"COVID-19 Lockdown Exit Analysis" 19th Mar 2021
Overnight News Roundup
EU nations set to resume use of AstraZeneca vaccine after EMA regulators back shot
- The European Medicine's Agency (EMA) clear conclusion following an investigation into 30 cases of unusual blood disorders was that the AstraZeneca vaccine's benefits in protecting people from coronavirus-related deaths or hospitalisation outweighs the possible risks, though it said a link between blood clots in the brain and the shot could not be definitively ruled out.
- Germany, France and other European nations announced plans to resume using AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday after EU and British regulators moved to shore up confidence in the shot, saying its benefits outweigh the risks.
- Many governments had said the decision to pause inoculations was out of an abudance of caution. However, many health experts warned that political interference could unermine public confidence in vaccinations as governments struggle to tame more infectious virus variants.
- EMA said it would update its guidance on the AstraZeneca vaccine to include an explanation for patients about the potential risks and information for healthcare professionals. The World Health Organization this week also reaffirmed its support for the shot.
EU nations set to resume use of AstraZeneca vaccine after EMA regulators back shot
Germany, France among nations to resume use of AstraZeneca vaccine after regulators back shot
Germany, France and other European nations announced plans to resume using AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday after EU and British regulators moved to shore up confidence in the shot, saying its benefits outweigh the risks. Reports of rare brain blood clots had prompted more than a dozen nations to suspend use of the shot, the latest challenge for AstraZeneca’s ambition to produce a “vaccine for the world”, as the global death toll from the coronavirus passes 2.8 million. The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) “clear” conclusion following an investigation into 30 cases of unusual blood disorders was that the vaccine’s benefits in protecting people from coronavirus-related death or hospitalisation outweighs the possible risks, though it said a link between blood clots in the brain and the shot could not be definitively ruled out.
‘Safe and effective’: EU drug regulator backs AstraZeneca vaccine
The European Union drug regulator has said it has come to a “clear scientific conclusion” that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is “safe and effective” after several, mostly European, countries suspended its use following reports of blood clots among some recipients. Speaking during a news briefing on Thursday, Emer Cooke, head of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said the AstraZeneca vaccine “is not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots,” stressing once again that the jab’s benefits outweigh possible risks.
Taiwan clears AstraZeneca vaccine, shots might start on Monday
Taiwan has given regulatory approval to AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and might start giving the first inoculations as early as Monday, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said. Taiwan’s first vaccines – 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot – arrived on the island earlier this month.
India sticks to AstraZeneca vaccine ‘with full vigour’
India is not worried about some European Union countries suspending use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and will continue to roll out the shot in its huge immunisation programme “with full vigour”, a senior official said. The AstraZeneca shots are produced by India’s Serum Institute and known in the country as Covishield. The vaccine accounts for most of the 35 million coronavirus jabs administered in the country so far.
EU agency: AstraZeneca vaccine safe, will add clot warning
The European Union’s drug regulatory agency said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine doesn’t increase the overall incidence of blood clots and that the benefits of using it outweigh the possible risks, paving the way for European countries to resume dispensing the shots. France, Italy and Germany promptly announced they will start using the vaccine again on Friday. Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands said they will do so next week, though Spain said it might exclude certain groups to minimize any danger. More than a dozen nations around the world had suspended their use of the vaccine over the past week following reports of clots in a few dozen of the millions of people across Europe who have gotten the shot. The question was whether the vaccine had anything to do with the clots and whether any action needed to be taken.
UK regulator: People should keep getting AstraZeneca shots
British regulators said Thursday that people should keep getting AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine following its review of data on patients who suffered from blood clots after getting the shot. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said there’s no evidence that the vaccine causes blood clots in veins. A further review of five reports in the U.K. of a rare type of clot in the brain is continuing, but the condition, which can occur naturally, has been reported in less than 1 in a million people vaccinated so far and no causal link has been established, the agency said.
‘Benefits outweigh risk’: WHO says keep using AstraZeneca vaccine
Countries should continue to use the AstraZeneca vaccine, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, arguing its benefits outweigh any risks as the world continues to reel from the coronavirus pandemic. Hans Kluge, WHO director for Europe, made his appeal on Thursday after more than a dozen European countries stopped using the vaccine following scattered reports of blood clots as possible serious side effects.
European regulators say AstraZeneca vaccine safe, but can't rule out rare events
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) safety committee today released the conclusions of its preliminary probe of blood clotting reports in people who received the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine. The committee said immunization benefits still outweigh the risks, but may be linked to extremely rare cases of clots linked to low blood platelets, especially in those younger than 55. The eagerly awaited findings come in the wake of vaccine program suspensions in nearly 20 countries, mostly in Europe. Countries such as Austria, Norway, and Germany reported a small number of suspected side effects, prompting the pauses, ordered mainly as a precaution during the EMA's investigation. The problem is the latest hurdle in Europe's fight against COVID-19, with the region grappling with vaccine supply problems and it faces the rapid spread of more transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Europe endorses AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine's safety amid blood clot concerns
After a tough few days for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the European Medicines Agency offered fresh backing for the shot’s safety on Thursday. But after reviewing cases of rare blood clots, the agency couldn't definitively rule out the risk. The regulator reached a “clear scientific conclusion” that the AZ shot is “safe and effective,” EMA executive director Emer Cooke said during a briefing. The protection the shot offers against COVID-19 “outweighs possible risks,” she said. With thousands dying from COVID-19 in Europe, it's critical to continue vaccinations, Cooke added.
Are there global vaccine supply chain issues?
Lockdown easing could be delayed due to vaccine shortages, says expert
The easing of lockdown restrictions in the UK could get delayed due to the shortage of Covid-19 vaccines and its ripple effects could last for months, an expert has cautioned. Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, stated that the reasons for the delay are unknown but “it will undoubtedly make the meeting of the target dates for lifting restrictions more difficult than they otherwise would have been.” "By pushing back the under-50s first doses, their second doses are also being pushed back. If full vaccination becomes required for holidays abroad or even more mundane things like going to the cinema, millions of younger people may end up being excluded from participating for the whole summer,” said Dr Clarke, while adding that the “ripple effects could last for months.”
COVID-19: Pfizer and AstraZeneca deny domestic coronavirus vaccine shortage
Drugs giants Pfizer and AstraZeneca have rejected an NHS claim that the UK is facing a COVID-19 vaccine shortage, insisting there is no threat to supplies. The two leading vaccine manufacturers both said they remain on course to meet their delivery commitments and denied they were facing disruption in supplies. Their defiant statements appeared to contradict a letter to vaccination centres from NHS England warning there will be a "significant reduction" in supplies next month. The jabs crisis coincided with a threat by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to block vaccine exports to the UK, where 25 million adults have now had their first jab.
Covid-19 vaccine shortages due to problems in AstraZeneca’s global supply chain, says Nadhim Zahawi
The hit to supplies of Covid-19 jabs in Britain is due to problems in AstraZeneca’s global supply chain, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said today. He appeared to suggest that it was more than just an issue related to deliveries from a production centre in India. Speaking on BBC CWR (Coventry and Warwickshire), he said: “The production for AstraZeneca in the UK has been excellent...but again that also needed to scale up which is happening. We depend on their obviously global supply chain as well and that has been a little bit slower to come through. Pfizer are doing really well.”
Vaccination race is a lesson in a country's appetite for risk
Global vax race is lesson in risk appetites
Indeed, the past week has seen a maelstrom of panicked responses from European leaders that will slow their vaccination efforts, swinging from overblown concerns about possible jab side effects to existential dread about their scarcity. Germany, Spain, France and Italy halted AstraZeneca shots pending additional safety checks over reports the vaccine had caused blood clots in some recipients, even though the World Health Organization and European Medicines Agency continued to vouch for its safety. On Thursday the EMA reiterated “the benefits still outweigh the risks” associated with the vaccine.
Biden to beat his first 100 day vaccination target in days
Biden set to hit goal of 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots in first 100 days over a month ahead of schedule
President Joe Biden is poised to hit a top goal he set for his first 100 days in the White House - 100 million vaccine shots in the arms of Americans - as early as Thursday, NBC News White House correspondent Geoff Bennett reported. Before he was inaugurated, Biden underscored the importance of ramping up the pace of vaccination in the US. In early December, he unveiled a three-part plan to crush COVID-19 in his first 100 days - including complete 100 million vaccine shots. Biden's 100th day in office will be April 30, which means he's set to hit this goal over a month ahead of schedule.
In major milestone, US on cusp of 100 million COVID-19 shots
The United States will have administered 100 million COVID-19 vaccinations as of Friday, President Joe Biden announced Thursday, reaching a self-imposed milestone six weeks ahead of schedule. On December 8, Biden made the goal of administering 100 million doses in his first 100 days, a goal set before the US had even one authorised vaccine for COVID-19, let alone the three that have now received emergency authorisation.
Renewed lockdown likely
Philippines says wider lockdown possible as coronavirus infections spike
A wider lockdown in the Philippines cannot be ruled out if its surge in COVID-19 infections continues, its health minister said on Wednesday, as authorities announced strict curbs on international arrivals to arrest the virus spread. The government is facing renewed criticism over its handling of the epidemic after a jump in coronavirus cases - nearly 20,000 in the past four days - a year after it imposed one of the world's strictest and longest lockdowns. Officials attribute the spike to a relaxing of some mobility restrictions to allow people to return to work and revive the economy after a 9.5% contraction last year, Southeast Asia's deepest economic slump.
Paris goes into lockdown as COVID-19 variant rampages
France imposed a month-long lockdown on Paris and parts of the north after a faltering vaccine rollout and spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants forced President Emmanuel Macron to shift course. Since late January, when he defied the calls of scientists and some in his government to lock the country down, Macron has said he would do whatever it took to keep the euro zone’s second largest economy as open as possible. However, this week he ran out of options just as France and other European countries briefly suspended use of the AstraZenca vaccine. His prime minister, Jean Castex, said France was in the grip of a third wave, with the virulent variant first detected in Britain now accounting for some 75% of cases. Intensive care wards are under severe strain, notably in Paris where the incidence rate surpasses 400 infections in every 100,000 inhabitants.
Ukrainian capital Kyiv to go into strict lockdown for three weeks - mayor
The Ukrainian capital Kyiv will go into a strict lockdown for three weeks from March 20 to contain the spread of the coronavirus, mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Thursday. Theatres and shopping centres will be closed, spectators banned from sporting events, cafes and restaurants can only provide takeaway food, schools will introduce remote learning and all state employees will work from home, he said.
‘Afraid this won’t end’: Italy in grips of fresh COVID crisis
The hilly avenues in Ancona, an Italian port city on the Adriatic coast, are eerily devoid of traffic. On an ordinary sunny day, the city centre would be buzzing with people. But with a “red zone” declared on Monday across half of Italy’s 20 regions, there are just a few lone strollers around. On Thursday, Italy is marking a day of remembrance for COVID-19 victims, a year after the world watched in horror as a line of army trucks transported coffins out of the city of Bergamo for cremation. While that was the peak of the Italian tragedy, the pandemic is far from a distant memory. Under the strictest COVID-19 restrictions again, non-essential shops are shut and citizens are barred from meeting friends and family from outside their household bubble. Measures remain severe in the other half of the country too, with the island of Sardinia the only exception.
COVID-19: India 'will face trouble' if action not taken to stem latest coronavirus wave, PM Modi warns
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned "we will face trouble" if immediate action is not taken to prevent a new surge of coronavirus cases from getting out of control. Mr Modi has urged all chief ministers of the country's states to take quick and decisive steps to stop the second peak of COVID-19 as the number of nationwide infections reached 11.44 million. He said: "If we do not stop the pandemic right now, then there will be a nationwide break. We have to take immediate steps to stop the emerging second peak. Or else we will face trouble."
Brazil struggles with lack of ICU doctors as pandemic worsens
As Brazil’s coronavirus outbreak spirals out of control, the country is facing a dangerous new shortage, threatening to drive fatalities even higher: a lack of staff in intensive care units. ome medical professionals are burned out after months of grueling, soul-sapping work. Others are simply unable to keep up with the endless flow of critical COVID-19 patients pushing the country’s healthcare system to the brink. “Intensive care doctors are a commodity in short supply,” César Eduardo Fernandes, the president of the Brazilian Medical Association (AMB) told Reuters on Wednesday. “There’s no way to meet this brutal, catastrophic demand.”
Lockdown easing could be delayed due to vaccine shortages, says expert
Lockdown easing could be delayed due to vaccine shortages, says expert
The easing of lockdown restrictions in the UK could get delayed due to the shortage of Covid-19 vaccines and its ripple effects could last for months, an expert has cautioned. Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, stated that the reasons for the delay are unknown but “it will undoubtedly make the meeting of the target dates for lifting restrictions more difficult than they otherwise would have been.” "By pushing back the under-50s first doses, their second doses are also being pushed back. If full vaccination becomes required for holidays abroad or even more mundane things like going to the cinema, millions of younger people may end up being excluded from participating for the whole summer,” said Dr Clarke, while adding that the “ripple effects could last for months.”
Covid-19 testing will become 'permanent feature of life', documents reveal
Covid-19 testing will become 'permanent feature of life', documents reveal
Covid-19 testing is likely to become a “permanent feature” of life in Scotland, government documents reveal. A new strategy sets out plans to keep testing people with symptoms beyond the threat of the pandemic. A £13 million genomic sequencing centre is being set up to help swiftly identify variants which may cause fresh outbreaks or beat vaccines. Nicola Sturgeon announced details of the laboratory, saying it would be able to sequence up to 1,000 samples a day. Scotland presently has to send some samples to England to find out details of the viral strain.
India coronavirus: Concerns mount over high levels of vaccine wastage
India coronavirus: Concerns mount over high levels of vaccine wastage
More than two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have gone to waste during India’s national inoculation drive, leading some officials to call on the public to cherish the “elixir-like, precious commodity”. On Wednesday, Indian health officials highlighted that about 6.5 per cent of all doses delivered to the front line have been wasted. Concerns are such that prime minister Narendra Modi spoke out over the issue, demanding immediate steps to tackle the problem and stating that “we are denying somebody’s rights because of this wastage”.
Fighting the disinformation plague
Google removed more than 99 million malicious Covid-19 ads in 2020, figures show
Google blocked or removed more than three billion adverts for violating its policies in 2020, including more than 99 million linked to the coronavirus pandemic, the company has revealed. The internet company’s annual Ads Safety Report showed it suspended 1.7 million advertiser accounts for breaking Google rules. It said a major revamp of its advertising policies, including the addition or updating of more than 40 rules for both advertisers and publishers had meant a drastic increase in the number of ads removed over the last 12 months. Among the 3.1 billion adverts removed were over 99 million related to Covid-19, many for misleading claims such as miracle cures or fake vaccine doses, but also ads for N95 masks during supply shortages
Risks of COVID-19 reinfection
Covid-19 reinfections are rare, unless you are over 65
Coronavirus reinfections are rare, but it's more common for people 65 and older to get infected more than once, according to a study published Wednesday in the Lancet medical journal. The study, which looked at reinfection rates among 4 million people in Denmark, found that most people who have had Covid-19 seemed to have protection from reinfection for more than six months. In a follow-up after six months, the study found no evidence that protection was waning. But a check of the demographics of who was getting infected again showed it was mostly people 65 and older, Jen Christensen reports.
Older adults more apt to get COVID-19 reinfection, study finds
While uncommon, COVID-19 reinfections happen, especially in people 65 years and older—underscoring the importance of continued physical distancing and prioritization for vaccines even in previously infected people, a large observational study yesterday in The Lancet suggests. Researchers at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark, analyzed data on 10.6 million SARS-CoV-2 tests from 4 million Danes (69% of the population) from that country's second COVID-19 surge, from Sep 1 to Dec 31, 2020. They then compared them with infection rates from residents with positive or negative tests during the first surge, March to May, 2020.
Worries about new variants
Feds halt Eli Lilly's solo antibody rollout in 3 states on worries about local coronavirus variant
Throughout the rollout of COVID-19 antibodies, Eli Lilly and federal officials have been contending with lower-than-expected uptake. Now, they’re dealing with variants. Officials stopped distributing Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab in three states—California, Arizona and Nevada—because of worries about a variant there, the company confirmed. FDA acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., shared the info during an American Medical Association webinar Wednesday, first reported by Endpoints News. A Lilly spokesperson said the company recognizes “the U.S. government has made the decision to no longer allow direct ordering of bamlanivimab alone in California, Arizona and Nevada due to concerns about the prevalence of the 'California' variant."
Why more transmissible variants of COVID-19 can be as worrisome as more deadly ones
New variants of the novel coronavirus have been emerging all over the world. Some are more transmissible and potentially deadlier. And versions of the virus that are more contagious can actually end up causing more deaths than those with higher mortality rates.
AstraZeneca and Pfizer Covid vaccines more effective against Brazilian variant than initially feared
Oxford University suggested jabs just as effective against P.1 as Kent variant
Scientists initially feared P.1 would be jab resistant because of its mutations
So far been 12 cases of Brazilian variant – nine in England and three in Scotland
Existing COVID vaccines may protect against Brazil strain: Study
Existing vaccines may protect against the Brazilian variant of the coronavirus, according to a University of Oxford study which also highlighted how a variant first found in South Africa poses the biggest headache for vaccine makers. Coronavirus variants with specific mutations to the spike protein are of concern because scientists worry they will reduce the efficacy of vaccines, as well as immunity gained from prior infection.
More dying of Covid-19 now in Europe than in first wave as UK variant takes hold
More people are dying of Covid-19 now in Europe than during March 2020, the World Health Organization has warned. The WHO's emergencies lead in Europe, Dr Catherine Smallwood, said she was "particularly worried" about the situation in the Balkans, the Baltic States and Central Europe, where hospitalisations and deaths are among the highest in the world. The numbers of new cases per million people are also rising so fast that in some countries - notably Estonia, Bosnia, Hungary and Poland - the graphs tracking the virus point almost vertically upwards.
Experts said that the combination of the spread of the more transmissible UK variant coupled with slow government reactions, as well as a lack of vaccinations in some countries, could all be contributing to the spiking numbers and Europe's looming third wave.
Next generation COVID-19 vaccines
J&J developing several next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, says CEO
Johnson & Johnson is developing several next generation COVID-19 vaccines against the emerging variants of the coronavirus, Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky said on Thursday. The drugmaker, which won the U.S. emergency use authorization of a one-shot vaccine last month, had previously said it was developing a second-generation vaccine that would target the variant first identified in South Africa. J&J is also working on a two-dose version of its vaccine. "We could be in a situation where you could either need a booster to maintain the durability (of protection against the virus) or you might need to have a next derivative of the current vaccine to address these variants as they develop", Gorsky said at a webinar by the Economic Club of New York.