis in Afghanistan at a virtual summit on Tuesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday, a week after the Taliban took power.

“It is vital that the international community work together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to achieve the gains of the past 20 years,” Johnson tweeted.

The United Kingdom currently holds the presidency of the group of wealthy nations comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, and Johnson has been pushing for a meeting the last week.

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South Korea to receive more Moderna Covid-19 vaccines to boost vaccination effort

South Korea’s health ministry said on Sunday that Moderna Inc would provide the country with 7.01 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by the first week of September, following a government request to speed up the delivery.

Some 1.01 million doses are expected to arrive on Monday, the ministry said, with another 6 million to be delivered sequentially.

Moderna delivered 1.3 million doses earlier this month. It informed South Korea at the time that it would only be able to deliver less than half of the 8.5 million doses it was due to ship in August.

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Tropical Storm Henri hits the coast of Rhode Island

A somewhat moderate tropical storm Henri hit Rhode Island on Sunday, but not before torrential rain overwhelmed a star-studded concert meant to mark New York City’s emergence from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic .

A light rain that turned into a downpour on Saturday night sent thousands of music fans to the free “Homecoming Concert” in Central Park in Manhattan to stream for releases amid a performance by Barry Manilow, which continued to sing for a while even after its audio has been muted.

Artists who couldn’t continue due to the abrupt end of the concert included Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and the Killers.

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Lukaku strikes as Chelsea sink Arsenal, Kane back in Spurs win

Romelu Lukaku scored for his second Chelsea debut on Sunday as the club’s record signing inspired a 2-0 win at struggling Arsenal, while Harry Kane made his first appearance for Tottenham this season in a 1 win -0 against Wolves.

In Sunday’s other game, Mason Greenwood saved a 1-1 draw for Manchester United at Southampton.

Lukaku joined Chelsea from Italian champions Inter Milan for £ 98million (S $ 181.9million) and the Belgian striker immediately repaid this huge investment in the London derby at the Emirates Stadium.

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