Faces looking out at the world through the windows of their homes have become a kind of symbol of the pandemic.
Denmark, Norway and Iceland have temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine after several vaccinees developed blood clots and one person died.
Estonia goes into a month-long lockdown.
Brazil has recorded the highest mortality spike in many months. This and other news from around the world is in our roundup.
Exactly one year ago, the World Health Organization declared the spread of the coronavirus a pandemic. The first reports of severe respiratory illness in China appeared in the press in late January 2020. By mid-February, the virus had reached Europe, and by the end of the month, an unprecedented lockdown was announced in northern Italy, marking a historic event in the country’s recent history. According to Johns Hopkins University, during this time, 118 million people worldwide have been infected with Covid-19 and more than 2.6 million have died.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved the fourth vaccine for use in European Union countries. It is a product of the American company Johnson & Johnson. Vaccines from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna are already licensed in the EU. Clinical trials of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have shown an 85% effectiveness rate, and unlike other vaccines, the J&J vaccine consists of only one component, not two. Meanwhile, Denmark, Norway and Iceland have temporarily suspended the use of the vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford and the Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca, after several vaccinated people in Denmark developed blood clots and one person died. A statement from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) points out that thrombosis is not mentioned among the possible side effects of the drug and that there is currently no evidence that the formation of blood clots is directly caused by the vaccine. The Danish authorities are not disclosing the number of complaints they have received, but they say it is enough to suspend the use of the British vaccine for at least two weeks – pending the results of the initial investigation.
“We are in the midst of the largest vaccination campaign in Denmark’s history, and we need all the vaccines available. Stopping the use of one of them is therefore a very difficult decision,” said Søren Brostrøm, Chief Medical Officer at the Danish National Board of Health. He emphasized that the country is not rejecting AstraZeneca, but only temporarily suspending its use. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had no data to suggest that AstraZeneca’s vaccine contributed to the formation of blood clots. “Blood clots can occur naturally and are common. More than 11 million doses of vaccine have already been used across the UK,” the MHRA said, urging people to get vaccinated as planned.
As the global epidemiological situation continues to deteriorate despite all the measures taken, scientists are looking for ways to speed up the vaccination process. Researchers at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, have concluded that people who have already received Covid-19 only need one dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Given that millions of people have already contracted the virus in countries where these vaccines are being used, the refusal of the second dose should significantly speed up the campaign and partially offset the problem of supply delays.
Businesses in New York are doing their best to encourage their potential customers to get vaccinated. In the U.S., for example, about 28 million people have already received COVID, which means that about 15 million doses can be redistributed to people waiting their turn. Scientists work on a simple premise: the immune system of a person who has had the disease immediately recognizes the virus, and the body activates its defense system even after just one dose of the vaccine.
On Thursday, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that homeless people will be one of the priority groups for Covid-19 vaccination, along with people with chronic diseases. When everyone over the age of 70 was given the opportunity to receive the first dose, priority was given to citizens over the age of 16 with health problems who were at risk of severe COVID-19 consequences. The inclusion of English people without a permanent home on this list was the decision of the Interdepartmental Committee on Vaccination and Immunization. The same recommendation was made for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In parallel, vaccination of age groups will continue. The United Kingdom is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of the pace of Covid-19 vaccination. There are 35 doses of vaccine per 100 people in the population (all vaccines licensed in the country consist of two doses).
Pollen can significantly increase the risk of Covid-19 infection even in people who do not suffer from allergies. This is the conclusion of researchers from Columbia University in the USA. It is especially important to know this at the beginning of the spring flowering season. Due to climate change, scientists say, this season has come much earlier, lasted longer and been more intense in recent years than it was several years or even decades ago.
Spring is the time when fruit trees blossom. In addition, there is currently almost no break between the spring (flowers and fruit trees), summer (grains and grass), and fall (ragweed) flowering seasons. People who are asymptomatically infected with coronavirus when they walk down the street and start sneezing will spread the virus several times faster, according to research. In addition, people with allergies who are used to certain manifestations of seasonal allergies may not attach importance to symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, mild cough and sneezing, which is exactly how moderate Covid-19 can manifest itself.
It is now forbidden to walk in the streets of Tallinn and other Estonian cities except in pairs. In Estonia, another lockdown begins on Thursday and will last for a month. Schools will switch to remote learning, shops will be closed again, except for grocery stores and pharmacies, and the 2+2 rule will be introduced, which means that only two people can be in public places at the same time, and they must keep at least two meters away from each other. The number of cases in Germany continues to rise for the second week. Over 14.3 thousand new cases have been identified in the last 24 hours. Doctors are urging that the vaccination process be accelerated as much as possible, but with the vaccine shortage that all European countries are experiencing, this is currently impossible. The authorities refer to the current epidemiological situation in the country as the third wave.
The lockdown in Portugal will apparently be extended until the end of the month. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has asked parliament to extend the country’s state of emergency until March 31, although the government has already begun discussing a gradual exit from the lockdown. Strict quarantine measures have been in place in Portugal since mid-January, but plans are underway to reopen daycare centers next week. The situation in Brazil, already one of the world’s top three countries in terms of number of cases and deaths, has worsened. For the first time in many months, more than 2.2 thousand people died in the country in just one day. The total number of pandemic victims among Brazilians is 270.6 thousand people, and 11.2 million people have been infected. Doctors believe that the new surge in mortality is linked to the rapid spread of new strains.
Funeral services in Brazil are at full capacity. We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what will happen next. The number of offers should remain: Episodes The end of the story: Advertising Podcasts. The opposition has attacked Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has claimed from the beginning that he believes the epidemiological threat is exaggerated. Earlier this week, he called on people to “stop whining.” Former head of state Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the current situation a result of Bolsonaro’s reckless decisions. Brazil’s public health department, Fiocruz, reports that a number of hospitals in major cities have already reached their limits and are unable to continue functioning. “2021 will also be difficult for us,” said the department’s director, Margaret Dalcolmo.
Kenya’s Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe has announced that his country is experiencing a third wave of the coronavirus epidemic. In the past 24 hours, the highest number of cases since November last year has been recorded – 713 people. According to Kagwe, the number of patients requiring artificial lung ventilation has also increased. The minister warned that the country was facing another difficult period. Kenya is one of the largest countries in Africa with developed international business, and the situation there can have an impact on other countries on the continent.