(Bloomberg) – According to an official of the World Health Organization, the pandemic is on the wrong track after six consecutive weeks of heightened cases, saying: “vaccines will not end the pandemic.”
According to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, the U.S. recorded four million doses of vaccinations on Friday, bringing the rate of vaccinations almost back to the level before a quiet holiday. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said they would ask regulators in the U.S. and elsewhere to allow the use of their vaccine in teens ages 12 to 15.
The European Union’s drug regulator has launched an investigation to determine blood clots in people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. A Johns Hopkins University professor said the inclusion of AstraZeneca Plc is still ‘safe’, although some states restrict its use.
Important developments:
Global Tracker: business passes 134.5 million; deaths 2.9 million Vaccinator: More than 748 million shots given worldwide WHO chief says political will lacks for fair vaccination Europe finds rare success in its fight to defeat CovidChina’s attempt to lift vaccines hampered by supply shortages
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CureVac can win EU shot approval in May (10:04 am HK)
CureVac NV could already get European Union approval for its vaccine in May, earlier than expected, a German newspaper quoted a spokesman for the company.
“We are already well advanced in the third phase of clinical trials and are awaiting data for the final application package,” CureVac spokesman Thorsten Schueller told Augsburger Allgemeine. “We hope the approval will come in May or June.”
Among CureVac’s boosters is Elon Musk, who deleted a Twitter message on Friday, saying biotechnology was “a few months away from regulator approval.” ‘
Covid Hampers St. Vincent Evacuation (07:33 HK)
Covid-19 hampers efforts to evacuate people from the eastern Caribbean island of St. Louis. To evacuate Vincent, where the La Soufriere volcano began erupting Friday morning.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, said efforts were being made to relocate an estimated 20,000 residents living near the volcano. But the pandemic is causing delays. Hotels being turned into refugee centers are asking people to be vaccinated, a request that Gonsalves says is “not unreasonable.”
US Vaccines Climb (07:05 HK)
According to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, the U.S. recorded four million doses of vaccinations on Friday, bringing the rate of vaccinations almost back to the level before a quiet holiday.
It was the third consecutive day of increases, with the average of seven days now being 3.03 million doses per day. To date, 179 million doses have been administered. At this rate, it is expected to take another three months to cover 75% of the population.
Brazil’s health agency meets ambassadors (06:54 HK)
Antonio Barra Torres, the head of the Brazilian health regulator, met with the Russian ambassador to Brazil, Alexey Labetskiy, to clarify the pending issues for the approval of the Sputnik V vaccine. Torres addressed the requests for import and emergency use of Sputnik V, emphasizing that the agency is awaiting compliance with legal requirements to proceed with the analysis.
In a separate video conference with the Indian Ambassador to Brazil, Suresh Reddy, Torres discussed ways for the government agencies of both countries to work together and improve the exchange of information regarding the Covaxin vaccine.
J&J symptoms are not a cause for concern (17:37 NY)
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with health departments in four states to evaluate symptoms experienced after Johnson & Johnson vaccinations but “found no cause for concern,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“A lot of people have no side effects to Covid-19 vaccines, but some people have pain or swelling at the injection site or fever, chills or headache,” spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said. “It usually does not last long and is a sign that your body is building up protection.”
She said the states are Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia and Iowa. Symptoms include: “dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, rapid breathing and sweating.” She said the CDC “is aware of other cases of these symptoms occurring with the other Covid-19 vaccines.”
Ireland extends quarantine list (17:13 NY)
People traveling to Ireland from next week, including the US and France, will have to be quarantined for 14 days from next week, the Irish Ministry of Health said. From 15 April, travelers from the countries will be met on their arrival in Ireland and brought to a hotel for two weeks at their own expense. The quarantine can be shortened if someone tests negative after ten days.
Ireland already requires passengers arriving from more than 50 countries to stay in these hotels, while travelers coming from other countries must take a negative test within three days of their trip and self-quarantine. A total of 16 countries, including Canada and Belgium, were added to the list on Friday, while three, including Israel, will be removed.
Colorado hit by ‘Fourth Wave’ (17:00 NY)
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the state was hit by a “fourth wave” of coronavirus, which sent hospitalizations to 404, the highest since Feb. 19. Most Covid-19 hospital patients are in the 18-50 age group, a development of ‘Big Alarm’, Police said during a news conference in Denver on Friday. Colorado has sufficient hospital capacity to handle the new wave, he said.
Astra must be in ‘Toolkit’: JHU (15:10 NY)
AstraZeneca’s vaccine has a “communication problem” rather than a “scientific” problem, said Lauren Sauer, associate professor of emergency at Johns Hopkins University, in a Bloomberg Radio interview. The vaccine can help in areas where the community is spreading, especially among the elderly.
“It’s just another tool in our toolkit and part of it is about the potential risk of these rare events,” Sauer said. “But we know it’s generally safe and effective, especially in our older population.”
The German Paul Ehrlich Institute said it now counted 42 cases of a rare type of blood clot from the brain in people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca shot. The cases, in addition to seven, were in women aged 20 to 63, the drug safety oversight body said. Doctors also found a low platelet count in 23 of the cases. Eight people were killed.
France reaches vaccine record (14:23 NY)
France administered 510,267 doses of vaccine on Friday, bringing the total number of shots fired since the vaccination campaign to 14.1 million. The country is accelerating vaccinations after a slow start as it fights against the revival of the virus. The government has reported 41,243 new cases and 301 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Illinois Cases Jump (13:50 NY)
Illinois, like many of its neighbors in the Middle East, sees cases jump, even as daily vaccinations are accelerated to stop the pandemic. Confirmed and probable cases on Friday rose to 4,004, the highest since late January, as the number of daily vaccinations, according to the state Department of Public Health, rose to a record 164,462. Vaccine consent will be extended to all residents aged 16 and over on April 12.
Germany reported to Weigh Curfews (13:39 NY)
Germany’s first draft of an agreement between federal and state officials for unified nationwide lockdown rules to curb Covid-19 infections has a curfew and business closure, Business Insider reports.
According to the report, an evening clock would have occurred from 21:00 to 05:00 when the local prevalence of seven days rises above 100 infections per 100,000 people.
Pfizer seeks approval for young teens (13:15 NY)
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE have said they will ask regulators in the US and elsewhere to allow the use of their Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age.
The companies said in a statement that they had called on the US Food and Drug Administration to extend the authorization for the use of the vaccine and that they intended to seek similar rulings from other regulators worldwide in the coming days.
If the requests are granted, it could pave the way for many more school children to be vaccinated before the next school year.
Italy Relax Restrictions (11:31 am NY)
Italy eased restrictions on closure and lifted the curbs that weighed heavily on the economy in the vicinity of Milan and across the country as the latest virus revival slowed.
Health Minister Roberto Speranza will sign a decision later on Friday to move six regions classified as a high-risk ‘red’ area to a medium-risk ‘orange’ status, his office said. a statement said.
Michigan seeks help amid boom (10:35 NY)
Governor Gretchen Whitmer asked Michiganders to voluntarily stop social activities for two weeks and asked the federal government to prioritize additional vaccines to the state, to help slow the spread at the hottest Covid-19 site in the country.
The U.S. needs a program that assigns additional vaccines to countries experiencing swelling, Whitmer said Friday at a press briefing. Meanwhile, she called on high schools to move on to distance education, dinner to avoid indoor seating and youth sports to suspend games and exercises.
WHO warns against Covid track (08:24 NY)
The pandemic is on the wrong track after six weeks in a row with an increase in cases and deaths, according to Maria van Kerkhove, the chief technical officer of the World Health Organization on Covid-19.
“Vaccines will not end the pandemic,” she told a news conference, adding that physical distance, wearing masks, avoiding crowds and working from home are tools that go hand in hand with vaccinating vaccines. .
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