17th Mar 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=239 lockdown_exit

Why are COVID cases rising in Europe despite vaccination efforts?

Al Jazeera English Across the European Union COVID19 cases have begun to rise steadily from 200 per million in midFebruary to 270 per million last weekend. That level is still a long way off from the EU record of 490 per million in November but a worrying trend nonetheless. We are weary of it all but were determined too a doctor at an Italian hospital told Al Jazeera speaking on condition of anonymity. Most regions in Italy including Rome and Milan are now classified as highrisk and there will be a threeday national lockdown over Easter. We were in a period of relative stability around December and January but now the figures are worsening again very quickly said the doctor. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/16/why-are-covid-cases-rising-in-europe-despite-vaccination-efforts 16th Mar 2021

Why are COVID cases rising in Europe despite vaccination efforts?

Reuters Germanys decision to suspend AstraZenecas COVID19 vaccine could delay progress in reaching herd immunity and postpone a muchhoped for easing of lockdown measures needed for a robust recovery in the second quarter economists said on Tuesday. Health Minister Jens Spahn described Mondays move on the AstraZeneca shot as a precaution making Germany the latest of several European countries to hit pause following reports of blood coagulation disorders in some recipients. The governments decision was based on a recommendation from the politically independent Paul Ehrlich Institute PEI Germanys authority in charge of vaccines following newly registered cases of a very rare cerebral vein thrombosis including three deaths. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-economy/germanys-astrazeneca-move-could-stymie-recovery-economists-say-idUSKBN2B81B3 16th Mar 2021

Why are COVID cases rising in Europe despite vaccination efforts?

Reuters Coronavirus infections are rising exponentially in Germany an expert at the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases said on Tuesday putting at risk plans to lift the lockdown and revive the economy. The number of cases per 100000 reported on Tuesday was 83.7 up from 68 a week ago and the RKI has said that metric could reach 200 by the middle of next month. Germany is in a third wave of the pandemic driven by an easing of restrictions in recent weeks just as a more transmissible variant has spread Dirk Brockmann an epidemiologist at the RKI told Germanys ARD television. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-idUSKBN2B80KE 16th Mar 2021

More vaccine approvals

Yahoo News UK Singapore will begin using the Moderna COVID19 vaccine at four new vaccination centres that are set to begin operations on Wednesday 17 March. As more supplies of the Moderna COVID19 vaccine arrive more vaccination centres will offer the Moderna COVID19 vaccine said MOH. These new locations will join the 24 existing centres along with the 20 polyclinics and Public Health Preparedness Clinics PHPCs in offering vaccinations for members of the public. MOH said it expects a total of 40 vaccination centres to be in operation islandwide by midApril. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/singapore-moderna-covid-19-vaccine-17-march-093713731.html 16th Mar 2021

More vaccine approvals

ABC News China has approved a new COVID19 vaccine for emergency use one that was developed by the head of its Center for Disease Control adding a fifth shot to its arsenal. Gao Fu the head of Chinas CDC led the development of a protein subunit vaccine that was approved by regulators last week for emergency use the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Microbiology said. It is the fifth coronavirus vaccine approved in China and the fourth to be given emergency use approval. The latest vaccine was developed jointly by Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/china-approves-fourth-covid-19-vaccine-emergency-76481454 16th Mar 2021

More vaccine approvals

Associated Press Irans campaign to inoculate its population against the coronavirus and promote itself as an emerging vaccine manufacturer inched on as health authorities announced Tuesday that the countrys third homegrown vaccine has reached the phase of clinical trials. Details about its production however remained slim. Although Iran with a population of more than 80 million has so far imported foreign vaccines from Russia China India and Cuba to cover over 1.2 million people concerns over its lagging pace of vaccinations have animated Irans drive to develop locally produced vaccines as wealthier nations snap up the lions share of vaccine doses worldwide. https://apnews.com/article/tehran-clinical-trials-iran-coronavirus-pandemic-fde9601ee7d3dabc381dbff67b057d3d 16th Mar 2021

More vaccine approvals

Al Jazeera English Canada has recommended the AstraZenecaOxford vaccine for people aged above 65 in a pivot from its original guidelines. The governments National Advisory Committee on Immunization had previously recommended that people above 65 should not receive the vaccine due to limited information on its efficacy. However that recommendation was based on early clinical data and the NACI said on Tuesday that it made the change after reviewing realworld effectiveness studies. The recommendation still said PfizerBioNTech and Moderna should be prioritised for older age groups. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/16/hold-canada-recommends-astrazeneca-oxford-vaccine-for-seniors 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

The Brussels Times AstraZenecas coronavirus vaccine of which other countries have temporarily halted the use due to health risks will still be administered in Belgium the Vaccination Task Force confirmed. Earlier in the afternoon the Superior Health Council had made this decision based on scientific advice from European and Belgian experts with which the interministerial conference on public health later agreed. It would be irresponsible to suspend vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine right now said Minister of Public Health Frank Vandenbroucke. https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/belgium-all-news/health/160140/belgium-continue-using-astrazeneca-coronavirus-vaccine-task-force-superior-health-council-minister-frank-vandenbroucke-wouter-beke-germany-netherlands-denmark-ema/ 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

AlJazeera Venezuela has announced that it will not authorise AstraZenecas COVID19 vaccine after several European countries suspended their rollouts of the jab due to possible side effects. Venezuela will not authorise the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the process of immunising our population due to complications in vaccinated patients Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on public television on Monday. Venezuela which began its coronavirus vaccination campaign in February with Russias Sputnik V and Chinas Sinopharm jabs had reserved between 1.4 and 2.4 million AstraZeneca doses through the COVAX plan https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/16/venezuela-will-not-authorise-aztrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

The Guardian There has been chaos and confusion in Germany and Italy after their decisions to suspend use of the OxfordAstraZeneca Covid vaccine with vaccination centres closing their doors and appointments being abruptly cancelled. The countries are two of the biggest on a growing list of European nations that have in recent days ordered a pause in the distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The move came after seven reported cases in Germany of blood clots including deep vein thrombosis in people who had recently received the jab three of which were fatal. In Italy eight people have died and four more have suffered serious adverse events according to Nicola Magrini head of the Italian medicines agency Aifa. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/16/chaos-in-germany-and-italy-after-suspension-of-oxford-vaccine?CMP=fb_gu&amputm_medium=Social&amputm_source=Facebook&ampfbclid=IwAR0Hd8UoG5QpgLq3udid7Fnxh7SP6KCT7Dx-Qf_vBzVCTFppv9e8jH99FHE#Echobox=1615903812 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

Reuters Global health experts came under increasing pressure on Tuesday to clear up questions over the safety of AstraZenecas COVID19 shot as Sweden and Latvia joined countries suspending their use in a further blow to Europes vaccination rollout. The European Medicines Agency EMA said it was investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In total 45 million COVID shots have been delivered across the region. The EU regulator will release its findings on Thursday but its head Emer Cooke said she saw no reason to change its recommendation of AstraZeneca one of four vaccines that it has approved for use. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-astrazeneca/health-experts-pore-over-astrazeneca-safety-data-as-europe-reels-from-vaccine-suspensions-idUSKBN2B81AX 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

The Associated Press Thailands prime minister received a shot of the COVID19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca on Tuesday as much of Asia shrugged off concerns about reports of blood clots in some recipients in Europe saying that so far there is no evidence to link the two. Many countries using the vaccine also said the benefits from inoculation far outweighed possible risks even as parts of Europe suspended it pending investigation of potential side effects. AstraZeneca has developed a manufacturing base in Asia and the Serum Institute of India the worlds largest vaccine maker has been contracted by the company to produce a billion doses of the vaccine for developing nations. Hundreds of millions more are to be manufactured this year in Australia Japan Thailand and South Korea. https://apnews.com/article/europe-australia-south-korea-india-coronavirus-pandemic-3ee32b99b6c25c2b5cb429fd414ed592 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

Reuters Global health experts came under increasing pressure on Tuesday to clear up questions over the safety of AstraZenecas COVID19 shot as Sweden and Latvia joined countries suspending their use in a further blow to Europes vaccination rollout. The European Medicines Agency EMA said it was investigating reports of 30 cases of unusual blood disorders out of 5 million recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In total 45 million COVID shots have been delivered across the region. The EU regulator will release its findings on Thursday but its head Emer Cooke said she saw no reason to change its recommendation of AstraZeneca one of four vaccines that it has approved for use. The benefits continue to outweigh the risks but this is a serious concern and it does need serious and detailed scientific evaluation Cooke told a news conference. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-astrazeneca/health-experts-pore-over-astrazeneca-safety-data-as-europe-reels-from-vaccine-suspensions-idUSKBN2B81AX 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

Wall Street Journal The European Unions top drug regulator said it is still firmly convinced that the benefits of AstraZeneca PLCs Covid19 vaccine outweigh the risks after a string of nations in the bloc temporarily halted use of the shot over bloodclot concerns. The European Medicines Agency so far sees no indication that the vaccine caused a small number of bloodclotting incidents reported across the region Executive Director Emer Cooke said in a briefing Tuesday. The regulator is currently reviewing those incidents to determine whether they represent a broader risk. Ms. Cooke said the results of the review would be presented Thursday. https://www.wsj.com/articles/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccines-benefits-outweigh-risks-says-eu-11615902459 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

The Associated Press The European Unions drug regulator insisted Tuesday that there is no indication the AstraZeneca vaccine causes blood clots as governments around the world faced the grimmest of dilemmas push on with a vaccine known to save lives or suspend its use over reports of clotting in some recipients. The European Medicines Agency urged governments not to halt use of the vaccine at a time when the pandemic is still taking thousands of lives each day. And already there are concerns that even brief suspensions could have disastrous effects on confidence in inoculation campaigns the world over many of which are already struggling to overcome logistical hurdles and widespread hesitancy about vaccines. We are still firmly convinced that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID19 with its associated risk of hospitalization and death outweigh the risk of the side effects said Emer Cooke the head of the agency. https://apnews.com/article/eu-regulator-astrazeneca-benefit-outweighs-risk-37c3f8fa9523c58576cbff6d9c13a103 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

Sky News Risk and benefit. Every medicine has it. And its been brought into sharp focus by the rumble over AstraZenecas COVID vaccine. Several countries have reported people developing blood clots soon after having the jab and have suspended the rollout as a precaution while medical regulators investigate. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-theres-no-proof-that-astrazenecas-coronavirus-vaccine-causes-blood-clots-12247690 16th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca vaccine controversy

CNN Europes medicines regulator has said theres no indication that the OxfordAstraZeneca Covid19 vaccine has caused blood clots as the list of countries temporarily halting the vaccines rollout over safety concerns continues to grow. On Tuesday Cyprus Luxembourg Latvia and Sweden became the latest European nations to suspend its use despite advice from the European Medical Authority EMA and other international medical agencies that the benefits of getting shots into arms outweigh any potential risks. The head of the EMA which authorized the use of the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine for the 27nation bloc said Tuesday that regulators remained firmly convinced of that assessment. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/16/europe/who-astrazeneca-europe-coronavirus-tuesday-intl/index.html 16th Mar 2021

Variants - the latest

CNN Experts are worried some Americans are letting up too early at a critical time when looming dangers are threatening to wipe out the progress the US has made in its battle against Covid19. At least a dozen state leaders have eased Covid19 restrictions this month often citing improving Covid19 trends and growing vaccination numbers. At the same time air travel is hitting pandemicera records and the first spring break crowds have begun descending on Florida and other sunny regions while cases of a dangerous variant are on the rise. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/16/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html 16th Mar 2021

Variants - the latest

FiercePharma Emerging coronavirus variants could pose threats to existing monoclonal antibodies and vaccines and the FDAs taken note revising its emergency use authorizations to Eli Lillys and Regenerons drugs. In edited letters of authorization reissued in late February and early March the FDAs asking the two companies to monitor new variants of SARSCoV2 the coronavirus behind COVID19 and potentially conduct additional tests of their authorized antibody drugs against variants. The update came as evidence points to increased resistance of emerging coronavirus variants especially the B.1.351 version first identified in South Africa to antibody therapies. The letters first reported by Endpoints were for existing EUAs for Lillys bamlanivimab PDF and its combo PDF with etesevimab and Regenerons cocktail PDF of casirivimab and imdevimab in mildtomoderate COVID19 patients with high risk of disease progression in the outpatient setting. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/fda-revises-covid-19-euas-requiring-regeneron-lilly-to-monitor-efficacy-against-coronavirus 16th Mar 2021

Variants - the latest

CIDRAP Two doses of the AstraZenecaOxford University COVID19 vaccine were ineffective against mildtomoderate infections with the B1351 variant first identified in South Africa according to a phase 1b2 clinical trial published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The doubleblind multicenter study led by scientists at the South African Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit studied the safety and the efficacy of the AstraZeneca ChAdOx1 nCoV19 vaccine in HIVnegative adults aged 18 to 64 who received either two standard doses of the vaccine or a placebo in a 11 ratio 21 to 35 days apart from Jun 24 to Nov 9 2020. Median followup after the second dose was 121 days. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/03/astrazeneca-vaccine-doesnt-prevent-b1351-covid-early-trial 16th Mar 2021

Variants - the latest

HuffPost UK Two cases of a new coronavirus strain first reported in the Philippines have been found in England. Public Health England PHE said the variant contains a number of notable mutations including the E484K spike protein found in the Manaus variant. Concerns have been raised that vaccines may not be as effective against this protein. The new strain has been designated as a variant under investigation VUI rather than a variant of concern such as the Manaus strain. Public Health England said one of the cases was linked to international travel and the other is still being investigated but did not confirm where either had been found https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/covid-variant-philippines-england_uk_6050fbd5c5b6ce101642a02d 16th Mar 2021

Variants - the latest

AlJazeera Russia has identified two cases of the new variant of the coronavirus first detected in South Africa its health regulator said in a statement on Tuesday. The variant was first identified in South Africa in December where it now predominates. It has also been detected now in more than 40 countries according to the World Health Organization. South African scientists say there is no clear evidence that the variant is associated with more severe disease or worse outcomes. However it does appear to spread faster than previous iterations. Russias Rospotrebnadzor said it had conducted 8159 tests for mutations of the coronavirus so far. It is collecting and testing samples from a range of different people the regulator said including those who have recently travelled abroad as well as people who are suspected to have been infected with coronavirus for a second time. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/16/russia-identifies-two-cases-of-south-african-covid-variant 16th Mar 2021

Vaccine hesitancy or complacency

Mirror Online The Prime Minister reportedly suggested the best way to deal with Coronavirus would be to ignore it and there was allegedly talk of encouraging chicken pox parties in order to let the virus burn through healthy Brits creating herd immunity https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-faces-explosive-claims-23734169 16th Mar 2021

Vaccine hesitancy or complacency

The Times Neil Taylor is urging BAME communities to ignore misinformation about the Covid vaccination program. Speaking in support of a campaign run by the British Red Cross to combat mistrust the Aston Villa full back who is of mixed Welsh and Indian descent said he understood concerns but that the skepticism does not make sense. We are the ones most at risk ethnic minorities are more likely to die from this virus than anyone else so for us to be skeptical does not add up. We were all thinking how on earth have they come up with a vaccine so quickly but it has become clear now it is working. Its the right thing to do. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/aston-villas-neil-taylor-encourages-bame-community-to-get-coronavirus-vaccine-rr8c6c6mf 16th Mar 2021

Vaccine hesitancy or complacency

iNews NHS hospitals in England could redeploy staff who refuse to get a coronavirus vaccine away from exposure prone settings a new document suggests. The document published by NHS England on Friday first reported by the Health Service Journal HSJ sets out how employers can ensure staff who have declined vaccination are safe at work. It explains that where staff have refused vaccination effort should be taken to ensure they have the appropriate personal protective equipment PPE and that they have had a mask fitting. https://inews.co.uk/news/health/nhs-staff-refuse-vaccine-redeployed-away-exposure-prone-settings-914376 16th Mar 2021

Vaccine hesitancy or complacency

Reuters LONDON Reuters Britains Prince Charles on Wednesday criticised those lobbying against coronavirus ... article for the Future Healthcare Journal in which he called for an integrated approach to healthcare the heir to the throne also took a swipe ... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-princechar-idUSKBN2B900G 16th Mar 2021

Vaccine hesitancy or complacency

Sky News Facebook will add labels to all posts about COVID19 vaccines to show additional information from the World Health Organisation. The move comes amid concerns that misinformation about the COVID19 vaccines may be driving hesitancy in people receiving the jab potentially putting themselves at risk and prolonging the coronavirus pandemic. In an announcement on Monday the social media giant said it was working closely with the NHS and global health authorities to deliver important public health messages quickly helping people access credible information and get vaccinated. https://news.sky.com/story/facebook-to-label-all-posts-about-vaccines-with-who-information-12246643 16th Mar 2021

Vaccine hesitancy or complacency

The Associated Press A Florida correctional officer polled his colleagues earlier this year in a private Facebook group Will you take the COVID19 vaccine if offered The answer from more than half Hell no. Only 40 of the 475 respondents said yes. In Massachusetts more than half the people employed by the Department of Correction declined to be immunized. A statewide survey in California showed that half of all correction employees will wait to be vaccinated. In Rhode Island 30 of prison staff have refused the vaccine a higher rate than the incarcerated according to the states Department of Corrections. And in Iowa early polling among employees showed a little more than half the staff said theyd get vaccinated. https://apnews.com/article/us-prison-guards-refuse-vaccine-despite-covid-19-outbreaks-522775575fc815ee2354e97c3428dce0 16th Mar 2021

Vaccine hesitancy or complacency

Sydney Morning Herald Hong Kong authorities have trapped hundreds of residents in a sudden lockdown triggering concerns about the separation of families as the city attempts to stop a new wave of COVID19. The response came after a coronavirus outbreak at a gym popular among foreigners swelled to more than 100 cases at four residential towers. Hong Kong health teams set up testing stations around the apartments last week before locking residents inside their homes or removing COVIDpositive residents including children to government quarantine centres. https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/ambush-families-split-in-hong-kong-s-snap-lockdown-of-expat-towers-20210316-p57b7f.html 16th Mar 2021

Moderna Starts Covid-19 Vaccine Trial In Kids Younger Than 12 Years Old

Forbes Biotech company Moderna announced today that it has given the first doses of its mRNA Covid19 vaccine to young children as part of a new study to test how effective the vaccine is in kids. https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahrosenbaum/2021/03/16/moderna-starts-covid-19-vaccine-trial-in-kids-younger-than-12-years-old/ 16th Mar 2021