[ad_1]
Image source,Reuters
This week, Pfizer vaccines began to be officially injected in the UK, and vaccinators experienced allergic reactions. The approval and use of vaccines globally has accelerated and Canada has become the second country in the world to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine. Europe is stepping up approval of Pfizer and another vaccine, but Pfizer’s vaccine information was allegedly stolen by hackers. The vaccine produced by the China National Pharmaceutical Group was registered in the United Arab Emirates and data from phase III clinical trials was announced for the first time, but the data was questioned by experts.
These are the most important vaccine developments in the world in the last two days. BBC China will summarize the following for you.
Side effects of the Pfizer vaccine
British regulators have stated that people with a history of severe allergic reactions should not receive the new corona vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech. On Tuesday (December 8), two British National Health Service (NHS) staff experienced allergic reactions after receiving the vaccine.
The British Medicines and Health Products Regulation Agency (MHRA) said the recommendation applies to people who have responded to medicines, food or vaccines.
The largest vaccination program in British history was launched, and vaccinators said ‘this is really good’
Two NHS staff members with allergic reactions recovered well after receiving treatment. Before getting vaccinated, they knew there would be reactions such as a rash, shortness of breath, and a drop in blood pressure. These reactions are different from anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.
Both NHS employees have a history of severe allergies and carry an adrenaline syringe to respond to emergencies.
NHS Medical Director Stephen Powis called this a “common phenomenon of new vaccines” and called it a preventive measure.
Reactions like this are not common, but they do occur with other vaccines, such as the annual flu shot.
On Tuesday (December 8), the UK officially started vaccination. Thousands of people received injections in British hospitals and clinics.
Professor Peter Openshaw, an immunologist at Imperial College London, said: “In fact, we knew about these two types of allergic reactions so early, and regulators have already taken action on them and issued preventive recommendations, showing that monitoring The system it is working well “.
BBC science and health journalist James Gallagher argued that this story should be evaluated with the brain rather than intuition. “There is no effective drug without side effects, so we have to balance the risks and benefits. Forget that this year, one in 1,000 people in the UK died after contracting the new corona virus, and this number increases all the days “.
Gallagher’s analysis said: The test report shows that one in every thousand vaccinators may have an allergic reaction, which may be related to vaccination. The MHRA provides specific advice to those most at risk, but for most people, this will not change much.
Canada becomes second country to approve use of Pfizer vaccine
Canadian health regulators have approved the new crown vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech. This country became the second country in the world to do so after the United Kingdom.
Health Canada called the authorization a “milestone” in the country’s fight against the new coronavirus, and said the vaccine meets its “strict requirements for safety, efficacy and quality.”
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said Canada will receive about 249,000 doses of the vaccine this month. The Canadian government bought a total of 20 million doses of vaccine for 10 million people to vaccinate, in addition to the option to buy 56 million doses.
This paved the way for vaccine delivery and injection throughout Canada. Authorities said there are 14 distribution points in Canada, all equipped with cold storage for vaccines.
Vulnerable groups such as medical personnel and the elderly will become the first group of vaccinators. The vaccine was initially approved for people 16 years of age and older.
Health Canada officials told reporters that they advise people allergic to any ingredient in the vaccine to avoid it. They will monitor usage in the UK and decide whether to extend this guide.
Canada also has contracts with several other vaccine manufacturers. Trudeau said that most Canadians should get vaccinated before September 2021.
The People’s Vaccine Alliance, a network of organizations like Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Global Justice Now, claimed that if Canada approves the use of the ordered vaccines, the country has already ordered enough of the amount of vaccine that protects each Canadian five times.
The organization accuses rich countries of hoarding vaccines, causing poor countries to miss out on vaccination opportunities.
The Chinese vaccine is officially registered in the UAE
Image source,Reuters
The UAE Minister of Health and Prevention announced on Wednesday (December 9) that it has given the official registration of the new coronavirus inactivated vaccine developed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group.
A statement from the UAE government stated that analysis of the Phase III clinical trial showed that the inactivated vaccine is 86% effective against the new coronavirus infection. This vaccine has a 99% neutralizing antibody seroconversion rate and is 100% effective in preventing the conversion of new mild coronary pneumonia to moderate and severe cases. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the vaccine does not pose serious safety risks.
However, neither Sinopharm nor the United Arab Emirates have released detailed test data on 31,000 volunteers.
China currently has four vaccines entering phase III clinical trials. The data released by the UAE this time is the most informative test among all the vaccines developed in China.
Experts expressed concern about the lack of information in the published data and questioned why the China National Pharmaceutical Group itself did not make the announcement.
The ad did not mention the number of people who got sick after participating in the trial, the number of people who received vaccines or placebos, or any side effects.
Image source,Reuters
The United Arab Emirates’ national news agency Wam said that people from 125 countries participated in the trial. The Sinopharm vaccine trial started in July and received emergency clearance in September for use by frontline workers in the UAE.
Senior officials, including the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, received the vaccine in November. In China, the vaccine has been vaccinated by about 1 million Chinese citizens in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Vaccine Management Law and the Drug Management Law.
Previously, experts criticized that the epidemic in China was under control and that not many confirmed people died. Emergency vaccination was not enough to save thousands of lives, so emergency use of the vaccine was not maintained.
Hackers steal Pfizer vaccine files
The European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is responsible for the evaluation of EU medicines and vaccines, said on Wednesday (December 9) that the agency was under a cyber attack.
US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said their new research and development documents related to the corona vaccine were “illegally obtained” in a cyberattack.
Pfizer and BioNTech stated that they believe that personal data of trial participants will not be leaked. In addition, EMA also assured them that the cyber attack will not affect the vaccine review schedule.
The European Medicines Agency only stated that it is currently investigating the incident and cannot provide further details.
After the UK became the first in the world to approve the large-scale use of Pfizer vaccines, the European Medicines Agency is working hard to approve the use of the Pfizer and modena vaccines, and the results are expected to be announced in a few weeks. It is not clear whether the relevant Moderna documents have also been obtained.
This cyber attack is the latest in a series of hacking attacks and warnings against vaccine manufacturers and public health agencies.
The security service warned in the summer that the Russian intelligence service had been trying to target organizations that successfully developed vaccines. In October, a pharmaceutical company in India was the victim of a major cyber attack. In recent days, IBM declared that the cold storage supply chain used to transport vaccines was under a cyber attack.
