8 ” December”2020″ Aljazeera”
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Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine 70% effective: Full trial data
UK starts rolling out COVID-19 vaccine as drug-maker Pfizer moves closer to approval in the hardest-hit United States.Oxford University and AstraZeneca became the first Covid-19 vaccine makers to publish final-stage clinical trial results in a scientific journal, clearing a key hurdle in the global race to produce safe and effective drugs for the new coronavirus.
A World Health Organization official warned only public health measures – not vaccines – can prevent a new surge of COVID-19 cases as the first vaccines are administered in the United Kingdom.Key workers given priority in Ireland’s vaccine rollout
Workers deemed essential to “societal and economic activity” in Ireland will be prioritised in the government’s planned COVID-19 vaccine rollout, behind only elderly care home residents, the over 65s and healthcare workers.
Key workers in environments where there is a high risk of exposure, such as food supply, public and commercial transport, will be placed ahead of those aged 55-64 years, alongside school and pre-school staff.Oxford/Astra first to publish final-stage vaccine trial results
Results of a clinical trial of the vaccine produced by British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University became the first to be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
The vaccine AZD1222 was about 70-per-cent effective, scientist Andrew Pollard and his team wrote in the academic journal The Lancet, confirming findings the manufacturers had released in November.
WHO official says only public health measures, not vaccines, can prevent a new surge of COVID-19 cases.
“Vaccines are a great tool, they will be very helpful, but the effect of the vaccine in providing some kind of immune barrier is still far off,” said Dr Margaret Harris in response to a question at a Geneva briefing about whether the vaccines would come in time to prevent a third wave of cases in Europe.
“The things that must be done to prevent an increase, an uptick, a surge or whatever you want to call it are the public health measures,” she added.
British grandmother is the first person to get Pfizer vaccine outside trial
Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother from Britain, has become the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outside of a trial following its rapid clinical approval, Reuters reported.
Keenan received the jab at her local hospital in Coventry, central England, on Tuesday morning at 06:31 GMT, a week before she turns 91.
“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Keenan.
UK’s Johnson thanks health workers after COVID vaccine launch
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed the start of a COVID vaccination programme and thanked health workers, scientists and people who had volunteered for testing.
“We will beat this together,” Johnson said in a message on social media and urged the public to continue to follow guidance aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus
Turkey could start Chinese COVID-19 vaccination this month: Report
Turkey could start administering China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the month after analysis for domestic licensing is complete, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca was quoted as saying by Sozcu newspaper.
Koca said shipments of Sinovac’s Coronavac vaccine will arrive after December 11. The vaccine, which has been undergoing phase three trials in Turkey and other countries, will need another two weeks of testing and analysis, the paper said.
In November, Turkey signed a contract to buy 50 million doses of Coronavac, to be delivered in batches between December and February.
Hong Kong to limit dining, close gyms and beauty salons
Hong Kong has said the city would once again ban dining in restaurants after 6pm (10:00 GMT) and close all gyms and beauty salons, to curb a rise in coronavirus cases in the densely packed financial hub.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government would also study additional relief measures for the industries affected by the latest restrictions that take effect on Thursday, having been enforced and lifted repeatedly this year.
“The situation is very worrying. This wave is more complicated and more severe than the last wave. The confirmed cases are widely spread out,” Lam told reporters at a weekly media briefing. “If we don’t control it strictly, there will be bigger risks. This time we will roll out suppressing measures aimed at limiting foot traffic flow on the streets.”
Bio Farma: Interim data for Sinovac vaccine shows up to 97 percent efficacy
Indonesia’s state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma has said interim data on trials it was conducting on vaccines produced by the Chinese company Sinovac showed up to 97 percent efficacy.
“Our clinical trial team found, within one month, that the interim data shows up to 97% for its efficacy,” said Iwan Setiawan, a spokesman for Bio Farma, at a news conference.
He did not elaborate whether the interim result was from a late-stage clinical trial, but another Bio Farma spokesman told the Reuters news agency later the company is still gathering data on efficacy from the ongoing phase three trial.
South Korea to buy millions of coronavirus vaccine doses
South Korea says it has signed deals to provide coronavirus vaccines for 44 million people next year but it will not hurry inoculation to allow more time to observe potential side effects.
Its cautious approach comes as the country of almost 52 million people battles surging COVID-19 infections that health authorities say threaten to overwhelm the medical system.
Other countries are moving ahead to grant emergency use approval for the vaccines in a bid to contain virus transmission
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Dutch health authority reports ‘worrying rise’ in infections
The Netherlands reported a “worrying rise” in the number of coronavirus infections as the government prepared to announce whether it will allow any relaxation over the Christmas holidays of its partial lockdown.
The health institute said the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by more than 9,000 to 43,103 in a week. The total death toll is approaching 10,000.
The Netherlands has been in a partial lockdown since mid-October, when the country was recording some of Europe’s highest infections rates. The closures of all bars and restaurants along with restrictions on the number of people who could gather at home and outdoors brought the infection rate down, but the decline has stagnated in recent weeks.
Scottish health authorities begin mass vaccinations
Scottish health authorities began the COVID-19 vaccination rollout on Tuesday.
The first 800,000 doses are going to people over 80 who are either hospitalised or already have outpatient appointments scheduled, along with nursing home workers. Others will have to wait their turn.
“Any of us who were around in March or April would have given anything to think we would be at this point where we have an incredibly effective vaccine. It’s an absolute turning point for everyone and I’m delighted to be here to see it happening in Scotland,” said Dr Nicola Steedman, the interim deputy chief medical officer.
Switzerland buys 3 million more Moderna vaccine doses
Switzerland has secured an additional three million doses of the Moderna vaccine as it tries to hedge its bets between rival coronavirus jabs.
Switzerland now has about 7.5 million doses of US biotechnology firm Moderna’s vaccine.
“Since the development and availability of COVID-19 vaccines is subject to a great deal of uncertainty, the government is pursuing various options,” the Federal Office of Public Health said in a statement.
The wealthy Alpine nation, population 8.6 million, has secured about 15.8 million vaccine doses in total with additions from other companies.
US gov’t passed up chance to lock in more vaccine doses
President Donald Trump’s administration faces new scrutiny after failing to lock in a chance to buy millions of additional doses of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. That decision could delay the delivery of a second batch of doses until Pfizer fulfills other international contracts.
Under its contract with Pfizer, the Trump administration committed to buy an initial 100 million doses, with an option to purchase as many as five times more.
But this summer, the White House opted not to lock in an additional 100 million doses for delivery in the second quarter of 2021, according to people who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Dr Moncef Slaoui, who is leading the government’s vaccine effort, noted the Trump administration was looking at a number of different vaccines during the summer. He told ABC’s Good Morning America “no one reasonably would buy more from any one of those vaccines because we didn’t know which one would work and which one would be better than the other”
