Concerns about more contagious variants of the coronavirus continue to shape governments’ responses to the pandemic, despite stabilizing or declining infection rates as Europe struggles with a slow explosion of the vaccine.
The Dutch government on Tuesday extended a national exclusion until March 2, with a re-evaluation on February 23, in response to new strains of the coronavirus. The extension of the lock-up, which was introduced on December 19, comes despite a slight improvement in the health situation in the country.
Dutch primary schools and day care centers will reopen on Monday, which means that almost 2 million young children will re-educate themselves.
In Germany, federal and regional governments will meet on February 10 to discuss a possible extension of the current exclusion, which expires on February 14.
The country has seen a steady decline in infections since mid-January, but increasing infections in isolated border areas are raising concerns that more contagious forms could spread.
Germany reported 9,705 new cases on Tuesday, up from 13,198 a week earlier, according to the Robert Koch Institute of Infectious Diseases. However, daily deaths remained high.
Like other members of the European Union, Germany struggled with low levels of vaccines. Christian Drosten, one of the leading virologists in the country, warned that the lack of vaccine means that Europe would not expect a significant relaxation in the closure before early April.
However, officials expect an increase in vaccine delivery in the second quarter of the year, when new production capacity is expected to come online.
Moderna Inc. will begin manufacturing its vaccine in France in March, Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. and BionNTech SE hired a French manufacturer to start producing with them in April.
Infections in France have increased this year, although the pace of increase has slowed this week.
French President Emmanuel Macron has promised that everyone in the country will have access to a vaccine before the end of the summer. Four sites in France will start manufacturing vaccines before the end of the month, he said.
The AstraZeneca vaccine will not be administered to people 65 years of age or older, according to recommendations from France’s leading health advisers, citing a lack of adequate information on its efficacy in the elderly. The decision runs the risk of complicating France’s vaccination campaign, as the British vaccine will have to immunize more nursing homes and people over the age of 75. Germany has made the same decision, drawing up a new list of priority recipients for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The countries’ guidelines differ from those given by the European Medicines Agency, which has approved the vaccine for use in all adults throughout the EU.
Professor Alain Fischer, who leads the French vaccine strategy, said that the Russian Sputnik V vaccine can be used in France if it is safe and effective and ‘if it is available at European level’. Russia is currently in talks with the European Medicines Agency over the approval of the shot in the EU.
Portugal, which is facing one of the worst outbreaks in the world, is receiving aid from Germany. On Wednesday, a German team of 26 health workers, including nine doctors, is expected to arrive in the country bringing 150 extra hospital beds, 50 ventilators and other medical equipment.
Over the past week, Portugal has recorded the most notorious cases and deaths per capita in the world, according to information collected by Our World In Data. In the past month alone, the country has recorded nearly 6,000 deaths in Covid-19, nearly half of the total recorded in the country since the pandemic began.
Scientists have said that the weakening of antivirus restrictions during the Christmas holidays and a more contagious variant of the virus are helping to explain the current crisis in Portugal. Portugal’s vaccination battle is also struggling to keep up with infections.