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Europe resumes AstraZeneca jabs, US to hit 100 million vaccines
PARIS, March 19, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Several European countries were resuming
AstraZeneca vaccinations Friday after an all-clear from EU regulators, as US
President Joe Biden was set to meet his goal of having 100 million Americans
inoculated weeks ahead of schedule.
Days of commotion around AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, over fears it may
cause blood clots, saw countries from Venezuela to Indonesia pause its use in
a major setback for the drive to vaccinate populations against a virus that
has killed nearly 2.7 million people.
France, Germany and Italy — all countries attempting to fight off a third
wave of the coronavirus — announced they were using the jab again as of
Friday after the European Medicines Agency said it was “safe and effective”.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to get the AstraZeneca jab Friday
in a bid to reassure citizens that it is safe as his country fights an
infection surge.
Millions across France were preparing to enter a new month-long, limited
lockdown from Saturday after the country recorded its highest new caseload in
nearly four months.
Non-essential businesses will close in Paris and other areas hit by the
new restrictions, mainly in northern France, although schools will stay open.
Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia
and Spain are also ending their suspension of the vaccine.
In Germany, the AstraZenca jabs were resuming just as health authorities
warned that Europe’s top economy is again suffering an exponential rise in
infections.
Lars Schaade, vice president of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious
diseases, told reporters there were grim signs of a return to a situation of
“many severe cases and deaths, and hospitals that are overwhelmed”.
In Asia, Indonesia aimed to follow suit as its food and drugs agency said
the benefits of the vaccine “still outweigh the risks”.
– ‘Time for optimism’ –
There was brighter news in the United States, however, as it prepared
Friday to administer its 100 millionth vaccine dose.
With infection rates falling, there is hope that the country with the
highest Covid-19 death toll is headed for a powerful rebound.
“It is a time for optimism,” Biden said in a White House speech. But he
also cautioned: “It’s not a time for relaxation.”
Unlike France and other European countries, Denmark, Norway and Sweden are
holding out on resuming AstraZenica inoculations, pending further review.
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The World Health Organization is due to publish the conclusions of its own
assessment of the safety of the jab on Friday, after repeatedly encouraging
countries to continue using it.
AstraZeneca’s shot, among the cheapest available and easier to store and
transport than some of its rivals, has been billed as the vaccine of choice
for poorer nations.
It is a vital part of Covax, a global drive to ensure that poor countries
do not miss out in the race to vaccinate their populations.
Papua New Guinea is among the countries in desperate need of vaccines as
it battles a “rapidly escalating” Covid-19 crisis, with authorities approving
the use of mass graves and nearly 50 percent of tests coming back positive in
some areas.
Some 8,000 AstraZeneca vaccines are being delivered from Australia, but
Medecins Sans Frontieres Australia director Jennifer Tierney warned it might
be too little, too late.
“What’s needed is a bigger response, now, before the situation gets out of
control,” she said. “Papua New Guinea needed these vaccines yesterday.”
– International boost for Sputnik V – The developer of Russia’s Sputnik V
coronavirus vaccine said Friday its shot had been approved for emergency use
in the Philippines, making it the 52nd country to give the green light to the
Russian jab.
While some Western countries have been wary of Sputnik V over concerns the
Kremlin could use it to advance its interests, its developers have been
ramping up international agreements to boost its production, including in
some European countries.
Indian drugmaker Stelis Biopharma is the latest to sign on, with a deal
announced Friday to produce 200 million doses of Sputnik V.
On the warm sands of Florida’s Miami Beach, meanwhile, the 2021 season is
off to a banging start, fuelled by “Roaring Twenties” anticipation of post-
pandemic life.
The shore is once again packed with revellers — a sight that Americans
view either as a proof of long-awaited progress against Covid-19, or of a
recklessness that could set back the nation’s recovery.
For James Mitchell, 45, newly-arrived from freezing Chicago, the haters
need to lighten up.
“We just got to start back living, man,” he told AFP. “For real.”
BSS/AFP/SSS/1847 hrs