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France’s health regulator today recommended that only people 55 and older should receive AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine due to reports of blood clots, while giving the green light to resume use after a short suspension.
He said the recommendation was based on the fact that the reported blood clots, which led to the suspension of the vaccine in France and other European countries, had been seen only in recipients under the age of 55.
Otherwise, use of the vaccine in France should resume “without delay” after its suspension earlier this week, he said.
Prime Minister Jean Castex, himself 55, will receive the vaccine later today in an attempt to boost confidence after the European medicine watchdog ruled it was safe to use.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said yesterday that the vaccine was “safe and effective” and “was not associated with an increased overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots.”
But the agency said it “cannot definitively rule out” a link to a rare bleeding disorder.
Dominique Le Guludec, head of the French health regulator HAS, said such cases in those who had received the vaccine were “very rare” but also “serious”.
He said that while they wait for additional information, those under 55 should be vaccinated with the other three approved in France: from Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
As of March 16, 25 cases of such blood clots had been identified in Europe, resulting in nine deaths, among people under 55, “most of them women,” added Ms Le Guludec.
In France, out of 1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca administered, cases were seen in a 51-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman, he said.
EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said Thursday that during his investigation, the watchdog “began to see a small number of rare and unusual but very serious cases of bleeding disorders.”
“We still cannot definitively rule out a link between these cases and the vaccine,” he said.
The EMA recommended adding a warning to the product information with the AstraZeneca injection.
Norwegian Prime Minister investigated for breaking virus restrictions
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg is under investigation after revelations that she and her family broke the country’s Covid-19 restrictions, police said today.
For her 60th birthday, at the end of February, Ms. Solberg reunited her family in the ski resort town of Geilo, violating restrictions and recommendations on limiting social interactions, public broadcaster NRK revealed yesterday .
“In the context of the information that has emerged through the press, together with the prime minister’s own statements, the police have decided to initiate an investigation related to a possible violation of the infectious disease regulation,” police said in a release.
“The matter will then be evaluated by the prosecution in reference to a possible legal sanction,” the statement added.
Solberg already issued a mea culpa on his Facebook page last night.
“I am sorry that my family and I have broken the crown regulations, that should never have happened. Of course, we should have followed all the recommendations, as I asked them to do,” he wrote in a post.
“I am thinking especially of all those who have had to cancel things they were waiting for, a birthday with colleagues, a celebration with friends or whatever else is important,” he added.
“I understand those who get angry and disappointed by this. I’ve made a mistake and so I want to say I’m sorry.
In addition to the legal consequences, the incident could have ramifications for the head of government’s political career ahead of the elections scheduled for September.
On February 25, 13 members of SM olberg’s family dined in a restaurant, in his absence, because he had to go to the hospital for eye problems, despite the fact that the rules limited the number of people who attended a private event in a public space to ten.
The next day, Ms. Solberg and her relatives violated another recommendation by having 14 people, four more than the limit, eating sushi in their apartment.
The reports immediately sparked a furor on social media, with some calling for his resignation.
“If the PRIME MINISTER, with hordes of advisers, cannot understand the rules, it is TOTALLY UNREASONABLE to expect the average person to do so,” criticized one user on Twitter.
US to meet 100 million vaccine target
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden said his administration would meet its goal of inoculating 100 million Americans weeks ahead of schedule.
Concerns around AstraZeneca’s jab caused countries from Venezuela to Indonesia to put their programs on hold, hampering the push to vaccinate populations around the world against the disease that has killed more than 2.6 million people. .
Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria also said they would resume vaccinations.
A decision on the resumption of deployment to Ireland is also expected.
The United States will administer its 100 millionth dose, raising optimism, as infection rates decline, that the world’s worst-hit country is heading for a powerful recovery.
“I am proud to announce that tomorrow, 58 days after my administration, we will have met my goal of administering 100 million injections to our fellow Americans,” Biden said in a speech at the White House.
But he also warned that “it is a time for optimism but not for relaxation.”
In Germany, coronavirus infection rates are increasing at a “clearly exponential rate” as highly contagious variants increase the number of cases, health authorities said.
“It is very possible that we will have a similar situation at Easter to what we had before Christmas, with very high case numbers, many serious cases and deaths and hospitals that are overwhelmed,” said vice president of the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases. Lars Schaade told reporters.
The institute reported 17,482 new infections in the previous 24 hours in Germany and 226 deaths.
The seven-day incidence rate rose to 96 per 100,000 people despite a months-long shutdown of large areas of public life.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn warned that restrictions may need to be reimposed to slow the spread of the virus.
“The increasing number of cases may mean that we cannot take further opening measures in the coming weeks. On the contrary, we may even have to take steps backwards,” Spahn told a weekly news conference.
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The World Health Organization should publish the findings of its own assessment of AstraZeneca’s safety, after repeatedly encouraging countries to continue using the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company’s vaccine.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine, among the cheapest available and easier to store and transport than some of its rivals, has been hailed as the vaccine of choice by poorer nations.
It is currently a vital part of Covax, which was created to procure Covid-19 vaccines and ensure their equitable distribution around the world.
Philippine drug regulators said they had approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use, the latest Covid-19 drug to get the green light as the country battles a resurgence of infections.
The government will seek to secure five to 10 million doses, the vaccine task force said earlier this week.
As production in the United States increases, Washington is preparing to ship millions of doses of AstraZeneca to help neighboring Mexico and Canada, the White House said yesterday.
Press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that 2.5 million doses were being prepared for Mexico and 1.5 million for Canada, although she did not give details on the schedule.
Rise of Covid-19 Infections in India, Led by Record Rise in Maharashtra
Coronavirus infections in India rose to a high of more than three months, led by a record daily increase in the western state of Maharashtra, where authorities have taken new measures to slow the spread of the disease.
India’s overall infection count is 11.51 million, the highest after the United States and Brazil. The country reported 39,726 new cases of coronavirus today, its highest level since November 30.
Deaths rose from 154 to 159,370, data from the Health Ministry showed.
Maharashtra, home to India’s commercial capital Mumbai, recorded a record 25,833 cases, accounting for 65% of the country’s new infections in the past 24 hours. This marks the highest daily case count in the state, surpassing the numbers from September 2020, when India was adding close to 100,000 cases per day.
The state health minister said they have requested 2 million doses of vaccines per week from the federal government, with the goal of inoculating 300,000 people per day.
Hospital beds and special Covid-19 facilities were filling up rapidly, especially in Mumbai and other major industrial cities, such as Nagpur and Pune, authorities said.
The capital New Delhi has also reported a steady rise in infections in the past two weeks, prompting city authorities to expand the immunization campaign to 125,000 doses per day, compared to 40,000 today. .
Papua New Guinea Orders Restrictions As Covid-19 Numbers Rise
Papua New Guinea will tighten internal border controls, restrict personal movement and enforce the wearing of masks in public starting next week, as the country faces a sharp increase in Covid-19 infections.
Authorities in the Pacific island nation of 9 million people also said they will ban mass gatherings, close schools and may order burials in a “designated mass grave” as part of radical measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
PNG has seen an increase in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, with hundreds of new cases daily. The total number of cases stands at just under 2,500 and deaths at 31, but health experts believe the true numbers are likely much higher.
Neighboring Australia promised 8,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for PNG health workers, and called on the European Union to release 1 million doses of its supply, as local media reported that patients were turned away from overrun hospitals. .
New Zealand also said it was sending enough personal protective equipment to PNG to treat 1,000 Covid-19 cases.
“The outbreak in PNG is increasing rapidly, with hospitals and clinics overwhelmed and many health workers already infected,” MSF Australia Executive Director Jennifer Tierney said in a statement.
“What is needed is a broader response, now, before the situation gets out of control.”
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