COVID-19 Daily - September 15, 2021: Vladimir Putin is in self-isolation; The UK will start vaccination with dose three; the vaccine does not cause miscarriages

• The Russian President, Vladimir Putin has self-isolated in Moscow after cases were detected in his immediate circle, said the Kremlin spokesman.

• The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced the start of a booster program. The announcement comes after scientists approved vaccinations for 12-15-year-old schoolchildren. A large-scale vaccination program has also been established. Thus, the following will be vaccinated:

1. All adults over the age of 50 and those working in the National Health and Welfare Service
2. Anyone over the age of 70 or considered "endangered" will have priority
3. Only mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna will be provided
4. PCR tests for tourists will be abandoned

• Tuesday is the last day for vaccination of health workers in France. Mandatory vaccines for doctors and nurses were introduced in early summer and as of today, health workers may be docked with pay or denied entry to work if they are not vaccinated. France's powerful CGT union opposes mandatory vaccine rules and is marching today.

The number of infections has doubled in Fujian province in southeast China. Chinese officials quickly introduced new restrictive measures, including travel restrictions. The goal is to stop the spread of the virus.

• 1 in 10 children in Israel had symptoms that remained after recovery from COVID-19, although this number has dropped by more than half as the months have passed, an Israeli Ministry of Health survey said. In June, the ministry conducted a telephone survey of 13.834 parents of children aged 3-18 who had recovered from COVID-19 infection, asking if they had persistent symptoms, including shortness of breath, lethargy and loss of smell and taste. The survey showed that 11.2% of children had some symptoms after recovery. The figure fell between 1.8 and 4.6% six months after recovery.

• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against travel to Afghanistan, Albania, Serbia, Belize, Lithuania and four other destinations due to COVID-19 concerns. The CDC has raised the travel permit to "Level 4: Very high ”for nine destinations, telling Americans that they should avoid traveling to locations. Destinations also include Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Slovenia and Mauritius.

• Miscarriages do not occur more often in pregnant women who receive an mRNA vaccine, according to a new study. The researchers analyzed data from eight US health systems on 105.446 women who had an abortion with a pregnancy between 6 and 19 weeks. Overall, 12.4% of women had miscarriages, but the risk within one month of vaccination was not different from that for those who were not vaccinated.

• The Ukrainian government has decided to introduce "vaccine passports" COVID-19 to verify the vaccination status of citizens, the health ministry said on Monday. Passports will allow cinemas, gyms, theaters and swimming pools to function. Provided that all visitors and at least 80% of the staff of the places are vaccinated.