by Oui
Sun Feb 7th, 2021 at 09:20:32 PM EST
South Africa halts AstraZeneca vaccination programme over variant data | SCMP |
The UK vaccine speedboat hit a log in the river rapids ...
J&J appears to give much greater protection. The Kent or British variant is mutating to a more dangerous variant looking similar to the South Africa variant. Bad News in a week the British were boasting their great succes ...
[Uodate-1]
South Africa puts AstraZeneca vaccinations on hold over variant data | Reuters |
South Africa will put on hold use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot in its vaccination programme, after data showed it gave minimal protection against mild-to-moderate infection caused by the country's dominant coronavirus variant.
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Sunday that the government would await advice from scientists on how best to proceed, after a trial showed the AstraZeneca vaccine did not significantly reduce the risk of mild or moderate COVID-19 from the 501Y.V2 variant that caused a second wave of infections starting late last year.
Prior to widespread circulation of the more contagious variant, the vaccine was showing efficacy of around 75%, researchers said.
In a later analysis based mostly on infections by the new variant, there was only a 22% lower risk of developing mild-to-moderate COVID-19 versus those given a placebo.
It had hoped to roll out the AstraZeneca vaccine to healthcare workers soon after on Monday receiving 1 million doses produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Instead, it will offer health workers vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer/BioNTech in the coming weeks.
END OF UPDATE
The Kent or British variant mutating further
Covid-19: The E484K mutation and the risks it poses
The mutation E484K, first identified in the South African SARS-CoV-2 variant, has now been identified in the UK fast-spreading variant, prompting fears the virus is evolving further and could become resistant to vaccines.
EU President Ursula vd Leyen Admits Failures
Irish Times: EU Commission boss admits mistakes in vaccine procurement
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has admitted failures in the procurement of corona vaccines at European level. The EU underestimated the complications that can arise in the production of such vaccines, said von der Leyen in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and other European media. In response to the criticism that the EU had ordered too hesitantly, she said: “Of course: a country can be a speedboat. And the EU is more of a tanker. “
The German Commission President further said: “We have focused very much on the question of whether there will be a vaccine, that is, the development.” From today’s perspective, one should have “thought more closely about the challenges of mass production in parallel”.
Gerd Kerkhoff sees “total failure” when purchasing vaccines
Nonsense! Not just purchasing of vaccines, bottleneck was clearly commitment to contract for deliveries and the production facilities weren’t there. Hoarding by states with production facilities such as the US, UK and even India. Globalization, outsourcing and slashing of domestic Healthcare ... austerity that came back to bite.
