coronavirus vaccine
Head of UN health agency seeks vaccine booster moratorium
The head of the World Health Organization called Wednesday for a moratorium on administering booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines as a way to help ensure that doses are available in countries where few people have received their first shots.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the appeal mostly to wealthier countries that have far outpaced the developing world in numbers of vaccinations. He said richer countries have administered about 100 doses of coronavirus vaccines for every 100 people on average, while low-income countries — hampered by short supplies — have provided only about 1.5 doses per 100 people.
WHO officials say the science is unproven about whether giving booster shots to people who have already received two vaccine doses is effective in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
Read: WHO reports sharp increase in Covid fatalities
The U.N. health agency has repeatedly called for rich countries to do more to help improve access to vaccines in the developing world. It has argued that no one is safe until everyone is safe because the longer and more widely the coronavirus circulates, the greater the chance that new variants could emerge — and prolong a global crisis in fighting the pandemic.
The agency has no power to require countries to act, and many in the past have ignored its appeals on issues like donating vaccines, limiting cross-border travel and taking steps to boost production of vaccines in developing countries.
Tedros pointed to a WHO target he had announced in May seeking to ensure that 10% of the populations in all countries receive vaccines against the coronavirus.
“Accordingly, WHO is calling for a moratorium on boosters until at least the end of September to enable at least 10% of the population of every country to be vaccinated,” he told a news conference.
To help take the heat out of the pandemic, WHO has been focusing on getting vaccines to older adults, health care workers and other target populations in many countries before booster shot campaigns are carried out.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, a special adviser to Tedros, said the moratorium was about an appeal to countries considering booster doses to “put a hold” on such policies “until and unless we get the rest of the world caught up” in the fight against the pandemic.
Read: Countries have responsibility to help scientists find Covid origin: WHO
”As we’ve seen from the emergence of variant after variant, we cannot get out of it unless the whole world gets out of it together. And with the huge disparity in vaccination coverage, we’re simply not going to be able to achieve that,” Aylward said.
Israel, France, Germany and many Middle Eastern countries have already started administering boosters, and other nations, including the United States and Britain, are considering plans to do so in the wake of the emergence of the highly transmissible delta variant.
Dr. Katherine O’Brien, WHO’s vaccines chief, noted that a “very limited number” of countries were giving booster doses though a larger number were contemplating it.
“The evidence is evolving. It’s moving. We don’t have a full set of evidence around whether this is needed or not,” O’Brien said, adding that the main message was that “we need instead to focus on those people who are most vulnerable.”
Asked about the WHO position, White House press secretary Jen Psaki called it a “false choice” and suggested the United States could both donate vaccines abroad and provide boosters at home.
“We announced just yesterday that we hit an important milestone of over 110 million vaccines donated to the world. That is more than any other country has shared combined,” she said. “We also, in this country, have enough supply, to ensure that every American has access to a vaccine. We will have enough supply to ensure, if the FDA decides that boosters are recommended for a portion of the population, to provide those as well.”
WHO officials reiterated their call for global “solidarity” to help battle the coronavirus pandemic and appealed to wealthy countries and corporations to help.
Read:Vaccine inequity biggest barrier to ending pandemic: WHO chief
“We need everyone’s cooperation, especially the handful of countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines,” Tedros said, appealing in particular to the influential Group of 20 large economies. “The G-20 has a vital leadership role to play as the countries that are the biggest producers, the biggest consumers and the biggest donors of COVID-19 vaccines.”
He urged the G-20, which currently is chaired by Italy, to make “concrete commitments to support global vaccination targets.”
“We call on everyone with influence — Olympic athletes, investors, business leaders, faith leaders and every individual in their own family and community — to support our call for a moratorium on booster shots until at least the end of September,” Tedros said.
US plans to require COVID-19 shots for foreign travelers
The Biden administration is taking the first steps toward requiring nearly all foreign visitors to the U.S. to be vaccinated for the coronavirus, a White House official said Wednesday.
The requirement would come as part of the administration’s phased approach to easing travel restrictions for foreign citizens to the country. No timeline has yet been determined, as interagency working groups study how and when to safely move toward resuming normal travel. Eventually all foreign citizens entering the country, with some limited exceptions, are expected to need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the U.S.
Read: Biden to launch vaccine push for millions of federal workers
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the policy under development.
The Biden administration has kept in place travel restrictions that have severely curtailed international trips to the U.S., citing the spread of the delta variant of the virus. Under the rules, non-U.S. residents who have been to China, the European Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India in the prior 14 days are prohibited from entering the U.S.
All travelers to the U.S., regardless of vaccination status, are required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of air travel to the country.
Read: Biden says getting vaccinated ‘gigantically important’
The Biden administration has faced pressure to lift some restrictions from affected allies, the air travel industry and families who have been kept separated from loved ones by the rules. Many have complained that the travel restrictions don’t reflect the current virus situation — particularly as caseloads in the U.S. are worse than in many of the prohibited nations.
Airlines for America, a trade group for major U.S. airlines, said it was pleased by reports that the administration plans to make it easier for more foreign travelers to enter the country if they have been vaccinated.
No movement without vaccine will be allowed after Aug. 11: Minister
Taking Covid jabs has been made mandatory for public movement from Aug. 11, Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said on Tuesday urging people to get vaccinated to avoid punishment.
The minister said this while talking to reporters about the government decision of extending the ongoing lockdown till August 10.
He said, “It has been made mandatory to take Covid jabs for public movement from August 11.
Read: BMRC clears Indian Covaxin’s clinical trials in Bangladesh
Any movement without being vaccinated would be considered a punishable offense.”
As per the government decision of reopening workplaces, local shops, factories and retail outlets along with public transports from August 11, people who didn’t get Covid jabs yet were instructed to get vaccinated within the remaining days of extended lockdown.
Read: Vaccine coproduction deal with Sinopharm ready for signing: FM
The government is set to launch a nationwide mass vaccination drive from 14,000 vaccine centres from August 7 aimed at giving shots to one crore people in one week. Once vaccinated, the certificate will be available to download on the website and it will work as the movement pass for people, he said.
The minister warned further that anyone over the age of 18 without a vaccine found on the street after the lockdown ends will face punishment.
BMRC clears Indian Covaxin’s clinical trials in Bangladesh
Bangladesh Medical and Research Council (BMRC) has approved in principle the clinical trials of Indian Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin in Bangladesh.
BMRC Chairman Prof Dr Syed Modasser Ali shared the information with UNB on Tuesday.
On July 18, Covaxin, a Coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), got the clearance for its clinical trials in Bangladesh, he said.
Read: Vaccine coproduction deal with Sinopharm ready for signing: FM
Contract Research Organization (CRO) icddr,b had applied seeking permission for the clinical trials of the Indian vaccine in Bangladesh a few months ago.
After the review of necessary documents, the vaccine got clearance from the BMRC, said Dr Modasser.
He, however, said the approval of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) will be needed to start the clinical trials of Covaxin in the country.
Read: No Covid vaccine crisis in the country, says Quader
India has planned to facilitate its clinical trials in Bangladesh in a bid to enhance the recognition of indigenous coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, according to Indian media reports.
India has not supplied any Covaxin doses to Bangladesh so far.
Over 1.6 million AstraZeneca doses received from Japan
Bangladesh has so far received 1,643,300 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan with the arrival of the third consignment of 616,780 doses under the COVAX facility.
“Japan will provide 3 million (doses of AstraZeneca) in total to Bangladesh and so far dispatched 1,643,300 doses,” said Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Naoki Ito after handing over the third consignment to Bangladesh.
The Ambassador said he is pleased that with the gift from the Japanese people, AstraZeneca’s second dose administering resumed on Monday.
Read: Third consignment of AstraZeneca jabs from Japan to reach Dhaka Tuesday
The Japanese government is providing the vaccine doses through the COVAX Facility to meet the urgent needs of the Bangladeshi people who have been long waiting for the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs in Bangladesh to resume within days
Bangladesh will resume vaccination with Astrazeneca shots within the next few days, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
“We’ll resume vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs within the next 2-1 days. Those who failed to take the second dose after getting the first one will be able to get it now,” he said.
The minister said this while speaking to reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after receiving the second consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan.
He said the government currently has a stock of more than 10 lakh doses of Astrazeneca vaccine.
Read: Covid kills 218 more in Bangladesh as its catastrophe continues
“We’ll get 6 lakh doses more of the vaccine on Aug 3,” Zahid added.
Covid kills 218 more in Bangladesh as its catastrophe continues
As health authorities scramble to prevent the spread of the Delta variant, Bangladesh added 218 fatalities to its national tally on Saturday.
The country registered over 200 single-day fatalities for the last six days as it is fighting a horrific wave of the pandemic that overwhelmed its healthcare systems.
The country recorded 9,369 new cases on Saturday after testing 30,980 samples, and reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 258 – on July 27 and 16,230 infections the next day, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
There have been 1,249,484 positive cases and 20,685 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, the DGHS said.
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate took a negligible fall to 30.24% from Friday’s 30.77 %, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
However, the recovery rate rose to 86.29% from the previous day’s 85.81 % and the case fatality rate to 1.66% from last day’s 1.65 %.
Read: No decision yet on lockdown extension: Farhad
As many as 14,017 patients recovered from the fatal disease in the 24-hour period.
Among the latest deaths, the highest 67 deaths were recorded in Dhaka division followed by 55 in Chattogram, 27 in Khulna, 22 in Rajshahi, 16 in Rangpur, 12 in Mymensingh, 10 in Barishal, and nine in Sylhet divisions.
Of them, 134 were men and 84 women. Among them, one was between 0-10 years of age, six between 21-30, 17 between 31-40, 37 between 41-50, 37 between 51-60, 66 between 61-70, 33 between 71-80, 15 between 81-90, four between 91-100 and two over 100 years old.
Astrazeneca’s fresh rollout
On a positive note, Bangladesh will resume vaccination with Astrazeneca shots within the next few days, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
“We’ll resume vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs within the next 2-1 days. Those who failed to take the second dose after getting the first one will be able to get it now,” he said.
He said the government has an overall stock of 2 crore 60 lakh vaccine doses now.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday received the second consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan under the COVAX facility.
Read: Vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs in Bangladesh to resume within days
The second consignment contains 7,81,320 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
A cargo flight of Cathay Pacific that carried the vaccine doses from Japan landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 3:15 pm.
The third consignment that will contain 6,16,780 doses of the vaccine is scheduled to arrive here on August 3.
Bangladesh to receive 2nd consignment of Astrazeneca doses from Japan Saturday
Bangladesh will receive the second consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan under the COVAX facility on Saturday.
The consignment, being carried by All Nippon Airways (ANA), contains 7,81,320 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, raising the total jabs of the vaccine in Bangladesh to one million.
The flight left Narita Airport Terminal 1 at 22:40 hrs (JST). The delivery is part of Japan's announced commitment of supplying over 3.0 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in phases to Bangladesh under WHO-COVAX mechanism.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen received the first consignment of 2,45,200 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan on July 24.
Read: Bangladesh receives 30 lakh Sinopharm vaccine jabs
Japan to widen virus emergency after record spike amid Games
Japan is set to expand the coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo to neighboring areas and the western city of Osaka on Friday in the wake of a record surge in infections while the capital hosts the Olympics.
A government panel approved the plan putting Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, as well as Osaka, under the state of emergency from Monday until Aug. 31. The measures already in place in Tokyo and the southern island of Okinawa will be extended until the end of August.
Read: Tropical storm to bring rain, wind, waves to northeast Japan
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is scheduled to officially announce the measures later Friday. Five other areas, including Hokkaido, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka, will be placed under less-stringent emergency restrictions.
Tokyo has reported a record rise in cases for three days in a row, including 3,865 on Thursday. The cases have doubled since last week, and officials have warned they may hit 4,500 a day within two weeks.
Officials said 2,995 were hospitalized, about half the current capacity of 6,000 beds, with some hospitals already full. More than 10,000 others were isolating at home or designated hotels, with nearly 5,600 waiting at home while health centers decide where they will be treated. Tokyo is also setting up a facility for those requiring oxygen while waiting for hospital beds.
At Friday’s meeting of government experts, Health Minister Norihisa Tamura said the spike in Tokyo despite being under the state of emergency for two weeks is an “alarming development that is different from anything we have seen before.”
Read: Japan girds for a surreal Olympics, and questions are plenty
Nationwide, Japan reported 10,687 confirmed cases Thursday, exceeding 10,000 for the first time. It has recorded 15,166 fatalities from COVID-19, including 2,288 in Tokyo, since the pandemic began.
Japan has kept its cases and deaths lower than many other countries, but its seven-day rolling average is growing and now stands at 28 per 100,000 people nationwide and 88 per 100,000 in Tokyo, according to the Health Ministry. This compares to 18.5 in the United States, 48 in Britain and 2.8 in India, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The emergency measures focus on an alcohol ban at eateries and karaoke bars and their shortened hours, but they have become less effective because people are only requested to stay and work from home. Many were defying the measures as they have become tired of restrictive life and less cooperative even at a time when the more infectious delta strain is spreading.
“We need to come up with measures that are effective,” Tokyo Gov Yuriko Koike told a regular news conference Friday, without elaborating.
Read:Japan's Olympic security balancing act leaves few satisfied
Noting that adults in their 30s or younger dominate recent cases, Koike reminded them of following basic anti-virus measures including mask-wearing and avoiding having parties, urging them to “share the sense of crisis.”
As of Thursday, 27% of the Japanese population has been fully vaccinated. The percentage of the elderly who are fully vaccinated is 71.5%.
Bangladesh receives 30 lakh Sinopharm vaccine jabs
Bangladesh received 30 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine on Thursday night and early Friday as part of commercial purchase from China.
One of the three aircraft of Biman Bangladesh Airlines landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:20pm on Thursday.
Read: Bangladesh receives 10 lakh Sinopharm vaccine jabs
Two more aircraft landed at 1:14am and 5.37am on Friday, each carrying 10 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine, Tahera Khondoker, Deputy General Manager (PR) at Biman Bangladesh Airlines, told UNB.
Earlier, Bangladesh received 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine on July 17 and July 18.