WHO urged populations to continue practicing the infection control measures as vaccines represent just one approach to dealing with Covid-19…reports Asian Lite News
Close to 40 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have already been distributed through the COVAX Facility, half of them in Africa, but vaccine supplies are still stalled due to “tremendous demand” especially in India, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
COVAX, a WHO-led program to secure equitable access to vaccines for low and middle-income countries, “has, as of today, distributed just over 38.7 million doses and we expect to get past 40 million doses later this week,” Bruce Aylward, the WHO’s senior advisor to the director general on organisational change, said at a press conference on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Over 40 countries on the African continent will have received doses by the end of this week, and they will receive nearly half of the doses from COVAX,” he added.
However, the COVAX Facility has experienced major difficulties in accessing vaccines, especially since the Serum Institute of India, “one of the main producers that supply the COVAX Facility” according to Aylward, cut back on AstraZeneca vaccine deliveries due to the “tremendous demand” created by the “escalating outbreak in India.”
One solution suggested by the WHO to ensure proper immunization is to administer the second AstraZeneca dose after “12 weeks” or even a bit later, Aylward said.
At the same time, the WHO urged populations to continue practicing the infection control measures as vaccines represent just one approach to dealing with Covid-19.
“There was a nine per cent increase in transmissions last week, the seventh consecutive week when we’ve seen an increase in transmission, and a five percent increase in the number of deaths,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19.
“We are at a critical point of the pandemic right now,” she stressed.
A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination campaign for healthcare professionals in Nice
More than 30 people in different states of US reported side effects after having the shot with symptoms ranging from dizziness, nausea and fainting…reports Asian Lite News
Several states in the United States have temporarily shut down some vaccine sites after people suffered adverse reactions to the shot.
A total of 18 people in North Carolina reported side effects, while 11 people in Colorado reacted to the shot with symptoms ranging from dizziness, nausea and fainting, according to media reports, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.
Georgia was the third US state to temporarily shut down a vaccine site following North Carolina and Colorado, after eight people suffered adverse reactions following vaccination.
According to local officials, one person was sent to a nearby hospital for evaluation before being released. The other seven were sent home after being monitored at the site.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its analysis “did not find any safety issues or reason for concern.” The agency recommended that healthcare providers continue to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Another problem facing Johnson & Johnson is vaccine distribution. The supply of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine is expected to drop by 85 per cent nationwide this week, after the company suffered production issues at a facility in Baltimore, Maryland, according to federal officials and data.
A manufacturing subcontractor in Baltimore mixed ingredients from the Covid-19 vaccines of Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, delaying shipments of the Johnson & Johnson shot across the nation.
The plant is run by Emergent BioSolutions, a manufacturing partner to both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. Federal officials attributed the mistake to human error, which resulted in contamination of up to 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
A health worker analyses samples of COVID-19 vaccines, developed by Chinese company Sinovac
Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, said Friday that the company is still working to address the production issues in Emergent BioSolutions, which is not certified yet by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use in the United States in late February. It is the third Covid-19 vaccine that has received FDA’s authorization, also the first single dose Covid-19 vaccine available in the United States.
As of Monday, about 189 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have been administered, while more than 237 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been distributed across the country, according to data of the CDC.
“There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus…reports Asian Lite News
The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticised what it describes as a “shocking imbalance” in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines between rich and poor countries.
“There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Friday, the BBC reported.
The group’s chief said a target of seeing vaccination programmes under way in every country by Saturday would be missed.
The WHO has long called for fairer distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
It is leading the Covax scheme which is designed to get jabs to poorer nations.
So far, more than 38 million doses have been delivered to around 100 countries under the scheme.
Zulema Riquelme, a 46-year-old nursing technician, receives a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Metropolitan Hospital in Santiago, Chile
Covax hopes to deliver more than two billion doses to people in 190 countries in less than a year. In particular, it wants to ensure that 92 poorer countries will receive access to vaccines at the same time as wealthier countries.
“On average in high-income countries, almost one in four people have received a Covid-19 vaccine. In low-income countries, it’s one in more than 500,” he said.
The Covax scheme had been expected to distribute at least 100 million doses worldwide by the end of March, but only 38 million jabs have been delivered so far.
“We hope to be able to catch up during April and May,” Tedros said.
A medical worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Istanbul, Turkey
He also criticised countries that have sought their own vaccine deals outside of the Covax scheme. “Some countries and companies plan to do their own bilateral vaccine donations, bypassing Covax for their own political or commercial reasons,” Tedros said.
“These bilateral arrangements run the risk of fanning the flames of vaccine inequity,” he added. “Scarcity of supply is driving vaccine nationalism.”
Earlier this year, Tedros warned that the world was facing a “catastrophic moral failure” over vaccine inequality. He said a “me-first” approach would be self-defeating because it would encourage hoarding and prolong the pandemic.
I would request everyone to not delay their safety and please get vaccinated (according to the age segregation). Let’s defeat the virus together!” Vivek wrote as caption with the video…reports Asian Lite News.
Bollywood stars are cautious about the virus spread as some of the stars recently tested positive for Covid 19 during their shooting and all. Actor Vivek Oberoi on Saturday took his first dose of Covid-19 prevention vaccine at a hospital in the city. The 44-year-old actor shared a video the vaccination and encouraged others to go for the vaccine.
“First dose of Covid-19 vaccine. A big thank you and my warmest appreciation to all the frontline workers, our #Warriors for taking up this entire process seamlessly with utmost care. I would request everyone to not delay their safety and please get vaccinated (according to the age segregation). Let’s defeat the virus together!” Vivek wrote as caption with the video.
First dose of Covid-19 vaccine ✔ A big thank you & my warmest appreciation to all the frontline workers, our #Warriors for taking up this entire process seamlessly with utmost care. I would request all to not delay their safety and please get vaccinated.@mygovindia@BJP4Indiapic.twitter.com/cV4SGsq3XK
Vivek will soon be seen in the horror thriller “Rosie: The Saffron Chapter”, which marks the screen debut of TV star Shweta Tiwari’s daughter Palak Tiwari. The film directed by Vishal Ranjan Mishra is said to be based on the real incident of the sudden disappearance of a woman named Rosie from Gurugram, who was an employee at a BPO company.
India has reported 1,45,384 new Covid-19 cases and 794 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.
India is now the fourth-worst Covid-hit country worldwide after the number of active cases rose to 10,46,631. The death toll stood at 1,68,436 the Health Ministry said.
A total of 77,567 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the number of recoveries to 1,19,90,859 with a recovery rate of 90.80 per cent.
Health worker collect swab sample testing for Covid-19 at CP in New Delhi. (Photo:Wasim Sarvar/IANS)
The Health Ministry said that a total of 11,73,219 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. So far, 25,52,14,803 samples have been tested.
A total of 34,15,055 people were vaccinated in the last 24 hours taking the total vaccination count to 9,80,75,160.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat has tested Covid-19 positive and is undergoing treatment in a private hospital here.
According to an RSS functionary, he was suffering from some minor cough and cold issues and underwent an RT-PCR test.
RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat
After the report came Covid-19 positive, he was admitted to the Kingsway Hospital on Friday.
Incidentally, the 70-year-old Bhagwat – who had taken his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine on March 7 – is responding well to the treatment and his condition is described as stable.
Currently, Nagpur – the state’s second capital is amongst the worst-hit Corona hotspots in the state besides Mumbai and Pune in the ongoing ferocious second wave of the pandemic.
Amid the spike in the number of Covid-19 cases across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised on the ‘test track & treat’ mantra, besides stressing on following Covid appropriate behaviour and effective Covid management measures to check the spread of the virus.
The Prime Minister held a virtual meeting with all the Chief Ministers to review the Covid situation in the country on Thursday, his second interaction with the CMs within a month.
The Prime Minister pointed out that to contain the spread of the virus, testing and tracking play an effective role.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacting with the Chief Ministers on COVID-19 and vaccination programme through video conferencing, in New Delhi on April 08, 2021.
Observing that every single positive case has the potential to spread the virus to others in the absence of adequate preventive measures, the Prime Minister said that at least 30 contacts of a positive case must be traced, tested and quarantined, preferably within the first 72 hours.
“There should not be any relaxation in our efforts due to Covid fatigue,” Modi said.
He also asked for adherence to the SoPs issued by the Health Ministry, especially in the containment zones.
The Prime Minister emphasised on the need to have comprehensive data on Covid deaths with detailed analysis.
He also asked the states to join the webinars on Covid-19 organised by AIIMs every Tuesday and Friday, besides appealing to the states to ensure 100 per cent vaccination of 45-plus population in the high focus districts.
The Prime Minister called for a ‘Teeka Utsav’ (vaccination festival) between April 11, the birth anniversary of Jyotirao Govindrao Phule, and April 14, the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacting with the Chief Ministers on COVID-19 and vaccination programme through video conferencing, in New Delhi on April 08, 2021.
“Effort should be made to vaccinate the maximum number of people during the vaccination festival,” he said.
Modi also called upon the youth to help in getting everyone above 45 years of age vaccinated.
Cautioning against carelessness, Modi said, “We have to keep in mind that despite vaccination, there should not be lowering of guard and proper precautions should be continued to be taken.”
During the meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah outlined the efforts undertaken by the government in the battle against Covid-19.
The AstraZeneca jab remained safe and those who had received one dose should take up their second when they are called, said Matt Hancock…reports Asian Lite News
Britain has more than enough supply of alternative vaccines to vaccinate all adults under 30, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
His remarks came after the British government’s vaccination advisory body said Wednesday that Britons aged 18-29 will be offered an alternative to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine amid concerns over its possible link with reported rare cases of blood clots, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.
Hancock told the BBC that Britain is still on track to vaccinate all adults by July 31.
The AstraZeneca jab remained safe and those who had received one dose should take up their second when they are called, he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson holds a vial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine Covid-19 candidate vaccine, known as AZD1222, at Wockhardt’s pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Wrexham, North Wales. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street
There was “no evidence” of rare blood clots after the second dose of the vaccine, he said.
“The safety system that we have around this vaccine is so sensitive that it can pick up events that are four in a million (the chance of developing a rare brain blood clot) — I’m told this is about the equivalent risk of taking a long-haul flight,” he said.
Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said Wednesday that the side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine were extremely rare and the vaccine’s effectiveness is proven, adding that the benefits of taking the vaccine are still very favourable for the vast majority.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Jonathan Van-Tam has said that because of the supply situation with other vaccines, the effect on the vaccination program in Britain should be “negligible”.
Doris Wildgoose, 99, receives her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Hyde Leisure Centre in Greater Manchester, Britain, on Jan. 7, 2021. (Photo by Jon Super/Xinhua/ians)
Currently, Britain is also rolling out the Pfizer jab, and the first doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered Wednesday in Wales.
The country also has supply agreements with several other companies that are still waiting for approval, including Valneva and Janssen.
More than 31.7 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the official figures.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.
The study, published in the journal JAMA, analysed reports collected via a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) programme called v-safe that tracks side effects in vaccine recipients….reports Asian Lite News
In a first, a new study has pointed out that those taking the Moderna vaccine have reported more side effects than people who get the Pfizer/BioNTech jabs.
The study, published in the journal JAMA, analysed reports collected via a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) programme called v-safe that tracks side effects in vaccine recipients.
A total of 3,643,918 people were enrolled in v-safe and completed at least one health survey within seven days following their first vaccine dose before February 21, and 1,920,872 v-safe participants reported receiving a second vaccine dose and completed at least one daily health survey within seven days following the second dose.
Nearly 70 per cent of those said they had some kind of injection site reaction, like pain or swelling, and half had generalised reaction like fatigue or chills.
“A greater percentage of participants who received the Moderna vaccine, compared with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, reported reactogenicity; this pattern was more pronounced after the second dose,” the researchers noted.
Reactogenicity refers to a subset of reactions that occur soon after vaccination.
People who got a Moderna shot were more likely to have a side effect — 73 per cent had an injection site reaction, compared with 65 per cent of people who had a Pfizer/BioNTech dose.
Nearly 51 per cent of Moderna recipients had full-body symptoms, compared with 48 per cent of people who got the Pfizer/BioNTech shot.
The gap widened after the second dose.
Almost 82 per cent of people getting their second Moderna shot had injection site pain versus just under 69 per cent of people with Pfizer/BioNTech, reports The Verge.
“Overall, 74 per cent of people said they had general reactions after their Moderna shot, compared with 64 per cent of people getting Pfizer/BioNTech,” the report said on Tuesday.
Zulema Riquelme, a 46-year-old nursing technician, receives a shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Metropolitan Hospital in Santiago, Chile
People over 65 were also less likely to have side effects than people under 65, regardless of which vaccine they received.
“Data from millions of v-safe participants indicate that injection site pain is common after both the first and second doses of either mRNA-based vaccine,” the study noted.
Systemic reactions, including fatigue, headache, myalgia, chills, fever, and joint pain, occurred in participants after the first dose, although they were more frequently reported after the second dose among both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccine recipients.
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.
On Tuesday, Biden announced the new timetable after his visit to a vaccination site in Alexandria, Virginia, moving up his original deadline of May 1 by nearly two weeks, reports Xinhua news agency…reports Asian Lite News.
Amid the Covid surge, India’s double mutant variant also found in US last day. While, US President Joe Biden announced that all American adults will be eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine by April 19.
On Tuesday,Biden announced the new timetable after his visit to a vaccination site in Alexandria, Virginia, moving up his original deadline of May 1 by nearly two weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.
Biden said that 150 million doses have been administered within his first 75 days in office, in line with a stated goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office.
He urged Americans to continue to practice pandemic safety measures, saying the country is not “at the finish line yet” and may experience more “disease and misery” before July 4.
A few weeks ago, Biden called on states, tribes and territories to make all American adults eligible for vaccination no later than May 1.
Biden has stressed that while the country is now vaccinating a record number of Americans, the battle against Covid-19 is “far from won” as cases are once again on the rise.
The country has witnessed a resurgence in 27 states, including cases from new and emerging Covid-19 variants.
People wearing face masks visit the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C during covid 19 surge
Currently, the seven-day average of new cases is about 61,000 a day, a 10 per cent increase over the previous period, according to the latest data of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Biden has called on every Governor, Mayor and local leader to maintain, and in some cases reinstate, mask mandates.
Some states have lifted requirements for masks and allowed businesses to reopen to full capacity against warnings from public health experts.
Highly contagious variants are rapidly spreading in the US, threatening to outpace the vaccination efforts.
Last week, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in Britain, is starting to become the predominant strain in many regions of the US, accounting for 26 per cent of Covid-19 cases circulating across the nation.
The country has recorded more than 17,000 infection cases of coronavirus variants as of Tuesday, according to the latest data of the CDC.
Among these cases, 16,275 cases were caused by B.1.1.7.
There were 386 cases of a new strain initially discovered in South Africa, called B.1.351, and 356 cases of the P.1 strain first discovered in Brazil.
In addition, the B.1.427 and B.1.429 variants, two coronavirus strains first detected in California, are also being closely monitored by the CDC.
About 168 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have been administered as of Tuesday, while more than 219 million doses have been distributed across the country, CDC data show.
The US is still the worst-hit country with the world’s highest number of cases and deaths at 30,845,915 and 556,509, respectively, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
Biden announced the new timetable after his visit to a vaccination site in Alexandria, Virginia, moving up his original deadline of May 1 by nearly two weeks…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that all American adults will be eligible for Covid-19 vaccine by April 19.
Biden announced the new timetable after his visit to a vaccination site in Alexandria, Virginia, moving up his original deadline of May 1 by nearly two weeks, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Biden said that 150 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered within his first 75 days in office, in line with a stated goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office.
He urged Americans to continue to practice pandemic safety measures, saying the country is not “at the finish line yet” and may experience more “disease and misery” before July 4.
A few weeks ago, Biden called on states, tribes and territories to make all US adults eligible for vaccination no later than May 1.
