Australia reports record COVID-19 cases as police block Sydney protest

Officials reported a total of 886 cases in New South Wales and Victoria states, with the vast bulk in Sydney, which is the epicentre of the Delta variant-fuelled outbreak.

Reuters

August 21, 2021 / 11:50 IST

Source: Reuters

Australian police patrolled the streets and blocked transport into the centre of Sydney on Saturday to prevent a planned anti-lockdown protest as the country reported a record high daily number of new COVID-19 infections.

Officials reported a total of 886 cases in New South Wales and Victoria states, with the vast bulk in Sydney, which is the epicentre of the Delta variant-fuelled outbreak.

With other states and territories still to report daily numbers, new infections have already exceeded the previous single-day high for the pandemic of 754 cases on Thursday.

"We are in a very serious situation here in New South Wales," state Health Minister Brad Hazzard said. "There is no time now to be selfish, it's time to think of the broader community and your families."

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COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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