Tag: vaccine

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-Top News COVID-19 EU News

Italy PM receives AstraZeneca jab

Mario Draghi addresses the media at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy,

Draghi and his wife Maria Serenella Cappello, both 73, received the vaccine at a centre in Termini, Rome’s main train station…reports Asian Lite News

Italy is still among the countries with more than 2 million coronavirus cases with 3,561,012 cases as per the latest reports. Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi received his first dose of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday — the same product that his government had decided to temporarily halt the use of earlier this month.

Draghi and his wife Maria Serenella Cappello, both 73, received the vaccine at a centre in Termini, Rome’s main train station, Xinhua news agency reported.

The AstraZeneca is one of the three approved vaccines for use in Italy, together with those produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. Of the three, AstraZeneca’s has been the most controversial after reports of it causing blood clots that resulted in two deaths in Italy. After the second death, the use of the vaccine was suspended for four days ending March 19.

Having investigated the reports, Nicola Magrini, director general of Italy’s main medical authority (AIFA) said the suspension was a “political” decision and he declared the vaccine safe to use.

AstraZeneca vaccine

According to Italian media, Draghi’s aim with choosing the AstraZeneca jab was to build public confidence in the vaccine after reports about its side effects.

As of Tuesday, 9.8 million Italians have received at least the first dose of one of the three approved vaccines, while the number of fully-vaccinated individuals — those who have received two doses — totaled 3.1 million, or around 5.1 per cent of the country’s population.

Also read:Italy to host UN Food Systems Pre-Summit

Read More-Australian nod for domestic AstraZeneca

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-Top News USA

Biden reassures Americans again

US President Joe Biden

90 per cent of adult Americans will be eligible to get vaccinated by April 19, the remaining 10 per cent will be eligible by May 1, said Biden…reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden has said 90 per cent of adult Americans will be eligible to get Covid-19 vaccination in three weeks.

He told a White House briefing on Monday that while 90 per cent of adult Americans will be eligible to get vaccinated by April 19, the remaining 10 per cent will be eligible by May 1, Xinhua news agency reported.

Biden’s remarks came as the country has seen a rise in new Covid-19 cases in 27 states.

Biden said cases are “going back” as people relax safeguards. Letting down guard could make the pandemic “worse,” he noted.

Biden vowed to direct governors to reinstate mask mandates.

Earlier this month, Biden said he would direct all states, tribes, and territories to make all adult Americans eligible for Covid-19 vaccines by May 1.

Also read:Biden condemns Myanmar for outrageous violence

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-Top News Asia News China

800K Chinese vaccine doses reach Nepal

Nepal receives 800K doses of Covid vax from China(Twitter)

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi handed over the vaccine shipment to Nepal’s Health Minister Hrydesh Tripathi at a function at the Tribhuvan International Airport….reports Asian Lite News

A day after the Nepal Army received 100,000 doses of Covid vaccine from their Indian counterparts as a goodwill gesture, 800,000 doses donated by China arrived in Kathmandu on Monday.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi handed over the vaccine shipment to Nepal’s Health Minister Hrydesh Tripathi at a function at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

On Sunday evening, the Nepal Army received 100,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccines, developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and locally manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

“100,000 doses of #MadeInIndia Covid-19 vaccine gifted by Indian Army to the Nepali Army were received at Tribhuvan Airport today,” the Embassy of India tweeted on Sunday evening.

The vaccine provided on Sunday will only be administered to the Nepalese Army personnel.

At a time when Nepal is struggling to continue its inoculation drive against Covid as cases have started to surge across the country, the Covishield vaccine will provide some relief, said officials.

Also read:Nepal President embarks on visit to B’desh

Since India halted the export of Covid vaccine, Nepal was also hit hard by the temporary sanction.

The Chinese vaccine that Nepal has received is developed China’s Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd, under Sinopharm.

Nepal has already granted emergency use authorization of the Sinopharm vaccine but the World Health Organization has not approved it.

Nepal had sent a flight os its national flag carrier to Beijing to transport the Chinese vaccine while India has been delivering the Covid vaccine by its own airplane.

Earlier, India provided 1 million doses of the vaccine to Nepal as a gift.

Later, Nepal procured another one million doses of Covid vaccine from Serum Institute at a discounted rate.

Also read:Nepal relaxes curbs on Tourism

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-Top News UK News

Johnson urged to share vaccines

Boris Johnson(IANS)

Several health and development charities urged the UK Prime minister to clarify how doses will be shared…reports Asian Lite News

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls on Sunday to immediately begin donating vaccines to poorer nations or risk hoarding supplies while frontline workers are exposed to coronavirus, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

British health and development charities urged the prime minister to take “accelerated action” and “swiftly clarify” how doses will be shared, according to the newspaper, Xinhua news agency reported.

The appeal was contained in a letter to the prime minister by those including British government science advisor Jeremy Farrar and Save the Children UK, among others.

With more than half of adults having received a jab, they said Britain is “one of the world’s highest per-capita buyers” of vaccines and is on track to have more than 100 million surplus doses.

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)

“There is therefore the high risk that the UK will be hoarding limited supply whilst health workers and the most vulnerable in low- and middle-income countries do not have access,” said the letter.

“The UK will be sitting on enough surplus vaccine doses to vaccinate the world’s frontline health workers twice over,” it said.

Also read:‘UK has exclusive deal with AstraZeneca’

They also urged Britain to immediately begin donating doses through the COVAX initiative, which is working to provide vaccines for low and middle-income countries.

The British government responded that it will share “the majority of any future surplus” vaccines with the COVAX pool “when these are available,” the London-based newspaper said.

COVAX is a global initiative backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure effective and equitable global access to Covid-19 vaccines.

Farrar said Britain will still have contractual access to at least 100 million surplus doses once the entire population is vaccinated, which he said “won’t be of use in the UK”.

“Now is the time to think beyond our borders,” he said. “The world won’t be safe while any single country is still fighting the virus.”

“The prime minister has confirmed the UK will share the majority of any future surplus coronavirus vaccines from our supply with the COVAX pool, when these are available. No one is safe until we are all safe,” a British government source said.

Also read:UK mulls Covid vax certification

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-Top News Asia News COVID-19

China administers over 100mn jabs

Reports revealed that the total number of Covid-19 vaccine jabs administered nationwide had reached 102.42 million…reports Asian Lite News

More than 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines has been administered across China so far, according to health authorities.

The announcement was made on Sunday by the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against Covid-19, reports Xinhua news agency.

Data released by the National Health Commission on Sunday showed that the total number of Covid-19 vaccine jabs administered nationwide had reached 102.42 million.

China saw a daily increase of more than 3 million doses ever since the country has initiated its daily vaccination report on March 24.

Also read:China, UAE deepen ties

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-Top News USA

Biden promises 200mn jabs in 100 days

Joe Biden

Biden had initially planned to inoculate with 100 million shots in the arms of Americans in 100 days, but it has changed to 200mn…reports Asian Lite News

US President Joe Biden announceda new goal of administering 200 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Americans in his first 100 days in office.

Biden made the announcement at a press conference here on Thursday which was his first since taking office on January 20, Xinhua news agency reported.

He had initially set the plan of having 100 million shots in the arms of Americans by his 100th day in office, but is now increasing the objective to 200 million.

“I know it’s ambitious, twice our original goal, but no other country in the world has come close to what we’re doing,” Biden told reporters.

“I believe we can do it,” he added.

As of Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a total of 133 million Covid-19 vaccine shots had been administered, and that 14 per cent of the American population is fully vaccinated.

The federal government has a deal with Johnson & Johnson for delivery of 200 million doses, a CNBC News report said.

The first half of that order expected by the end of June.

Merck is helping to make J&J’s shot, which is a single-dose vaccination.

The administration also has deals with drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna for a combined 600 million doses.

Also read:Tough to meet May 1 Afghan troop exit deadline: Biden

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-Top News UK News

UK mulls Covid vax certification

“No decisions have been taken at all before the publishing of a government review into Covid-19 certification early next month,said Boris”…reports Asian Lite News

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that his government is considering coronavirus vaccine certification but suggested it might only be implemented once all adults in the country have been offered a jab by the end of July.

Speaking in London on Thursday, Johnson said “no decisions have been taken at all” before the publishing of a government review into Covid-19 certification early next month, reports Xinhua news agency.

“All sorts of things are being considered,” Johnson said, adding it was “a bit premature” to speculate on whether pubs could run entirely by implementing a certification scheme while scrapping social distancing and mask-wearing rules.

“What we want to do is (to) roll out the vaccine program and see what that builds in terms of general resistance to the virus,” he told Sky News.

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
Also read:UK to fine £5,000 for holidaying abroad

“I do think there is going to be a role for certification,” he said.

However, Johnson said Britain needs to think carefully about the issue.

“As I’ve said before there are lots of difficult issues, because there are some people who, for medical reasons, can’t get a vaccination, pregnant women can’t get a vaccination at the moment,” the Prime Minister said.

Johnson suggested that whether someone’s vaccine status, any possible immunity after having recovered from the virus or a negative test “could work together” in a possible certification scheme.

More than 28.6 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

Experts have warned Britain is “still not out of the woods” amid concerns over new variants and the risks of the public breaching restriction rules.

Also read:‘UK has exclusive deal with AstraZeneca’

Categories
-Top News COVID-19 UK News

‘UK has exclusive deal with AstraZeneca’

The UK and the EU also issued a joint statement on Wednesday evening, stating they were working on a “win-win situation” to “expand vaccine supply for all our citizens”…reports Asian Lite News.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Thursday the country has an “exclusive” contract with coronavirus vaccine developer AstraZeneca, while the European Union’s is based on a “best efforts” basis.

Hancock told the Financial Times that both sides were looking to resolve a dispute surrounding vaccine delivery, reports dpa news agency.

But he added the bloc should not try and suspend the export of vaccines from a site in the Netherlands to the UK, due to the nature of the contractual agreements they have with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant.

AstraZeneca vaccine

“I believe that free trading nations follow the law of contracts,” he told the newspaper on Thursday.

“They have a ‘best efforts’ contract and we have an exclusivity deal.

“Our contract trumps theirs. It’s called contract law — it’s very straightforward,” Hancock added.

On Wednesday, the EU tightened controls of its vaccine exports further, allowing shipments headed almost anywhere to be halted.

The move triggered warnings from the UK, a major recipient of EU-produced jabs.

Member states including Belgium and Ireland have voiced concern about the potential backlash to blockades.

The UK and the EU also issued a joint statement on Wednesday evening, stating they were working on a “win-win situation” to “expand vaccine supply for all our citizens”.

Also Read-EU revises vaccine export system

Read More-UK to fine £5,000 for holidaying abroad

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-Top News COVID-19 EU News

EU revises vaccine export system

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen makes a statement at an extraordinary European Parliament plenary session in Brussels, Belgium, July 23, 2020. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua/IANS)
The principle of reciprocity will be applied to non-EU countries having at their disposal a large production capacity…reports Asian Lite News.

The European Commission presented a revised version of its export transparency mechanism for Covid-19 vaccines, with Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis claiming that it does not constitute an export ban.

The mechanism takes aim at vaccines produced in European Union (EU)-based facilities of pharmaceutical companies that are bound by an advance purchase agreement (APA) with the EU. The new version includes two new criteria — reciprocity and proportionality — for assessing whether these vaccines can be exported to non-EU countries, according to Dombrovskis, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

The principle of reciprocity will be applied to non-EU countries having at their disposal a large production capacity. The European Commission and the EU member states will examine if the flow of imports and exports of vaccine and vaccine substances between the bloc and destination country is even.

Proportionality is about finding the right balance, the commissioner explained. The European Commission and the member states will take into account the specific situation of the country of destination, including its vaccination rate and the existing availability of Covid-19 vaccines.

AstraZeneca vaccine

Vaccine exports towards low- and middle-income countries covered by the COVAX (Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access) facility remain exempted.

Put in place on January 30, the export and transparency mechanism was launched when the EU argued that some pharmaceutical companies failed to honor their commitments to deliver the promised amount of doses to the EU countries but still could export vaccines from their EU-based facilities.

Originally due to expire on March 12, the mechanism has been extended until June 30.

(Photo: Pallav Paliwal)

A total of 381 export requests have been introduced by pharmaceutical companies bound by an APA with the EU, and only one has been declined.

AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish vaccine manufacturer, had applied to export 250,000 doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to Australia, while falling behind its delivery schedule for the EU.

“I remind you that AstraZeneca has only delivered a small portion of its agreed contractual commitments,” Dombrovskis said.

Also Read-EU leaders summit turns digital

Read More-EU sanctions China over Uighur abuses

Categories
-Top News COVID-19

‘Pfizer vax less potent against S. African variant’

For the study, the research team looked at the effectiveness of the vaccine against the original viral strain, the UK and the South African variants, as well as strains that harbour combined changes in the viral spike…reports Asian Lite News

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is moderately less effective against the South African variant, suggests a study.

The findings, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, showed that the vaccine is effective against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and the UK variant, but provides weakened protection against the South African variant and the combined UK-South African variants.

“Our findings show that future variants could necessitate a modified vaccine as the virus mutates to increase its infectivity,” said researcher Ran Taubea from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

For the study, the research team looked at the effectiveness of the vaccine against the original viral strain, the UK and the South African variants, as well as strains that harbour combined changes in the viral spike.

They are continuing to test other circulating variants as they constantly emerge with the hope to identify potentially risky mutations that can compromise the vaccine, the study indicated.

The research team also compared neutralising antibody levels following administration of one and two doses of the vaccine, as opposed to levels in patients that have recovered from Covid-19.A

The team found that vaccination provided optimal levels of protection, when compared to the lower levels of protection that were observed in recovered patients.

A recent study, published in the journal Nature, also indicated that Covid-19 vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech significantly appear less effective against the Covid variant that first emerged in South Africa.
Also read:EU warns of vaccine export curbs