Africa needs 20 million Astra shots by July for second doses

This March 20, 2021, photo shows a vial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca anti-COVID-19 vaccine in Belgrade, Serbia. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG)

BRUSSELS / BERLIN / WASHINGTON / LONDON / HARARE / HAVANA / LA PAZ / SANTIAGO / BRASILIA / TUNIS / BUENOS AIRES / PARIS / MOSCOW / WINDHOEK / DUBLIN – African nations will need 20 million AstraZeneca Plc coronavirus vaccines by mid-July to complete the immunization of people who’ve had the first dose of the shots, the World Health Organization said.

A further 200 million doses are needed for the continent to vaccinate 10 percent of its population by September, WHO Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said in an online briefing on Thursday.

“Any pause in our vaccination campaigns will lead to lost lives and hope,” Moeti said. “We’re calling for countries to share the vaccines they don’t use to share those as an urgent, critical and short-term solution.”

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 4,788,216 as of Thursday noon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll from the pandemic stands at 129,345 while 4,335,780 patients across the continent have recovered from the disease.

Ireland

Ireland’s health minister said on Thursday it was unclear whether enough supplies of COVID-19 vaccines would arrive in the country by the end of June to meet the government’s target of administering at least one dose to 82 percent of all adults.

Half of Ireland’s 3.8 million adult population will have received at least one dose by the end of this week, Stephen Donnelly told parliament. But he cautioned that there was continued uncertainty around the arrival of AstraZeneca and in particular Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Ireland had been due to receive 600,000 shots of Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose Janssen vaccine in the April-June period but only 26,400 shots had been delivered as of May 9, with the vast majority set to be delivered next month.

Ireland has mostly relied on Pfizer Inc-BioNTech, while supplies of the other vaccines ramp up, and Donnelly said there were no issues with its supply.

Britain

British health minister Matt Hancock on Thursday rejected allegations he had repeatedly lied during his response to the COVID-19 pandemic made by Dominic Cummings, the former top aide of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“These allegations that were put yesterday … are serious allegations,” Hancock said in response to a question from the opposition Labour Party in parliament on Cummings’ testimony.

“I welcome the opportunity to come to the House (of Commons) to put formally on the record that these unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true, and that I’ve been straight with people in public and in private throughout.”

In this photo Nov 30, 2020 file photo, the logo of French drug maker Sanofi is picture at the company's headquarters in Paris. (THIBAULT CAMUS / AP)

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline

France's Sanofi and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline launched a late-stage human trial for a recombinant COVID-19 vaccine candidate on Thursday which they hope to get approved by the end of 2021.

The study initiated by Sanofi and GSK is one of the first late stage trials that combines tests for boosters and variants, as drugmakers adapt their strategies to deal with an evolving coronavirus.

The two drugmakers, which earlier this month reported positive interim results, confirmed their double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III study would include more than 35,000 adults in the United States, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

"The design of the Phase III, conducted across a broad diversity of geographies, also allows evaluation of the efficacy of the candidate against a variety of circulating variants," the French drugmaker said in a statement.

Pending a positive phase III outcome, the vaccine could be approved in the fourth quarter after it was initially targeted for the first half of the year before a setback.

Global tally

Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 168.45 million while the global death toll topped 3.49 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil

Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga announced on Wednesday that the government is set to sign a contract with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca next week to produce the active ingredient to make the vaccine against COVID-19.

According to the minister, the contract signing should take place on June 1 in a ceremony that will be attended by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and then the product will be manufactured by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro.

Meanwhile, a traveler arriving in Brazil has been diagnosed with the coronavirus variant first discovered in India, Sao Paulo health officials said on Wednesday, stoking concerns that it could further fuel one of the world's deadliest outbreaks.

Sao Paulo health authorities said they requested a complete list of the passengers on the flight coming from India, as well as the names of all airport staff and other people who may have had contact with the passenger, for monitoring and isolation.

The 32-year-old patient, a resident of Campos dos Goytacazes in Rio de Janeiro state, landed at Guarulhos International Airport near Sao Paulo on May 22, state officials said.

The passenger was tested on arrival for COVID-19, but by the time Sao Paulo authorities were informed of the positive result, he had flown to Rio de Janeiro, according to a statement from state officials.

France

France on Wednesday declared a mandatory quarantine period for people coming from Britain, due to the increasing prevalence there of a highly contagious coronavirus variant first detected in India.

France follows Austria, which said on Tuesday it was banning direct flights and tourist visits from Britain, and Germany, which said on Friday that anyone entering from the UK would have to quarantine for two weeks on arrival.

“There is a new situation with the progression of the so-called Indian variant in the United Kingdom,” said government spokesman Gabriel Attal. “(France) will set up compulsory isolation for people coming from the United Kingdom.”

The isolation will need to last seven days, Clement Beaune, France’s junior minister for European Affairs, said on Twitter, adding visitors would also need to present a COVID-19 test carried out less than 48 hours before departure.

The French government’s announcement will be a blow to parts of the beleaguered tourism industry, which is desperate for a return to normal business ahead of the peak summer season.

Meanwhile, France's average daily number of new COVID-19 cases fell to its lowest level since mid-September while the number of people being treated for the virus in hospital continued to decline, official data showed on Wednesday.

The daily figure, averaged out over seven days, fell below 10,000, down from a 2021 high of over 42,000 in mid-April.

New confirmed infections rose by 12,646 over the past 24 hours to a cumulative 5.62 million since the start of the pandemic, a slower pace of growth than a week ago, when they rose by 19,000. Four weeks ago the figure was 31,000.

European Union

Europe’s medicines regulator said on Thursday there was insufficient evidence to support use of inhaled corticosteroids to treat patients with COVID-19, but said there was enough data at present to continue usage of dexamethasone.

The European Medicines Agency said although its COVID-19 taskforce had not found any safety risks so far for the corticosteroids, it could not exclude the possibility of harm in patients who have normal oxygen levels.

An ongoing spat between the European Union (EU) and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca over the latter's alleged contract breach is being decided at a Brussels court on Wednesday.

The EU seeks big fines issued to AstraZeneca over an alleged breach of a contract concluded last summer, in which supplies of COVID-19 vaccines that were promised to all 27 member states failed to deliver.

During an emergency hearing, the EU accused AstraZeneca of postponing deliveries so the Anglo-Swedish company could service Britain and other countries.

If the company is found guilty, it will be forced to take certain measures to make up for delays in manufacturing and supplying vaccine doses to the bloc.

Specifically, the EU has claimed that the terms agreed in the contract have not been respected, and AstraZeneca failed to implement a viable strategy to ensure supplies of the vaccine were delivered on time in full.

According to the EU, AstraZeneca delivered only 30 million doses to the bloc in the first quarter of 2021, despite promising 300 million doses throughout 2021.

Germany

German researchers on Wednesday said that based on laboratory research, they believed they have found the cause of the rare but serious blood clotting events among some people who received COVID-19 vaccines made by AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson.

The researchers, in a study not yet reviewed by experts, said COVID-19 vaccines that employ adenovirus vectors – cold viruses used to deliver vaccine material – send some of their payload into the nucleus of cells, where some of the instructions for making coronavirus proteins can be misread. The resulting proteins could potentially trigger blood clot disorders in a small number of recipients, they suggest.

Scientists and US and European drug regulators have been searching for an explanation for what is causing the rare but potentially deadly clots accompanied by low blood platelet counts, which have led some countries to halt or limit use of the AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines. read more Other scientists have suggested competing theories for the clotting condition.

Researchers at the Goethe-University of Frankfurt and other sites explained in their paper that vaccines using a different technology known as messenger RNA (mRNA), such as those developed by BioNTech SE with partner Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc, deliver the genetic material of the coronavirus spike protein only to fluid found inside cells, not to the nucleus of the cells.

United States

The US Food and Drug Administration gave an emergency use authorization to the antibody treatment developed by Vir Biotechnology and GlaxoSmithKline for treating mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in people aged 12 years and older.

The antibody drug, Sotrovimab, is not authorized for patients who are hospitalized due to COVID-19 or require oxygen therapy, the health regulator said on Wednesday. 

Sotrovimab belongs to a class of drugs called monoclonal antibodies, which mimic natural antibodies that the body generates to fight off infection.

The antibody treatment will be available for COVID-19 patients in the coming weeks, GSK and Vir said, adding that they plan to submit a marketing application to the FDA in the second half of 2021.

Similar COVID-19 therapies by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly have been authorized for emergency use in the United States.

The European Union's drug regulator last week backed the use of Sotrovimab for COVID-19 patients who were at risk of severe disease and do not need supplemental oxygen.

ALSO READ: Ex-chief adviser: UK PM failed 'disastrously' in virus crisis

In this photo dated April 30, 2021, a pharmacist fills a syringe from a vial of the Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, COVID-19 vaccine at the Vaccine Village in Antwerp, Belgium. (VIRGINIA MAYO / FILE / AP)

Belgium

Belgium said on Wednesday it was suspending vaccinations with Johnson & Johnson's Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for people under the age of 41 following the first death in Europe from severe side-effects associated with the shot.

"The Inter-ministerial conference has decided to temporarily administer Janssen's vaccine to the general population from the age of 41 years, pending a more detailed benefit-risk analysis by the EMA (European Medicines Agency)," Belgium's health minister and seven regional counterparts said in a statement.

The EMA, the European Union's medicines regulator, said it was reviewing the "first fatal report" of a 37 year old woman in Belgium who had suffered from a blood clot with low platelets, a condition previously associated with the shot.

It added it had asked the US drugmaker to carry out a series of additional studies to assess a possible link between the shot and the rare clotting condition.

The woman died on May 21 after being admitted to hospital with severe thrombosis and platelet deficiency, the ministry's statement said.

She was vaccinated through her employer, outside of the official Belgian vaccination campaign.

Belgium has so far administered about 40,000 J&J shots, with 80 percent of those to people over 45 years old, the statement said.

The Janssen one-dose vaccine is primarily used in Belgium for home vaccination of the elderly and a number of vulnerable groups including the homeless and undocumented migrants.

Zimbabwe

Hospitals and clinics in the second largest city of Bulawayo are now only inoculating people seeking their second dose of COVID-19 vaccines due to shortages, an official said Wednesday.

Bulawayo Provincial Medical Director Welcome Mlilo confirmed the development, which he attributed to an increase in the number of people seeking the vaccines.

Mlilo said the massive awareness campaign rolled out by the government has been effective in getting locals to take up the jabs.

Bulawayo City Council Director of Health Services Edwin Sibanda said they had been promised more vaccines from other provinces where there was a surplus of vaccines.

Cuba

Cuba reported on Wednesday 1,129 COVID-19 infections and 11 more deaths in one day, bringing the totals to 136,628 cases and 912 deaths, the Ministry of Public Health said.

"We cannot see the effects of vaccination yet since it has not advanced enough," the ministry's director of hygiene and epidemiology Francisco Duran said in his daily report.

The official pointed out that of the total number of new cases, 1,073 were from community transmission in the country's 15 provinces.

Havana registered 453 new COVID-19 infections in the last day and continues to be the epicenter of the pandemic, with an incidence rate of 436.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest on the Caribbean island.

Bolivia

Bolivia expanded its mass vaccination against COVID-19 to younger age groups in order to speed up the campaign, amid record numbers of infections in recent days.

"The government has decided to broaden the mass vaccination campaign to include people over 40 years of age starting today," Vice Minister of Epidemiological Promotion and Surveillance Maria Renee Castro announced on Wednesday.

Currently, 55,000 people are being immunized per day without overcrowding, the official said, which is why the health ministry decided to extend it to a younger age group and the public transportation sector.

Chile

Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris reported on Wednesday 5,176 new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, for a total of 1,344,618 cases.

Meanwhile, 39 more deaths were also recorded in the past day, bringing the total to 28,624.

ALSO READ: Brazil's virus chaos sparks fear, countermeasures from neighbors

Tunisia

Tunisia reported on Wednesday 1,324 new COVID-19 cases and 56 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 338,853 and the death toll to 12,398, according to the Ministry of Health.

Earlier in the day, the Tunisian government announced that the compulsory quarantine for arrivals from abroad will be lifted starting June 1, provided that they present a qualified COVID-19 vaccination certificate that proves full doses have been administered.

Argentina

Argentina reported 35,399 new COVID-19 cases, taking the national tally to 3,622,135, the Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The ministry said that 532 more deaths were reported, bringing the death toll to 75,588.

There are currently 365,259 active cases with 6,644 patients in intensive care units, said the ministry.

Slovakia

Slovakia gave a limited go-ahead for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine on Wednesday after a months-long debate that led to the resignation of the prime minister.

The decision puts Slovakia on course to become only the second EU member after Hungary to use the Russian vaccine, which has so far not been approved by the European Medicines Agency.

But, reflecting unease in the four-party government, Slovakia will for now only use the batch of 200,000 doses it has already imported.

"The 200,000 vaccines will be used, and more only when approved by the EMA," Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky told a news conference shown online.

The health ministry was instructed to make the vaccine available by June 7, Wednesday's government resolution said.

Russia

Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a lawsuit from US company Gilead Sciences challenging the Russian government’s decision last year to let a Russian pharmaceutical firm develop the COVID-19 drug remdesivir without Gilead’s consent.

Pharmasyntez on Tuesday shipped a generic version of the drug – called Remdeform – to India as part of humanitarian aid contributions.

Russia confirmed 9,039 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, lifting the nationwide tally to 5,035,207, the official monitoring and response center said Thursday.

The national COVID-19 death toll rose by 402 to 120,002 in the past day, while the number of recoveries grew by 9,759 to 4,651,849.

Cyprus 

Cypriot Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou announced further easing of COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday, citing improved conditions in relation to new COVID-19 cases and the progress in the vaccination program.

Ioannou said after a meeting of the Council of Ministers, which endorsed the decision, that a night curfew in force for several months will be limited between 1 am and 5 am as of Saturday and will be fully lifted as of June 10.

Cyprus recommended on Wednesday that those under 50 should receive so-called messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines, joining other countries like France who have set age restrictions for the AstraZeneca(AZN.L) shot.

The island state had previously no age restrictions for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it has been using since January. The change follows reports of the death of a British woman administered the shot earlier this month in Cyprius.

The health ministry said it had referred the case to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). European drug regulators said last month there was a possible link between the vaccine and a very small number of cases of rare blood clots.

Individuals who have already taken a single-dose of the Vaxzeveria jab should receive their second dose, provided there were no serious side effects like thrombosis or thrombocytopenia, the ministry said in a statement, citing the "unanimous view" of scientific advisors.

Spain

An eight-week decline in Spain's coronavirus infection rate has begun to tail off, Health Minister Carolina Darias said on Wednesday, pointing to younger people who are less likely to be vaccinated as the cause.

Unlike neighbouring France, which plans to offer vaccines to all adults from May 31, Spain is progressively working its way downwards through age groups and has just begun giving shots to people aged 50-59.

Nevertheless, the national incidence of the virus as measured over the past 14 days reached 126 cases per 100,000 people on Wednesday, down 13 percent in a week. In the coastal region of Valencia, the incidence fell to just 31 cases, among the lowest in Europe.

Canada

Alberta, the province that produces most of Canada’s oil, expects to lift almost all COVID-19 restrictions by July as vaccinations pick up and infections decline.

Outdoor dining will be permitted in restaurants starting next week and hair salons will be allowed to book appointments, Premier Jason Kenney said in a press conference. By the middle of June, gyms will be allowed to reopen and restaurants will be able to serve people indoors.

Two weeks after 70 percent of the population receives a first dose of vaccine, almost all restrictions will be lifted. The province expects to hit that milestone around the end of June.

South Africa

South Africa’s review of the Sinovac and Sputnik coronavirus vaccines is nearing completion, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority said.

China’s Sinovac Biotech Co may be able to supply South Africa with as many as 5 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, Johannesburg-based newspaper Business Day reported in March. In April, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize directed officials to buy 10 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V and China’s Sinopharm shots. No applications have been received yet for the Sinopharm inoculation, officials said.

Slovenia 

Slovenia won’t extend the state of epidemic in mid-June, when the citizens can expect lifting of most restrctive measures, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in Wednesday’s address of the parliament. He sees a year of economic recovery that will be faster than the European Union average.

Mexico

Mexico, which lost more people to COVID-19 than almost any other country, is seeing a mammoth drop in cases and deaths, the likely result of post-infection immunity, some vaccines, warming weather and proximity to the US.

After a deadly winter of saturated ICUs and desperate searches for oxygen tanks, COVID-19 clinics are closing and the positivity rate of tests, which at one point was the highest in the world, is down to 17 percent. Hospital capacity, 90 percent in January, is 13 percent.

Namibia

Namibian President Hage Geingob and first lady Monica Geingos tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday evening.

The president and first lady are in good spirits and self-isolating at their residence, the Presidency said in a statement Thursday morning, and wished the first family a speedy recovery.

To date, Namibia has recorded 53,603 cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Previous post Thousands flee Goma after Congo warns of possible new eruption
Next post France puts onus on G-7 to lead the way in global tax revamp