Europe resumes AstraZeneca jabs

 

Some European countries resumed AstraZeneca vaccinations Friday after an all-clear from EU regulators and the WHO, including France which was preparing for a third of its population to enter a new partial lockdown.

Worries that AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine may cause blood clots have seen countries from Venezuela to Indonesia pause its use in recent days, a setback for the drive to vaccinate populations against a virus that has killed nearly 2.7 million people.

Germany and Italy, both of which are 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".

World Health Organization vaccine safety experts said that "available data do not suggest any overall increase in clotting conditions" among vaccinated people.

Seeking to reassure their populations that the vaccine is safe, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his French counterpart Jean Castex received their first AstraZeneca dose on Friday.

"I literally did not feel a thing. It was very good, very quick," Johnson said.

"Everybody, when you do get your notification to go for a jab, please go and get it."

German Chancellor Angela and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also committed to soon get the AstraZeneca vaccine.

"I'm a bit anxious of course, but what can you do? We have to do this, and we do it," said 42-year-old teacher Valentina at a vaccine centre at Rome's Termini station.

"On the contrary, the fear was that they would not let us receive it," said Roberto, 58, another teacher.

The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Indonesia are also ending their suspensions, while Ireland's advisory committee is  recommending following suit.

France locks down

The vaccine was also brought back into use in France on Friday -- but just hours later, the national health regulator recommended it should only be given to people aged 55 and over, given the reported blood clots were only seen in younger people.

Parisians packed trains leaving the capital and crammed into shops ahead of a new month-long partial lockdown starting midnight Friday in the capital region and several others across France.

The mayor of Yerres outside Paris told AFP that he had told businesses there to remain open, defying the "totally incomprehensible" restrictions.

"Why would we catch Covid more in a shoe store than a bookshop?" he asked. Bookshops are considered essential under the new measures, and later Friday the government added florists, chocolate shops and cobblers to the list.

In neighbouring Germany, infection rates are once again rising exponentially.

Lars Schaade, vice president of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases, said there were grim signs of a return to a situation of "many severe cases and deaths, and hospitals that are overwhelmed".

Later Friday Germany said it was classifying neighbouring Poland as high risk.

The pandemic is still speeding up worldwide, with the number of new global coronavirus infections rising by 14 percent over the last week compared to the previous week, according to AFP data.

Surging cases forced Belgium and Switzerland to put off lifting some infection control restrictions on Friday.

'We're not scared'

While political leaders were enthusiastic, some members of the public remain reluctant to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

But in Spain, 22-year-old medical student Florentino Quinteiro said he was not at all worried after receiving a dose last month.

"The population isn't always familiar with the situation, but we're not scared," he said of his colleagues. 

"In pharmacology there's always a trade-off between benefit and risk -- for example, contraceptives also sometimes cause blood clots," he said.

Denmark, Norway and Sweden are yet to bring the jab back into use, pending further review, while Finland said Friday it would pause vaccinations for at least a week "until there is more information".

However use and production of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine has been ramping up, with the Philippines becoming the latest country to give it the green light Friday, and Indian drugmaker Stelis Biopharma signing on to produce 200 million doses.

Germany meanwhile said it would order the Sputnik vaccine if the EU authorises its use.

And in the United States there was cause for celebration as medics prepared to administer the nation's 100 millionth vaccine dose, reaching US President Joe Biden's goal weeks ahead of schedule.

With infection rates falling, there are hopes that the world's worst-hit country 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."

Rio de Janeiro's famed beaches meanwhile will be closed as the Brazilian city's mayor said the situation was "very critical" with a 95-percent occupancy rate in intensive care units at public hospitals.  BY DAILY NATION