A medical worker prepares a syringe with a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399 union hall vaccination site in Chicago, Illinois, on April 6, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP)
SANTIAGO / RABAT / HAVANA – US health agencies lifted the pause on Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, 10 days after urging providers to hold off on using the shot while they reviewed serious and rare cases of blood clots among several people who received it.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement that they have determined that the pause that was put in place on April 13 should end and that use of the vaccine should resume.
The agencies said that they found the shot was safe and effective at preventing COVID-19. They added that the chance of developing the rare blood-clot syndrome is very low, but that they will continue to investigate.
A total of 15 cases of blood clots out of about 8 million doses administered have been reported, a CDC representative told a group of advisers to the agency in a meeting Friday. Nearly 10 million doses of J&J’s vaccine across the US are ready to be used, according to CDC data, but just how quickly they will find their way into people’s arms is unclear.
Brazil
Brazil on Friday reported 2,914 deaths from COVID-19 in 24 hours, raising the national death toll to 386,416.
According to the Health Ministry, 14,237,078 people in Brazil have so far tested positive for the virus, after tests detected 69,105 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours.
The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Brazil's state-run medical research facility, reported that 14 states and the capital Brasilia registered over 90 percent occupancy of intensive care units (ICU) in the past week, while seven other states saw more than 80 percent occupancy of ICU beds.
Hospital service has collapsed to a "critical" degree, Fiocruz said, noting COVID-19 deaths rate soared during the past two weeks.
Greece
Greece will reopen shopping malls on Saturday, authorities said, in a cautious easing of coronavirus restrictions as police stepped up checks on drivers at toll stations to curb movements ahead of the start of the Eastern Orthodox Easter week.
The reopening — subject to restrictions such as customers booking time to visit malls — follows the start of mass distribution of free home test kits earlier this month and the reopening of senior high schools and non-essential retailers.
In a further attempt to return towards some kind of normality, the government has said that restaurants will reopen early next month before the opening of the tourist sector on May 15.
Authorities have allowed church services during Holy Week starting on Monday with masks and distancing.
But Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said people should not travel between regions to avoid a surge in coronavirus cases ahead of the planned opening of its key tourism season on May 15, with few exceptions.
Many Greeks celebrate Easter with family gatherings in their home regions or in holiday homes in the countryside and months of lockdowns have raised concern that people will defy restrictions on travel. Authorities have imposed a 300 euro fine for travelling without justification.
Health experts said that infections have dropped but people should avoid travelling outside their home region.
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Argentina
Argentina reported 557 new deaths for a total of 61,176, according to the country’s evening report. It added 27,884 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 2.8 million.
Chile
Chile's Ministry of Health on Friday reported 7,525 new COVID-19 cases, its highest figure of the week, bringing the national count to 1,155,902.
The South American country confirmed 109 more fatalities, raising the national death toll to 25,641.
Health Minister Enrique Paris urged Chileans to maintain self-care measures to "avoid new infections and take care of our families."
Chile's borders have remained closed since April and the entire Santiago Metropolitan Region was under lockdown to stem the spread of the virus.
Morocco
Morocco on Friday suspended all flights to and from India to curb the spread of the new COVID-19 variants, the Moroccan National Airport Office (ONDA) said in a statement posted on its website.
The suspension is temporary, and concerns also the entry of passengers of India arriving through other countries, ONDA added.
India recorded 332,730 new COVID-19 cases and 2,263 deaths during the past 24 hours, both figures hitting record high, its health ministry said Friday.
Previously, Morocco has suspended flights with more than 50 countries, meanly European ones, until May 21.
Morocco is witnessing an increase in COVID-19 cases for the fourth consecutive week with the registration of more contagious variants.
By Friday, COVID-19 infections in Morocco have totalled 508,530, with 8,983 deaths and 494,415 recoveries.
Meanwhile, 4,717,551 people have received so far the first vaccine shots against COVID-19 in the country, and 4,209,470 the second doses.
Cuba
Cuba reported a new record number of COVID-19 infections on Friday, with 1,241 in one day bringing the total to 99,208, the Ministry of Public Health said, adding that there were 10 more deaths, for a total of 569.
The previous record of 1,207 infections was registered on Thursday.
Of the new cases, 1,205 were from community transmission, according to the ministry's director of hygiene and epidemiology Francisco Duran, who said on TV that "self-protection and strict fulfillment of COVID-19 protocols "would be fundamental to tackle the sanitary emergency."
Havana, the epicenter of the pandemic on the island, registered more than half of the new cases with 727 in the past 24 hours.
The expert also said that April 2021 has become the deadliest month since the pandemic began, with 144 deaths and 22,932 COVID-19 cases.
WHO
Over one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, about 90 percent of the world's 105 countries surveyed still report disruptions to their essential health services, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
A recent WHO survey has found that about 66 percent of countries continue to report health workforce-related reasons as the most common cause of service disruptions, and in nearly one-third of countries supply chains are also still disrupted, affecting the availability of essential medicines, diagnostics and the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to safely and effectively provide care.
More than half of the countries surveyed reported service disruptions due to patients not seeking care, because of community mistrust and fears of becoming infected, while 43 percent cited financial challenges as a major cause of disruption..
Most extensively affected are the health services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders; neglected tropical diseases; tuberculosis; HIV and hepatitis B and C; cancer screening; and services for other non-communicable diseases, including hypertension and diabetes; family planning and contraception; urgent dental care; and malnutrition, according to the survey.
Such disruptions have resulted in millions of people still missing out on vital health care, the WHO said.
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UK
Another 2,678 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,401,109, according to official figures released Friday.
The country also reported another 40 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,385. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.
More than 33.3 million people have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, Britain is "still not out of the woods" amid concerns over new variants, particularly those first emerged in South Africa, Brazil and India, and the third wave of pandemic on the European continent.
Earlier Friday, Professor John Bell from Oxford University raised concerns about the prospect of holidays abroad resuming this summer.
Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday received his first dose of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine at an Ottawa pharmacy, telling reporters "I'm very excited" as the needle entered his arm.
Afterwards he posed for television cameras and photographers with his thumbs up and then watched as his wife Sophie received her first shot. Sophie came down with a mild case of the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic last year.
Mexico
Millions of doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine manufactured at a US plant that had a contamination issue and then shipped to Mexico are safe and have been approved by two regulators, Mexico's deputy health minister said on Friday.
The doses were sent to Mexico as part of an agreement with the administration of President Joe Biden for 2.7 million shots of AstraZeneca's vaccine to help supplement Mexico's vaccination campaign amid global delays and shortages.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) halted production at the US plant in Baltimore which produced the vaccines while it investigated an error that led to millions of doses being ruined last month.
Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez Gatell confirmed the vaccines Mexico received were produced at the same Baltimore plant but reiterated they were safe, and had been evaluated by the FDA as well as Mexican health regulator COFEPRIS.
"So, we are certain that it was a safe, quality product, the one that we put to Mexican people, 2.7 million," Lopez Gatell said during a regular news conference. "No dose would have been released if not all requirements had been met."
Johnson & Johnson was put in charge of manufacturing at the plant in early April by the US government after it disclosed the error in which ingredients from AstraZeneca's shot, also produced at the plant at that time, contaminated a batch of the J&J vaccine.
