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HEALTH-VIRUS,NEWSERIES
AstraZeneca US trials thrown into doubt after promising data
WASHINGTON, March 23, 2021 (AFP) – A US health agency raised concerns
Tuesday that AstraZeneca may have included out-of-date information during
trials of its Covid-19 vaccine, the day after the company said its drug was
highly effective in preventing the disease.
The news comes as Europe continues to wrangle over supplies of the jab, and
after weeks of uncertainty centred on fears it was linked to an increased
risk of blood clots.
Germany Tuesday threw its weight behind an EU export ban, as it announced
that strict virus measures would be imposed for five days over Easter to
contain spiralling infections.
AstraZeneca had said Monday that stage three US trials had shown its
vaccine was 79 percent effective at preventing the disease.
But in a late night release, the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which is headed by Anthony Fauci, flagged
concerns.
NIAID said a monitoring board “expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have
included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an
incomplete view of the efficacy data.”
“We urge the company to work with the DSMB (Data and Safety Monitoring
Board) to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date
efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible.”
– AstraZeneca ‘problem’ –
Meanwhile, a spat is simmering between Britain and the EU over much-needed
supplies of the AstraZeneca jab, which is cheaper and easier to store than
many of its rivals.
European officials are furious that the Anglo-Swedish company has been able
to deliver its UK contract in full while falling short on its supplies to the
EU.
German leader Angela Merkel on Tuesday said: “We have a problem with
AstraZeneca,” as she backed an EU threat to ban AstraZeneca vaccines produced
in the EU from being exported — unless it delivers more of the 90 million
doses it agreed to supply in the first quarter of 2021.
Public confidence in the drug has tumbled after several countries suspended
its rollout because of isolated cases of blood clots.
But the EU’s medicines regulator and the WHO insist there is no evidence
linking the drug to blood clots, and none was found in the large-scale trials
in the US.
European countries have come under fire for slow vaccine rollouts, which
many blame on supply problems.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday his country should be giving
vaccines “morning, noon and evening”, speaking after the government said 35
new mass inoculation centres would open soon.
“We’re going to change pace from April,” he said, adding there should be
“no weekend and days off when it comes to vaccinations”.
– ‘Much deadlier’ –
Merkel ordered the harsh nationwide shutdown with a warning that a potent
strain of coronavirus was raging through the EU’s most populous country.
“The situation is serious,” she said. “Case numbers are rising
exponentially and intensive care beds are filling up again.”
A variant first identified in the United Kingdom has become the dominant
strain circulating in Germany, the under-pressure leader said, adding: “We
are in a new pandemic.”
“Essentially, we have a new virus… it is much deadlier, much more
infectious and infectious for much longer.”
Cultural, leisure and sporting facilities will stay shuttered through to
April 18, and a lockdown will come into force between April 1 and 5, as
Christians celebrate Easter.
Almost all shops will be closed across the five days, and religious
services will be moved online.
Elsewhere, Ukraine said it too was battling a new wave of infections as it
reported the highest death toll since the beginning of the crisis, with 300
fatalities in the past 24 hours.
– Banksy fundraiser –
Britain on Tuesday marks the anniversary of its first coronavirus lockdown
with a “National Day of Reflection,” which will see parliament hold a
minute’s silence in tribute to the more than 126,000 people who have died.
The country ranks fifth in the world for both virus cases and deaths.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the last year has “taken a huge toll” and
called the anniversary “an opportunity to reflect on the past year — one of
the most difficult in our country’s history.”
The country’s state-run National Health Service (NHS) has been under huge
strain, and on Tuesday a painting by UK street artist Banksy is expected to
raise millions of pounds for health workers.
The artist left a note with the piece thanking hospital staff for their
work battling the pandemic.
“Thanks for all you’re doing. I hope this brightens up the place a bit,
even if it’s only in black and white,” he wrote.
– ‘Grotesque’ vaccine gap –
Globally, the coronavirus crisis that first emerged in China in December
2019 has killed more than 2.7 million people and infected over 123 million,
according to official data collated by AFP.
Vaccination drives are seen as crucial to overcoming the pandemic and
navigating countries out of brutal restrictions that continue to paralyze
economies around the world.
More than 430 million jabs have now been administered, mostly in wealthier
nations, and World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has
slammed the “grotesque” vaccine gap.
Papua New Guinea received its first batch of vaccines Tuesday as the
impoverished Melanesian nation races to quell a Covid-19 surge overwhelming
its fragile health system.
BSS/AFP/IJ/1805 hrs