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HEALTH-VIRUS
US acquires 200 mn new doses as vaccine drive begins in pharmacies
WASHINGTON, Feb 12, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – US President Joe Biden announced plans
to vaccinate most Americans by the end of July with the help of 200 million
newly acquired doses, as the country’s inoculation campaign kicked off a new
phase in drugstores and supermarket pharmacies, some of which will offer
shots as of Friday.
Even as the Biden administration inked deals to acquire “100 million more
Moderna and 100 million more Pfizer vaccines” and Covid-19 cases fall in
Europe, the World Health Organization warned against rash reopenings, in a
sobering reminder of the long global battle ahead in taming the pandemic.
“The decline in cases conceals increasing numbers of outbreaks and
community spread involving variants of concern,” said WHO Europe director
Hans Kluge.
“At this point, the overwhelming majority of European countries remain
vulnerable,” he added, pointing out the “thin line between the hope of a
vaccine and a false sense of security.”
More than a million cases are still registered every week across the 53
member states in the UN agency’s European region, which includes several
Central Asian countries.
With the latest vaccine purchases, the United States — the world’s
hardest-hit country with more than 470,000 deaths — is on track “to have
enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July,” Biden said,
meaning enough inoculations for all eligible people.
He made the announcement Thursday after touring the National Institutes of
Health near Washington, with a million previously acquired vaccine doses
already headed to around 6,500 drugstores and supermarket pharmacies.
The US immunization campaign got off to a shaky start in December, and even
as recently as Thursday, Los Angeles moved to temporarily close five major
inoculation centers including its giant Dodger Stadium site, due to vaccine
shortage.
Mass Covid-19 vaccination programs are being ramped up in many countries in
the race against more contagious variants, and governments are urging
populations to continue to cope with closures as the inoculation campaigns
move forward.
Worldwide deaths now stand at nearly 2.4 million, with the Middle East
surpassing 100,000 fatalities on Thursday.
– ‘Worrying situation’ –
Germany, meanwhile, said it will ban travel from Czech border regions, as
well as Austria’s Tyrol due to concern over new variants.
Europe’s biggest economy had already in late January banned most travelers
from countries classed as mutation areas or places hardest-hit by more
contagious variants.
It has halved its daily infection rate after more than two months of
painful curbs, but fears are growing that the positive trend could be
compromised by travelers from border regions reporting sky-high case rates.
France’s health minister Olivier Veran warned of a “worrying situation” in
Moselle, across the border from Germany, after a high number of South African
and Brazilian variants were detected, possibly leading to new restrictions.
The International Ski Federation (FIS) announced that all remaining World
Cups in Norway were canceled due to new Covid-19 government curbs.
– ‘Thousands of people dying’ –
Vaccine distribution has varied widely worldwide, though overall more than
155.7 million people in at least 91 countries have been inoculated so far,
according to an AFP tally.
Rollouts are hampered by limited supplies, and AstraZeneca’s shot has been
in the spotlight after a number of European countries refused to authorize it
for those over 65 — the demographic most vulnerable to Covid-19.
There have also been questions over its effectiveness against the virus
strain that emerged in South Africa.
Nevertheless, the WHO backed AstraZeneca’s coronavirus shot on Wednesday —
including for over-65s and in places where new virus variants are
circulating.
The AstraZeneca shot forms the bulk of doses being rolled out around the
world — especially in poorer countries — under the Covax program.
WHO expert Alejandro Cravioti said the organization was awaiting more
specific data on the vaccine’s efficacy in over-65s, but it “would not be
appropriate” to wait with “thousands of people dying.”
On Thursday, AstraZeneca said its 2020 earnings had doubled, even without
taking into account sales of its vaccine, which was only approved for use at
the end of last year.
The WHO’s Kluge also reiterated a call for the distribution of vaccines to
include poorer countries, citing it as a “moral imperative” but also a means
of mitigating risks.
WHO said deaths from Covid-19 in Africa surged by 40 percent over the last
month, as the continent’s toll approaches 100,000.
– Symbol of hope –
The coronavirus has infected more than 107 million people since the
outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP tally.
Beyond vaccines, there was also positive news on treatments, with a study
showing the arthritis drug tocilizumab reduces the risk of critically ill
patients dying of Covid-19.
Europe’s oldest person, French nun Sister Andre, meanwhile became a symbol
of hope when she celebrated her 117th birthday on Thursday after surviving
Covid-19 and living through two world wars.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0848 hrs