Declared state of emergency, the highest rates in history, as the EU orders up to 400 million doses of vaccine

As many European countries are under pressure from a second wave, the situation seems to be reaching a critical condition:

• In the UK, the latest daily infection count reached 17,540, increasing by more than a quarter from the previous day. The Guardian reported that hospitals in England “are only 10 days away from reaching a critical point, if the virus is not contained.”
• France posted its highest daily rate (18,129) and new cities beyond Paris and Marseille were put on high alert. Its weekly moving average is the highest since the pandemic began.Bloomberg reported 13,448 new infections in the past seven days. Crisis measures have been activated in French hospitals to cancel all non-emergency surgeries.
• Madrid has declared a state of emergency for 15 days. The local police will take control of the borders and will begin at 3:00 p.m. local time, on Friday, October 9.
• Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has said that as of October 12, there will be no countries on the green travel list that people can travel to, without going into quarantine, as reported. rte.
• This means that, based on current data, there are currently no countries in the EU / EEA area that have a 14-day cumulative number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 of 25 or less (based on data from the Center European Disease Prevention and Control).

200 million doses of vaccines ordered

Following the $ 1 billion deal between the Trump administration and the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (to produce 100 million vaccines for Operation Warp Speed), the EU has announced a similar agreement with the company.

On October 8, the EU negotiated 200 million doses of the same Johnson & Johnson vaccine; you have the option to purchase up to 400 million doses. Obviously, this would have to involve the approval or authorization of the EU regulators.

In late September, Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose coronavirus vaccine entered late-stage trials. As reported by Forbes, the pharmaceutical giant is using the same technology it used for the Ebola virus, combining genetic material from the Covid-19 virus with an altered adenovirus, the virus that causes the common cold.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would be “especially helpful” if it could be shown to control the pandemic with a single dose. According to Fauci, once the trial has more than 154 participants, it will be possible to test its effectiveness.

There are currently four pharmaceutical companies testing vaccines, but Johnson & Johnson has several advantages, although it lags further behind the other three. As reported by The Washington PostThis is not only a single dose (the others would require a later visit and a second dose injection), but it can also be delivered frozen and then stored in a refrigerator for up to three months. The others must be kept frozen or at ultra cold temperatures until shortly before use, which makes it logistically more difficult to implement.

Johnson & Johnson has also announced plans to allocate up to 500 million doses to international efforts for lower-income countries.