Japan is already using the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer…reports Asian Lite News
A Japanese government panel of experts approved two Covid-19 vaccines developed by US drug maker Moderna Inc. and the UK-based AstraZeneca Plc, with the Health Ministry expected to formaliae the approval of the use of the two jabs on Friday.
The expected approval, based on the expert panel’s assessment of Japan’s own clinical trials of the vaccines as well as those from overseas and the efficacy of the vaccines against Covid-19, will bring the number of jabs available in the country to three, reports Xinhua news agency.
Japan is already using the vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
The country’s vaccine rollout has come under fire for lagging well behind the pace in other advanced countries, with Japan’s inoculation campaign the slowest among OECD nations and allowing its current fourth wave of infections to spread largely unabated, informed sources have said.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has pledged to ramp up inoculations to 1 million shots a day and finish vaccinating the elderly by the end of July.
Japan began inoculating its elderly population of about 36 million in mid-April, but multiple municipalities have said they expect to miss the government’s end-of-July deadline, due to a lack of healthcare workers available to administer the shots.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato has said a team to be launched within his Cabinet Secretariat will come up with ways to provide certification and permit people who have been vaccinated to travel overseas.
The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch…reports Asian Lite News.
The Bangladeshi government has approved the import and use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19.
Major General Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of the country’s Drug Administration, made the announcement on Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency reported.
AstraZeneca vaccine
The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch.
“We’ve given permission for the emergency use of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine,” Rahman told journalists.
Amid uncertainty over timely arrival of the next Covid-19 vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government halted administering first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine across the country from Monday.
Nearly 6 million people have so far received the first dose of the vaccine in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on January 28 virtually inaugurated the country’s Covid-19 vaccination drive.
The Bangladeshi government on Monday announced that it decided to extend the ongoing lockdown which began on April 14 for another week.
Bangladesh recorded 112 deaths from Covid-19 on April 19, its highest daily toll from the pandemic, the government said.
On Tuesday, the country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 3,031 new cases of Covid-19 and 78 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 751,659 and the total death toll to 11,228.
The company said that it expects to deliver 50 million doses to European countries by the end of April, in line with its forecast….reports Asian Lite News
British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca on Monday denied having breached its contract to supply the European Union with 300 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine.
“AstraZeneca has fully complied with the Advance Purchase Agreement with the European Commission and will strongly defend itself in court,” the company said in a written statement published shortly after the EU executive branch announced that it was taking legal action against AstraZeneca over alleged breaches of its Covid-19 vaccine supply contract, the dpa news agency reported.
“We believe any litigation is without merit and we welcome this opportunity to resolve this dispute as soon as possible,” the statement added.
A health worker looks at a vial of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination centre
The company said that it expects to deliver 50 million doses to European countries by the end of April, in line with its forecast.
“Vaccines are difficult to manufacture, as evidenced by the supply challenges several companies are facing in Europe and around the world,” AstraZeneca said.
Earlier in the day, the spokesperson of the European Commission, Stefan De Keersmaecker, had said: “The company (AstraZeneca) has not been in a position to come up with a reliable strategy to ensure the timely delivery of doses.
“We want to make sure that there is a speedy delivery of a sufficient number of doses that European citizens are entitled to, and which have been promised on the basis of the contract.”
A health worker looks at a vial of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination centre
Denmark first suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 11, citing “very rare but severe side effects” discovered during the jab’s safety monitoring….reports Asian Lite News
Denmark has decided to entirely cease administering the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, the country’s health authority confirmed.
“Based on the scientific findings, our overall assessment is there is a real risk of severe side effects associated with using the Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca. We have, therefore, decided to remove the vaccine from our vaccination program,” Xinhua news agency quoted Soren Brostrom, director general of the Danish Health Authority, as saying to the media on Wednesday.
In a statement, the authority also claimed that the pandemic was “currently under control” in Denmark, adding that this had contributed to the decision.
Denmark first suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 11, citing “very rare but severe side effects” discovered during the jab’s safety monitoring.
Denmark’s decision on Wednesday came in the wake of the European Medical Agency’s (EMA) recent verdict that “the benefits of using the Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca continue to outweigh the risks for people who receive it”.
The Danish Health Authority agrees with the EMA’s general findings, Brostrom said, adding that “in the midst of an epidemic, it has been a difficult decision to continue our vaccination program without an effective and readily available vaccine against Covid-19”.
However, the authority referred to further comments by the EMA that the “use of the vaccine during vaccination campaigns at the national level should also consider the pandemic situation and vaccine availability in each individual country”.
“We are basically in agreement with the EMA’s assessment regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine. That is why it is important to emphasize that it is still an approved vaccine,” said Brostrom.
Morrison said that delays to Australia’s vaccine rollout caused by AstraZeneca blockage from exporting more than 3 million doses…reports Asian Lite News
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday called on the European Union (EU) to release doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Morrison said that delays to Australia’s vaccine rollout were a matter of “straightforward maths” with AstraZeneca blocked from exporting more than 3 million doses, reports Xinhua news agency.
“It’s straightforward maths – 3.1 million out of 3.8 million doses did not come to Australia,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“That obviously had a very significant impact on the early rollout of the vaccination program, until we got into a position when the domestically produced AstraZeneca vaccine would be in place.”
Earlier the European Commission said that only 250,000 doses of the vaccines had been formally blocked.
In response, the Australian government said in a statement that the Commission was “arguing semantics”.
Morrison has previously announced that 1 million of the vaccines will be redirected to Papua New Guinea (PNG) if they are allowed to leave Europe.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister said he would write to the EC asking that they be exported.
Morrison was joined by Brendan Murphy, the Secretary of the Department of Health, who said that the domestic production of AstraZeneca vaccines was continuing to escalate but had not reached the goal of manufacturing 1 million doses per week.
So far about 920,334 vaccines had been administered in Australia, short of the government’s initial target of 4 million by the end of March.
The MHRA previously said there had been 30 cases of rare blood clot events reported out of the 18.1 million AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine doses administered in Britain….reports Asian Lite News
After more than 18 million people have received vaccinations with AstraZeneca’s jab in the UK, the country’s health regulator said seven people had died due to rare blood clots, although the cause remains unclear.
“The benefits in preventing a Covid-19 infection and its complications continue to outweigh any risks and the public should continue to get their vaccine when invited to do so,” dpa news agency quoted June Raine, Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as saying.
The MHRA previously said there had been 30 cases of rare blood clot events reported out of the 18.1 million AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine doses administered in Britain.
As of March 24, a total of 22 cases of cerebral vein thrombosis and eight other types of thrombosis had been reported, the agency said, noting that here too, it was unclear whether these were connected.
Reports of unusual blood clot cases in patients who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine have led some national regulators to place restrictions on who can receive the jab.
AstraZeneca vaccine
Canada, for instance, suspended use for those under the age of 55 while Germany has largely halted the jabs for those under 60.
Britain has said the vaccine is safe for all age groups.
The European Medicines Agency, an EU regulator, said the vaccine is safe, although it is planning more consultations in the wake of the decisions by national health officials.
Meanwhile in Britain, more than 31 million people have received the first dose of the vaccination, more than 18 million of them with AstraZeneca.
The number of cases has improved significantly, with the seven-day incidence figure at 55 per 100,000 inhabitants.
There has also been a significant fall in the number of daily deaths.
A health worker looks at a vial of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination centre
People under 60 should be able to receive the shot, but only “at the discretion of doctors, and after individual risk analysis and thorough explanation…reports Asian Lite News
Germany’s federal and health ministers have agreed to limit the general use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine to people over age 60 starting Wednesday, citing concerns about blood clots.
People under 60 should be able to receive the shot, but only “at the discretion of doctors, and after individual risk analysis and thorough explanation,” according to the decision by the health ministers accessed by DPA news agency on Tuesday.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn and the 16 state health ministers came to the decision in an emergency meeting, after authorities in the cities of Berlin and Munich decided to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under the age of 60.
Spahn said that while it was a setback in one sense for the AstraZeneca vaccine to be an increased risk for a certain age group, it also meant more people over 60 could be vaccinated more quickly.
“In that respect, I can really just expressly ask all people over 60 to take advantage of this vaccination offer,” Spahn said.
Germany’s vaccine commission issued a corresponding recommendation for AstraZeneca’s use, due to data on “rare, but very severe thromboembolic side effects” that had predominantly been observed in people under 60 in the four to 16 days after vaccination.
The side effects concerned blood clots in cerebral veins, especially observed among younger women.
Chancellor Angela Merkel justified the new age restrictions by saying that they helped to ensure confidence in coronavirus vaccines.
“Trust comes from the knowledge that every suspicion, every single case will be looked into,” said Merkel in Berlin after consultations with the country’s 16 state premiers. Openness and transparency are the best ways to deal with such a situation, the chancellor added.
Earlier, the Paul Ehrlich Institute, a medical regulatory body, said there had been 31 cases of cerebral thrombosis that were suspected to have occurred after administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Nine of those cases resulted in the death of patients, the institute said. All except two occurred in women between ages 20 and 63.
Earlier on Tuesday, several state and city authorities already suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for anyone under the age of 60, citing new data on suspected side effects.
Berlin Health Senator Dilek Kalayci announced the move and referred to it as a “precautionary measure.” She said Berlin authorities would wait for the outcome of talks at the federal level.
The Charite and Vivantes hospitals in the capital had suspended AstraZeneca jabs until further notice for women under the age of 55.
“From Charite’s point of view, this step is necessary, since further cerebral vein thromboses in women in Germany have become known,” Charite spokesperson Manuela Zingl said.
In the western state of North Rhine Westphalia, the heads of five of the six university hospitals also spoke out in favour of a temporary halt of AstraZeneca vaccinations for younger women.
The risk of further deaths is too high, according to a joint letter to the federal and state health ministers seen by dpa.
Authorities in the southern German city of Munich also suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under the age of 60.
“Due to current developments, the city has decided, like Berlin, to suspend vaccinations with AstraZeneca for people under 60 as a precautionary measure until the question of possible complications for this group of people has been clarified,” a spokesperson said.
Germany and numerous other countries had temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca in March because several cases of thrombosis (blood clots) in the cerebral veins were reported.
The vaccine was deemed safe again for use shortly thereafter.
TGA granted approval for the doses of the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Melbourne by biotechnology company CSL…reports Asian Lite News
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced the approval of the doses of the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Melbourne by biotechnology company CSL
Australia’s medical regulator on Monday approved the domestically-produced AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) announced the approval of the doses of the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured in Melbourne by biotechnology company CSL, reports Xinhua news agency.
In a statement it described the approval as a “critical and very exciting milestone” in Australia’s pandemic response.
AstraZeneca vaccine
“Specific approval of Australian manufacturing by TGA was required to ensure that the locally-manufactured vaccine had exactly the same composition and performance as overseas-manufactured vaccine, was made to the same quality and is free of contaminants,” it said.
Australia has agreed to acquire 53.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 50 million of which will be produced by CSL.
The TGA said that the first domestically-produced vaccines were expected to be released “in the next few days”.
Greg Hunt, the minister for health, said it was a “critical next step”.
“It means the manufacturing process for CSL has been approved, it’s safe, it’s effective,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Australia begins coronavirus vaccinations
The approval is expected to significantly accelerate the speed of the vaccine rollout in Australia.
More than 6 million Australians became eligible to receive vaccines from Monday under phase 1B of the rollout, which covers the elderly, critical workers and people with underlying health conditions.
Australia has so far reported 29,196 confirmed Covid-19 cases, while the death toll stood at 909.
France, Italy, Latvia and Bulgaria announced they would likely restart vaccinations using the AstraZeneca jab on Friday following the EMA advice….reports Asian Lite News
Several European countries have announced they would restart vaccinations with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) deemed it “safe and effective”.
The EMA statement came after an extensive review of possible blood clot risks, the agency’s chief said on Thursday, following reports that some people had developed blood clots in the period after having the injection, reports dpa news agency.
France, Italy, Latvia and Bulgaria announced they would likely restart vaccinations using the AstraZeneca jab on Friday following the EMA advice.
Spain would reportedly follow suit next week, according to El Pais newspaper.
In an effort to bolster damaged public confidence in the vaccine, French Premier Jean Castex announced that he himself would receive the injection on Friday.
Swedish health authorities said, on the other hand, that they would need “a few days” to assess the EMA report before lifting the ban on AstraZeneca.
“The suspension remains for the time being,” Johan Carlson, head of the Swedish Public Health Agency, told reporters.
Germany will aim to restart vaccinations using AstraZeneca’s vaccine on Friday, Health Minister Jens Spahn said.
The restart in Germany would come with new advice on the vaccine’s side effects, Spahn added.
Blood clot reports from several countries prompted governments around the world to halt inoculations with the AstraZeneca jab.
This slowed down already sluggish inoculation campaigns in the European Union.
The EMA, which had approved the jab in January, launched a review of the risks.
“The committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion,” the agency’s chief Emer Cooke said when presenting the findings.
“This is a safe and effective vaccine. Its benefits in protecting people from Covid-19, with the associated risks of death and hospitalisation, outweigh the possible risks,” Cooke said.
A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign for healthcare professionals in Nice
The agency’s committee concluded that the vaccine was not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots.
“When you vaccinate millions of people, it’s invevitable that rare or serious incidences or illnesses will occur in the time immediately following vaccination,” she said.
However, the agency could not definitively rule out a link between cases of rare, very serious clotting disorders and the vaccine, and said it launched additional investigations to understand the issue.
The EMA therefore recommended issuing warnings by including the risks in the product information.
The World Health Organization has also recommended the continued use of the vaccine.
