Pharma cannot deliver the vaccine as fast as promised

5.10 am.: Less vaccine available than expected

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer / Biontech and Moderna cannot deliver the vaccine as quickly as expected. In the first quarter of the year, Moderna only produced 25 million cans outside the US, while Pfizer / Biontech will only be able to provide 50 million instead of 100 million cans by the end of this year.

The American pharmaceutical company Moderna expects to be able to distribute between 100 and 125 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine worldwide in the first quarter of 2021. Of the approximately 125 million doses of vaccines, 85 to 100 million would be available in the United States. About 25 million will be delivered to other countries.

The US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner Biontech are also backtracking. You can only deliver half of the corona vaccine this year than originally planned. Expansion of the supply chain is taking longer than expected, the “Wall Street Journal” told a Pfizer spokeswoman on Thursday. Some components would not have met the standards in initial production.

Instead of 100 million deliveries, according to the report, Pfizer is now only planning about 50 million by the end of the year. Pfizer developed the vaccine together with the German manufacturer Biontech. Those who get vaccinated need two doses to be protected.

5.05 am.: WHO develops an electronic travel certificate

WHO is working on an electronic vaccination certificate with worldwide validity. The certificate will become the standard in international travel and will replace the conventional yellow paper vaccination card, according to “Blick”. The goal is a “standard for a digital smart yellow card to support the expected vaccines against Covid-19 and other vaccines,” says the website of the United Nations Health Organization (WHO).

International travel, according to the vision of the WHO, should only be possible in the future with this virtual electronic passport. The organization advises nations not to issue vaccination certificates themselves. Instead, it recommends an approach like that of Estonia, which is currently working with WHO on this electronic vaccination card pilot project.

4.35am.: Austria begins with massive tests

In Austria, mass testing is designed to effectively contain the spread of the corona virus. Today Friday, the project begins on a large scale in the federal states of Vienna, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. In Austria’s capital, citizens can take the test in three locations until December 13. The capacity in Vienna is up to 150,000 tests per day. The government’s goal is to screen millions of people. Mass testing is considered an important component, especially to discover infected people without symptoms.

Due to the nearly three-week lockdown, which will be lifted again next Monday, at least as far as trade is concerned, the high number of infections in Austria has recently decreased significantly. However, the government formed by the conservative ÖVP and the Greens is taking a more cautious opening course. This also includes travel restrictions during Christmas and New Years.

2.10 am.: California imposes curfew

California is introducing stricter measures due to the increase in the crown number, as Governor Gavin Newsom announced Thursday. With a view to increasing hospital admissions, he is mandating home stays across much of the state.

Contact with other households should be avoided. Many non-essential businesses have to close, including hair salons and bars. Restaurants can only offer take away food. In stores, the number of customers will be further reduced. The state must pull the emergency brake, Newsom said. In the affected regions, the order will initially apply for three weeks.

California, with about 40 million inhabitants, is the most populous state in the United States. In total, more than 1.2 million infections with the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen have been detected there since the start of the pandemic. In terms of population, the West Coast state does better than many other states in the US.

1:32 am.: Facebook removes fake news about vaccines

Facebook is stepping up its action against incorrect information about corona vaccines and wants to remove them in the future. Among other things, these are claims about the safety and efficacy of vaccines that have been refuted by experts, the online network announced on Thursday. Conspiracy theories will also be affected, for example that drugs are tested on certain population groups without their consent or that they contain microchips. The most difficult pace is the continuation of the line of the online network to remove posts that could harm people in the real world, he said.

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