Coronavirus: Nurses step over dead bodies piled up on hospital floor

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Nigeria not disqualified from access to COVID-19 vaccines – WHO clarifies


on
 February 6, 2021





The World Health Organization (WHO) has refuted reports of Nigeria’s disqualification from access to COVID-19 vaccines.


On Saturday, the Country Representative, Walter Mulomboo, said no country in Africa was barred.
In a statement, the official said rather, the UN agency is supporting all to access vaccines as quickly as possible through the COVAX facility,
Mulomboo announced that all countries on the continent are expected to start accessing the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines by the end of February.

In a breakdown, WHO said of the 88 million AstraZeneca doses allocated to African countries for the first phase, Nigeria has received the largest allocation, with 16 million doses.


Mulomboo explained that the initial allocation of 1.2 million Pfizer doses was exceptionally high.
“COVAX received interest from 72 countries around the world, of which 51 countries were considered by the review committee as “ready” (Nigeria was among these countries) and 18 countries in total were finally chosen to receive initial Pfizer doses.

“On the Africa continent, as of the 18 January deadline, COVAX received 13 submissions and a multi-agency committee evaluated the proposals of which 9 were recommended as ready to deploy the Pfizer vaccine including Nigeria.”


The country representative said unfortunately, it was not feasible to provide all 51 nations with Pfizer doses, due to a number of factors including the limited capacity for Pfizer to handle many countries at once.”





Mulomboo added that after epidemiological data was taken into account, the decision was taken to proportionally balance the number of self-financing and AMC Participants, as well as participants across all 6 WHO regions.

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Covid vaccine calculator predicts pandemic won't end for another seven years







With the current rate of vaccinations, it is believed that by 2028, up to 75 per cent of world population will have been vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine.
 
This suggests it will take until then for the global population to have reached a degree of herd immunity, which should lead to the virus being suppressed.
 
Bloomberg's vaccination calculator also reveals that the United States could potentially reach herd immunity by as early as New Year's Day of 2022.
 
The US has reportedly vaccinated around 8.7 per cent of the population, administering 1.3 million jabs per day.
 
Currently, it's believed that around 4.5 million vaccine dosages are being administered across the States, with an estimated 119.8 million vaccines being delivered worldwide.
 
The UK is hoping to vaccinate every adult by the end of August this year. Already, around one in five adults have had the vaccine in Britain.
 
Around 15.7 per cent of the British population have been given at least one dosage of the various vaccines available.
 
The current calculations suggest that with the UK delivering an estimated 438,421 vaccinations per day, the population will reach herd immunity before the end of 2021.
 
Israel is on course to achieve herd immunity in just a matter of weeks - with over 58.5 per cent of the population vaccinated at the rapid rate of 135,778 injections on a daily basis.
 
But concerns have been raised of vaccine nationalism, and the World Health Organisation has warned richer nations not to hoard jab supplies.
 
Currently, nine vaccines have been authorised for use across the globe including the Oxford vaccine, AstraZeneca, Johnson and Johnson as well as Novavax.

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Elderly man dies just 25 minutes after receiving COVID vaccine







An elderly American man collapsed and died on Sunday morning shortly after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

The man, who was in his 70s, fell as he left Manhattan's Jacob Javits Convention Center just 25 minutes after receiving his shot, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement. 

He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after he was rushed there. 

It's currently unclear if the man's death is linked to the vaccine, but an investigation is now underway.

'Initial indications are that the man did not have any allergic reaction to the vaccine,' Zucker said in his statement. 
 
The man's sudden collapsing followed a mandatory 15-minute observation period, in which he 'exhibited no adverse reactions or any distress,' Zucker added. 

The FDNY said the patient was taken to the hospital by Senior Care just before 11 am Sunday, where he died shortly after arriving. 

The identity of the man has not yet been revealed by officials. It's also unclear which type of COVID-19 vaccine he received.

In his statement, Zucker stressed that he and other public health experts believe the vaccine 'is safe, and together with continued vigilance including wearing a mask and social distancing, it will bring an end to this pandemic.'

'I encourage all eligible New Yorkers to get vaccinated,' Zucker continued.
 
So far, nearly one million people in New York City have been vaccinated, with 1.5 million residents having received their first doses statewide.
 
In total, nearly 42 million doses have so far been administered in the US. 
 
One dose of a vaccine has been administered to 31,579,100 million people, which equals to 9.6 percent of the population. While over 9,147,000 Americans have now received both doses of a vaccine, amounting to 2.78 percent of the population.

 

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Ghana shuts down its parliament after 168 lawmakers and staff contract COVID19







Ghanaian authorities have shut down its parliament for three weeks after 17 members of parliament and 151 supporting staff tested positive for the novel Coronavirus.
 
Alban Bagbin, the speaker of the house who announced the closure, said the legislature would be in recess until March 2 to make way for “disinfection and sanitization of the premises”.

“I have, in consultation with leadership, decided that sitting of the house be adjourned for three weeks,” Bagbin said.

Bagbin said the parliament’s appointments committee will continue to meet to consider the ministerial nominees of President Nana Akufo-Addo who was re-elected in December.
 
Ghana currently has 73,003 confirmed cases of the viral disease with 482 deaths recorded so far.

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President Biden announces the purchase of 200 million COVID-19 vaccines to vaccinate all Americans








US President Joe Biden has announced the purchase of 200 million COVID-19 vaccines to vaccinate all Americans.
 
During a visit to the National Institutes of Health, the Democrat said the federal government signed the final contracts on Thursday afternoon for 100 million more doses of the Moderna vaccine and 100 million more from Pfizer and BioNTech.
 
"We've now purchased enough vaccine supplies to vaccinate all Americans," Biden said. "Now we're working to get those vaccines into the arms of millions of people."
 
Additionally, Biden said, Pfizer and Moderna have agreed to expedite the delivery of 100 million doses each by a month moving them up to May instead of June.
 
"That's a month faster," Biden said. "That means lives will be saved."
 
"That means we're now on track to have enough supply for 300 million Americans."
 
The push to increase the supply is part of the "around the clock work" of the new administration and the nation's leading health care officials, he said.
 
"In just three weeks we've deployed over 1,000 federal staff at vaccination sites around the country," Biden added.
 
He also noted that he was misled about the true supply of vaccines obtained by the Trump administration.
 
"My predecessor, to be very blunt about it, did not do his job," Biden said. "We won't have everything fixed for a while. But we're going to fix it."
 
Biden added: "What I was upset with was not having all the facts that were available to the last outfit. We were under the distinct impression there were significantly more vaccines kavailable to begin to be distributed."

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Solving Covid-19 is very easy compared with climate change - Bill Gates says







Billionaire, Bill Gates has opined that climate change is humanity's greatest challenge and is a far greater problem than the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Gates who has become more vocal since the pandemic started, achieving net zero would be 'humanity's greatest ever achievement'

Solving climate change would be "the most amazing thing humanity has ever done",  the billionaire founder of Microsoft said to BBC.
 
'Ending the pandemic is very, very easy", he claims.

"We've never made a transition like we're talking about doing in the next 30 years. There is no precedent for this."
"Fifty-one billion is how many tonnes of greenhouse gases the world typically adds to the atmosphere each year."

"Net zero is where we need to get to.This means cutting emissions to a level where any remaining greenhouse gas releases are balanced out by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. One way to do this is by planting trees, which soak up CO2 through their leaves."

Gates says his focus is on how technology can help make climate change easily handled.

"Renewable sources like wind and solar can help us decarbonise electricity but that's less than 30% of total emissions."
"We are also going to have to decarbonise the other 70% of the world economy - steel, cement, transport systems, fertiliser production and much, much more.

"We simply don't have ways of doing that at the moment for many of these sectors.

Gates says for climate change to be tackled there must be an innovation effort on a scale the world has never seen before.

'At the moment, the economic system doesn't price in the real cost of using fossil fuels.
Most users don't pay anything for the damage to the environment done by pollution from the petrol in their car or the coal or gas that created the electricity in their home."
"Right now, you don't see the pain you're causing as you emit carbon dioxide,"

"We need to have price signals to tell the private sector that we want green products," he says.
That is going to require a huge investment by governments in research and development, Gates argued.

Gate maintains it will be impossible to avoid a disaster, particularly for those who live near the equator, without governments around the world getting behind the effort.
 
He says the US Republican Party needs to recognise the importance of tackling climate change.
 
This needs to be a "constant 30-year push", he maintains. "Business just can't change all that physical infrastructure unless the market signals are constant and very clear."

Bill Gates Co-founded Microsoft in 1975 and is the World's fourth richest person with a net worth of $124bn, according to Forbes
"India is going to build housing for their people, provide lighting at night, air conditioning to make conditions liveable," 
"If you buy an electric car, a hamburger made of a meat substitute, an electric heat pump for your home you are helping increase the production of these products and therefore helping drive prices down."

Gates stated his private jets are powered by biofuels - aviation fuels made from plant products.
"I pay three times as much now for my aviation fuel, you know, over $7m [£5m] a year in all my offset spending."

"I don't think getting rid of flying would make sense," he replies. "That type of brute force technique won't get us there."
He says the answer has to be "a type of aviation fuel that doesn't cost much extra and is zero emission and that's got to be biofuels or electric fuels or perhaps using green hydrogen to power the plane".

On Monday morning, Gates wrote on Twitter;
"To avoid a climate disaster, we need to eliminate emissions from the ways we create electricity, grow food, make things, move around, and heat and cool our buildings. It won’t be easy, but I believe we can do it. This book is about what it will take."
 

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North Korea accused of trying to hack Pfizer for Covid-19 vaccine info









North Korean hackers tried to break into the computer systems of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in a search for information on a coronavirus vaccine and treatment technology, South Korea’s spy agency said Tuesday, Feb 16

 

North Korea has been under self-imposed isolation since closing its borders in January last year to try to protect itself from the virus.

 

Leader Kim Jong Un has repeatedly insisted that the country has had no coronavirus cases, although outside experts doubt those assertions.

 

And the closure has added to the pressure on its tottering economy from international sanctions imposed over its banned weapons systems, increasing the urgency for Pyongyang to find a way to deal with the disease.

 

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service “briefed us that North Korea tried to obtain technology involving the Covid vaccine and treatment by using cyberwarfare to hack into Pfizer”, MP Ha Tae-keung told reporters after a parliamentary hearing behind closed doors.

 

North Korea is known to operate an army of thousands of well-trained hackers who have attacked firms, institutions and researchers in the South and elsewhere.

 

The allegations that North Korea tried to hack Pfizer come only a week after a confidential UN report seen by AFP said North Korea had stolen more than $300 million worth of cryptocurrencies through cyberattacks in recent months to support its weapons programmes.

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Anthony Fauci wins $1 million prize for his work on Covid-19 and other infectious diseases







US top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci has been honored with a $1m check for his work combating Covid-19 and other infectious diseases.

Fauci, who infamously clashed with former US president Donald Trump on his covid-19 policies much to the displeasure of Trump, is one of the seven recipients of the 2021 Dan David Prize, a $1 million award endowed by the Dan David Foundation and headquartered at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

The annual prize is divided into three categories -- past, present, and future. Fauci won the prize for the present section, and is this year's only individual winner.

The foundation says Fauci was chosen because of his exceptional work with infectious diseases over his life, including HIV, Ebola, Zika, and most recently, Covid-19. 
 
"Dr. Fauci has been a global leader in control and research of infectious diseases that present a major public health challenge," Dr. Elizabeth Miller, the chair of the selection committee, said in the award announcement on Tuesday night, February 16.

"Dr. Fauci's contribution has encompassed the basic laboratory and clinical research that has underpinned the development of effective treatments and vaccines for these diseases, but equally important his leadership has helped ensure that this basic research has been translated into a public health impact across the world."

Miller said Fauci's "courageous leadership," noted worldwide during the Covid-19 pandemic, was another reason he was selected for the prize.
 

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Ghana receives first batch of COVID19 vaccines (photos)







Ghana received its first batch of COVID19 vaccines on Wednesday February 24.
 
The Disease Surveillance Department of Ghana's Health Service shared photos of the consignment on its Twitter handle this afternoon.
 

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Thousands of fake Covid-19 vaccines seized in South Africa and China (photos)








Thousands of fake COVID-19 vaccine doses have been seized in South Africa and China as Interpol warned the raids were 'only the tip of the iceberg.'
 
The international police body said roughly 2,400 doses of fake coronavirus vaccines in 400 ampoules were seized with a 'large quantity' of face masks at a warehouse in Germiston, South Africa. 
 

 
Chinese police seized more than 3,000 fake vaccines after a raid on a manufacturing plant.  
 
Authorities also confirmed the arrest of 80 suspects at the scene following the raid. 
 
Interpol claimed it had received more reports of criminal vaccine distribution networks targeting nursing homes and other health bodies.
 
Pictures from the South Africa raids showed boxes stacked up in a largely empty warehouse, and a box full of fake COVID-19 vaccine ampoules.
 

 
'Whilst we welcome this result, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Covid-19 vaccine-related crime,' said Interpol Secretary General Juergen Stock.
 
He added: 'Following our warning that criminals would target the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, both on and offline, Interpol continues to provide its full support to national authorities working to protect the health and safety of their citizens.'
 

 
South African national police said 'foreign nationals' trying to sell fake vaccines in the country were among those arrested at the warehouse.
 
A Chinese Ministry of Public Security spokesperson said: 'Chinese police are conducting a targeted campaign to prevent and crack down on crimes related to vaccines, proactively investigating and combating crimes related to vaccines in accordance with law.'
 
Interpol earlier this year issued an 'Orange Notice' warning authorities worldwide to prepare for organised crime networks targeting Covid-19 vaccines, both physically and online.
 
The agency also warned that no approved vaccines are currently available for sale online, and said those buying fake doses from criminal networks were putting themselves at risk.
 
'Any vaccine being advertised on websites or the dark web will not be legitimate, will not have been tested, and maybe dangerous,' it said.
 

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Austria suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after one person died and another fell ill after taking the shots 









 Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while they investigate the death of one person after and the illness of another after the shots.
 
“The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl” in Lower Austria province, the health agency said in a statement. 

One 49-year-old woman died as a result of severe coagulation disorders, while a 35-year-old woman developed a pulmonary embolism and is recovering, it said. A pulmonary embolism is an acute lung disease caused by a dislodged blood clot.
 
The health agency added that there is “no evidence of a casual relationship with the vaccination” but the remaining stocks of the affected vaccine batch are no longer being used as a “precautionary measure”.
 
An AstraZeneca spokesman said: “There have been no confirmed serious adverse events associated with the vaccine,” adding that all batches are subject to strict and rigorous quality controls.

Trials and real-world experience so far suggest the vaccine is safe and effective and it had been approved for use in well over 50 countries, he said.

AstraZeneca also said it was in contact with Austrian authorities and would fully support the investigation.
 

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Oxford-AstraZeneca defends covid-19 vaccine after several European nations suspend its use over reports of increased blood clots







Oxford-AstraZeneca has been forced to defend its Covid-19 vaccine after several European nations including Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Bulgaria and even Asian nation Thailand paused the roll out of the vaccine following reports it could be connected to blood clots.

Bulgaria joined Denmark, Norway and Iceland to suspend the use of the vaccine pending investigations into safety. 
 
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov ordered a halt to all inoculation until the European Medicines Agency "rejects all doubts" about the vaccine's safety, according to a government statement.

The move came in response to reports of blood clots in a few inoculated people in Denmark, including one fatality. 

Thailand's Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, canceled plans to publicly get the AstraZeneca shot this weekend and the country also delayed its rollout.

"When there is an adverse event, we don't need to be in rush," said Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, a senior member of the country's vaccination committee.

AstraZeneca has responded. In a statement the vaccine maker said there is "no evidence of an increased risk" of blood clots, and European and UK medicines regulators have each said the link between the vaccine and blood clots has not been confirmed and that rollouts should continue.

 The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said the country has also reported cases of blood clots shortly after receiving a Covid-19 vaccination in Norway but "mainly in the elderly where there is often another underlying disease as well."

Other countries, including Austria and Italy, have suspended specific batches of the vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said that it did not recommend suspending use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, stating that there is "no indication" the vaccine caused the blood clots in the people who received the vaccine. The agency told countries they could keep rolling out the shot while investigations take place.

"The vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing," the agency said.

Health agencies of the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Mexico and Nigeria are still administering the vaccine, saying it's safe. 

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Italy launches manslaughter probe into death of teacher who died after being given AstraZeneca vaccine








Italian prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation after a music teacher died on Sunday, March 14,  a day after receiving AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine. 

The judiciary in Biella on Monday opened a preliminary probe into the death of 57-year-old Sandro Tognatti, whose cause of death is still unknown. 
 
Authorities said there is no link to AstraZeneca's vaccine at this stage and the probe is intended to establish what killed him. 

This comes after Italy temporarily banned the use of all AstraZeneca vaccines amid fears it causes blood clots, with France and Germany also enacting bans and saying they are waiting for European regulators to give guidance. 

The European Medicines Agency said last week that there is no reason to halt the use of the jab and that 'the benefits outweigh the risks of side effects', but its investigation is continuing and another report is due Thursday.
 
On Monday March 15, Italy imposed fresh lockdowns, with 13 of the country's 21 regions now in a 'red zone' meaning schools, restaurants, shops and museums have to close, and people cannot leave their homes except for work, health or other essential reasons.

Another seven regions were also declared 'orange zones', meaning shops and beauticians can remain open except during a night-time curfew, while all other venues have to close and travel outside the local area is restricted. Just one region, Sardinia, is in a lockdown-free 'white zone'. 
 

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South Africa Sells Off Astrazeneca COVID Vaccine, Places Fresh Order From Pfizer

South Africa has sold a million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for distribution in 14 fellow African nations, the health minister announced Sunday.

The country has ordered vaccine does from Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer and now hopes to immunise two-thirds of the population, though so far only 183,000 doses have been administered.

South Africa last month suspended its vaccination programme, which had started with AstraZeneca jabs after doubts were raised over that vaccine’s efficacy against a local variant of Covid-19.

Pretoria instead announced its intention to sell its AstraZeneca doses to the African Union (AU).

In a statement, Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, said “the first batch of vaccines that is being delivered will benefit 9 (AU) member states. The balance will be collected this week to be delivered to 5 other countries”.

South Africa began immunising its 59 million people in early February with doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India.

However, a study by the Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg pointed to a “limited” efficacy of the AstraZeneca jab against the South African variant of Covid-19.

The government then suspended its vaccine rollout programme.

World Health Organization experts have since given the AstraZeneca jab the all-clear, saying it can be used in all countries and against all variants.

The African Union has acquired 270 million vaccine doses and has declared that it is quite happy to distribute the AstraZeneca version.

South Africa has registered 1.5 million coronavirus cases including 52,000 fatalities.

However recently the number of new cases has dropped significantly and last month Ramaphosa announced that the second wave of the virus had passed.

The country has ordered vaccine does from Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer and now hopes to immunise two-thirds of the population, though so far only 183,000 doses have been administered.

https://dailytrust.com/south-africa-sells-off-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-places-fresh-order-from-pfizer