The vaccine is in the final stages of testing. The vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca is 70% effective. England will not extend the lockdown. Catalonia lifts restrictions. Chile begins to accept tourists. This and other news about the development of the situation with the coronavirus pandemic in the world – in our overview.
According to Johns Hopkins University, over 58.8 million people worldwide have either recovered from or are currently suffering from coronavirus, with over 1.3 million deaths.
The effectiveness of the British coronavirus vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, is 70%. This is both a breakthrough and a failure, considering that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines provide 95% protection. The effectiveness of the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V” was estimated at 92%. Meanwhile, the British vaccine is significantly cheaper, does not require ultra-low temperature storage and can therefore be easily delivered to any corner of the world, its developers said.
“Today’s announcement brings us one step closer to the time when we can use this vaccine to put an end to the devastating effects of this virus,” said Professor Sarah Gilbert, one of the developers of the new vaccine.
“Coronavirus: Boris Johnson revealed how England will live from December 2”. AstraZeneca intends to produce around 4 million doses of the vaccine for the UK by the end of the year and a further 40 million by spring 2021. The company is prepared to produce up to 3 billion doses worldwide. Vaccination will not begin until regulators confirm safety, efficacy and compliance with manufacturing standards.
More than 20,000 volunteers participated in the trials. More than 20,000 volunteers participated in the trials in the United Kingdom and Brazil. It was found that when two large doses of the vaccine are given one month apart, its effectiveness is 62%, but increases to 90% when a small dose is given first, followed by a large dose. “90% is a very interesting result, it means that if we give half the vaccine dose in the first injection, we have more vaccine available,” said Professor Andrew Pollard, who led the clinical trials, in an interview with the BBC.
The vaccine is essentially a genetically engineered common cold virus that infects chimpanzees. This virus has been modified so that it cannot transmit the infection to humans, but at the same time it carries the matrices for the part of the coronavirus called the spike protein. When these matrices enter the body, they begin to produce coronavirus spike proteins, which the immune system recognizes and begins to fight.
On Monday, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, spoke about the plan for restrictions that will be in place in the country during the winter. There is currently a lockdown in England that will last until December 2. As Johnson announced, shops and gyms in England will reopen after the lockdown ends. During the fall, England had three levels of quarantine restrictions in place, depending on the local situation. The winter version of the restrictions will be stricter. However, regions will not know what their three levels will be until Thursday.
The new plan implies that in the regions where the highest danger level, the third, is in effect, pubs will not operate, while in places with the second level, pubs that serve food will be open. The last order can be placed in open pubs until 22:00, but visitors can stay for another hour. The ban on outdoor sports will be lifted. Mass testing for Covid-19 will be conducted in third level areas. In areas with the lowest level of danger, spectators may attend sporting events, but their number should not exceed 4,000 people.
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The CEO of the Australian airline Qantas, Alan Joyce, believes that in the future a certificate of vaccination against the coronavirus will be mandatory for those who want to travel between countries. He stressed that Qantas will adopt this policy, adding that it will probably not be the only one. “We are considering changes to our rules for serving air travelers so that, for example, we will require passengers on international flights to be vaccinated before boarding the plane,” Joyce said in an interview with Australia’s Nine Channel. “I think this will be a universal requirement, based on my conversations with colleagues from different countries,” he added. This is the first such statement from the head of a major airline. Previously, airlines did not talk about banning unvaccinated passengers from flights. International Air Transport Association (IATA) medical advisor David Powell noted Monday that in the future, not only airlines but also governments are likely to require information on the availability of vaccinations. “The availability of reliable health information about the condition of the passenger – I think this will be very important,” Financial Times quotes him.
In recent weeks, several medical companies have announced the development of effective vaccines. Pfizer Medical plans to deliver 50 million doses by the new year. Given that the drug is being tested in six countries (Argentina, Brazil, Germany, USA, Turkey and South Africa), approximately 4 million people can be vaccinated in each of these countries.
Catalonia has lifted some restrictions, allowing bars, cafes, restaurants and gyms to reopen. They had been closed for five weeks. However, the authorities have maintained the 10:00 p.m. curfew that is in effect throughout Spain, so the city’s nightlife has yet to return.
Restaurants and cafes will only be able to fill 30% of their seats. Cinemas and concert halls will also open, but they will only be able to use half of their seating capacity. In Spanish airports there is a rule that requires passengers arriving from high risk countries to present a Covid-19 test result taken no more than 72 hours before arrival. If the test is not provided, the offender can be fined and required to take an antibody test.
Eight months later, Chile is beginning to accept foreigners again. President Sebastian Pinera said it was another step in the country’s gradual opening. “Over the course of five months, the overall situation in our country has steadily improved, and thanks to the efforts and participation of all Chileans, as well as the measures taken by our government to protect public health, we would like to announce the first phase of opening our borders to citizens of other countries,” said the president.
Foreigners can arrive in the country’s capital, Santiago, and must present a certificate of a negative coronavirus test. They must also agree to be monitored in the country for two weeks using a mobile application. Restrictions, including a curfew, remain in place in Chile and will continue until mid-December. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the country has recorded about half a million cases of infection and more than 15,000 deaths.
In 2021, nearly 2 billion doses of vaccine will be sent to developing countries, UNICEF announced, noting that the operation will be extremely challenging. An organization operating under the auspices of the United Nations has announced that it is working with approximately 350 airlines and freight forwarders through the Covax program to deliver vaccines and approximately one billion syringes to countries such as Burundi, Afghanistan, and Yemen. The Covax program was initiated by the World Health Organization to distribute vaccines worldwide. “UNICEF Supply Division Director Etleva Kadilli said, “This invaluable cooperation will require a great deal of effort to ensure that this historic and large-scale operation has sufficient transportation capacity.