COVID-19 vaccine
Can I take painkillers before or after a COVID-19 vaccine?
Don’t take them before a shot to try to prevent symptoms, but if your doctor agrees, it’s OK to use them afterward if needed.
The concern about painkillers is that they might curb the very immune system response that a vaccine aims to spur. Vaccines work by tricking the body into thinking it has a virus and mounting a defense against it. That may cause temporary arm soreness, fever, muscle aches or other symptoms of inflammation — signs the vaccine is doing its job.
Also read: Covid-19 vaccine not a 'silver bullet': WHO
Some research suggests that certain painkillers including ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and other brands) might diminish the immune system’s response. A study on mice suggests these drugs might lower production of antibodies, which block the virus from infecting cells.
Other research has found that painkillers might dampen the response to some childhood vaccines, so many pediatricians recommend that parents avoid giving children the medicines before a shot and only if needed afterward, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance to recommend against painkillers before a COVID-19 shot. It says they can be taken afterward for symptoms if you have no other medical conditions precluding their use, but to talk to your doctor.
Also read:Daily COVID-19 deaths in US reach highest level since May
If you’re already taking one of those medications for a health condition, you should not stop before you get the vaccine — at least not without asking your doctor, said Jonathan Watanabe, a pharmacist at the University of California, Irvine.
If you’re looking to relieve symptoms after your shot, he added, acetaminophen (Tylenol) is better because it works in a different way than some other painkillers.
“If you have a reaction afterwards and need something, take some acetaminophen,” Schaffner agreed. He added that the immune response generated by the vaccines is strong enough that any dampening effect by painkillers is likely slight and won’t undermine the shots.
Also read:Covid-19: Global cases exceed 62 million
The CDC offers other tips, such as holding a cool, wet washcloth over the area of the shot and exercising that arm. For fever, drink lots of fluids and dress lightly. Call your doctor if redness or tenderness in the arm increases after a day or if side effects don’t go away after a few days, the CDC says.
African expert warns of 'vaccine war' over access to jabs
The head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned against a “vaccine war” among nations amid renewed fears vaccine shipments to the continent face delays.
John Nkengasong said in a briefing Thursday that he “truly feels helpless that this situation is going to significantly impact our ability to fight this virus," referring to reports that the Serum Institute of India is suspending major exports of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in order to meet rising demand at home.
“Without ramping (up) access to vaccines we will be challenged, continue to be challenged. Lives will be lost,” Dr. Nkengasong said, noting that he remains hopeful "the power of humanity will prevail.”
Also read: Virus variants, vaccine inequity responsible for rising Covid caseload: WHO
He added: “There is absolutely no need, absolutely no need for us as humanity to go into a vaccine war to fight this pandemic. We will all be losers.”
The Serum Institute of India produces the AstraZeneca shots being shipped to Africa through the international COVAX initiative to ensure vaccine access for low- and middle-income countries. At least 28 of Africa's 54 countries have received over 16 million doses via COVAX as of Thursday.
Vaccine shipments through COVAX continue to arrive across Africa. South Sudan, for example, on Thursday received its first batch of 132,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in what WHO called “a giant step” toward equitable destruction of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.
But COVAX has been facing delays related to the limited global supply of vaccine doses as well as logistical issues. That’s why some countries such as South Africa, the hardest-hit African nation, are also pursuing COVID-19 vaccines via bilateral deals and through the African Union’s bulk-purchasing program.
Also read: Leaders of "Quad" agree to aid vaccine delivery to developing nation
At least 10 African countries are yet to receive vaccines, according to the World Health Organization's regional office for Africa. Those countries include Tanzania, Burundi, Eritrea, Cameroon, and Chad.
The continent has "has received limited doses and much later than the rest of the world,” Dr. Richard Mihigo, a program coordinator in charge of immunization and vaccine development with WHO's Africa office, said in a briefing Thursday.
“We are concerned that while COVAX vaccinations have enabled many African countries to roll out vaccinations, the slow pace of vaccine supply we are now seeing risks widening the gap between the world's vaccinated and the unvaccinated populations,” he said, charging that it's unfair that some wealthy nations “are looking to vaccinate their entire populations” while Africa continues to lag behind.
There are ongoing discussions between WHO, the global vaccine alliance GAVI and Indian authorities aimed at ensuring COVAX shipments continue to be prioritized, the official said.
Africa hopes to vaccinate 60% of its 1.3 billion people by mid-2022 in order to achieve herd immunity, when enough people are protected through infection or vaccination to make it difficult for a virus to continue to spread. That amounts to about 1.5 billion vaccine doses.
That target almost certainly will not be met without widespread use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which many experts see as key to the global strategy to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccine from the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker is cheaper and easier to store than many others. It will make up nearly all of the doses shipped in the first half of the year via COVAX.
Experts have warned that until vaccination rates are high the world over, the virus remains a threat everywhere.
“We are all in this together. This is a global pandemic, and we need to solve it through global vaccination, global public health methods," said Anthony Costello, a professor of global health and sustainable development at University College London.
Also read: AstraZeneca confirms strong vaccine protection after US rift
Costello told the WHO briefing that while Africa, with its much younger population, is seeing lower death rates than other regions, "we must put pressure on wealthy countries to ensure that they offer the finance and the assistance to Africa to get the required number of vaccines.”
Africa has confirmed more than 4 million cases of COVID-19, including 110,000 deaths, according to the Africa CDC.
Modi to bring 12 lakh more vaccine doses as gift for Bangladesh
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will bring 12 lakh more Covid-19 vaccine doses as gift during his visit to Bangladesh on Friday.
Also read: Dhaka-Delhi ties to get stronger with Modi's imminent visit:Doraiswami
Director of Non-Communicable Diseases (NDC) under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Media Cell representative Prof Dr Mohammad Robed Amin told UNB about the vaccine gift.
The Indian Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive here on Friday to attend the twin mega celebrations marking the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of Bangladesh’s Independence.
Also read: India offers Covid vaccine for Bangladesh army
Another 20 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine gifted by India reached Dhaka on January 21.
Besides, Bangladesh has signed an agreement with India's Serum Institute for collecting 30 million doses.
As per the deal, the Serum Institute will provide five million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine every month between January and June.
Also read: Bangladesh receives 1st consignment of imported Covid vaccine doses
Global Covid cases near 125 million
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread around the world, with over 124.6 million cases and 2.7 million deaths.
The total case count reached 124,688,146 while the death toll from the virus climbed to 545,237 on Thursday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The US, the world's worst-hit country in terms of cases and deaths, surpassed the grime milestone of 30 million confirmed Covid cases on Thursday. Covid-related deaths currently stand at 545,237, as per the university data.
More than 85.4 million people, or 25.7% of the US population, have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 46.3 million people, or 14% of the population, have completed their vaccination, reports AP.
Brazil topped 300,685 confirmed Covid-19 deaths on Thursday amid a spike in infections.
On Wednesday, Brazil's health ministry reported 2,009 Covid-19 deaths, bringing its pandemic total to 300,685. On Tuesday, the country saw a single-day record of 3,251 deaths.
Also read: Global Covid-19 cases top 123 million
The total caseload in the South American country has now reached 12,220,011.
India’s total Covid tally surpassed 11,734,058 while the country’s death toll mounted to 160,441, as per the latest data released by the government.
A new and potentially troublesome variant of the coronavirus has been detected in India, as have variants been first detected in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, health officials said Wednesday, reports AP.
Health Ministry officials and experts, however, cautioned against linking the variants with an ongoing surge in new infections in India.
Also read; Global Covid-19 death toll hits 2.7 million
Cases in India had been plummeting since September and life was returning to normal. But cases began spiking last month, and more than 47,000 new infections have been detected in the past 24 hours, along with 275 deaths -- the highest one-day death toll in more than four months.
Situation in Bangladesh
Covid-19 claimed 25 more lives and infected 3,567 others in the past 24 hours till Wednesday morning amid an alarming spike in cases over the past few weeks in Bangladesh.
The coronavirus fatalities rose to 8,763 with the latest figure while the new cases pushed the total infections to 580,808, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the fresh 3,537 cases, Bangladesh has seen the worst daily increase for the second consecutive day since July 15, 2020.
The free movement of people ignoring the health protocols is believed to be the reason behind the recent upsurge in cases.
The infection rate slightly dropped to 12.97 percent from 13.69 percent a day before.
The mortality rate now stands at 1.51 percent, which remained static at 1.52 percent for the past four days, the directorate said.
The DGHS media release says 527,909 patients -- 91.89 percent -- have so far recovered from the virus infection, including 1,915 in the past 24 hours.
Also read: Global Covid-19 deaths top 2.67 million
The first Covid-19 cases were reported in the country on March 8, 2020, while the first death on March 18 the same year.
Coronavirus tests are being conducted at 118 government and private hospitals in Bangladesh.
Till Wednesday, some 4,487,686 samples were tested across the country, including 27,502 in the past 24 hours.
The Covid-19 vaccination drive is underway across the country aiming to protect people from the virus infection.
So far, 4,990,232 people have been vaccinated in the country since the drive began with the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab on February 7.
In the wake of a sharp rise in coronavirus cases, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Wednesday announced that 3,000 more beds will be added to hospitals across the country to tackle the rising number of patients.
“The number of Covid patients need to be reduced fast. If the current rate of virus infection continues, it won’t be possible to tackle the situation with the existing arrangements,” he said.
US tops 30 million confirmed cases of COVID-19
The U.S. has now surpassed 30 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
Coronavirus cases nationwide reached 30,001,245 on Wednesday, nearly three months after the country hit 20 million.
COVID-19 related deaths now total more than 545,000.
The new milestone comes as public health experts show cautious optimism three months into the U.S. vaccination rollout. It is believed that 70% of Americans 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine and COVID-19 deaths are below 1,000 a day on average for the first time since November.
The federal government is dramatically ramping up vaccine production and several states have already expanded vaccination eligibility to people age 16 and up.
More than 124 million cases have been confirmed worldwide.
Also read: Global Covid-19 cases surpass 124 million
SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah’s mask mandate will end April 10 after the Republican governor signed a bill that lays out a new timeline for lifting some of the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Masks orders will remain in place for schools and gatherings of more than 50 people. Businesses can also choose to require them.
Gov. Spencer Cox signed the measure on Wednesday, the same day that vaccinations opened to all people aged 16 and older.
New coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Utah have been on a downward trend since January. According to state data, more than 438,000 of the state’s 3.2 million residents have been fully vaccinated.
THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
VACCINES: More than 85.4 million people, or 25.7% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 46.3 million people, or 14% of the population, have completed their vaccination.
CASES: The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. decreased over the past two weeks from 56,045 on March 9 to 53,308 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
DEATHS: The seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths in the U.S. decreased over the past two weeks decreased from 1,557 on March 9 to 940 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Also read: Global Covid fatalities top 2.7 million
— Dr. Fauci: Positive signs with vaccinations, but U.S. not turning corner yet on coronavirus
— Bono, Penélope Cruz, David Oyelowo star in animated series on vaccine importance
— Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
TOPEKA, Kan. — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has signed legislation rewriting state laws for managing the coronavirus pandemic and future emergencies even though she believes it could hinder disaster response efforts.
The measure Kelly signed Wednesday extends the state of emergency for the pandemic until May 28 instead of letting it expire March 31. Kelly cited the extension in announcing her action.
The measure also leaves counties in charge of mask mandates and other restrictions. But in the state’s second most populous county of Sedgwick County, the county commission ended its remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Commissioners had said the measure signed by Kelly makes it more likely it would lose lawsuits over such restrictions.
The measure says anyone aggrieved by local restrictions during a pandemic or other emergency can file a lawsuit challenging them and the case must be heard within 72 hours.
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas says it will be receiving only a fraction of the 100,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine for COVID-19 that it had expected next week.
The state Department of Health and Environment said Wednesday that it will receive 16,500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine when it had expected 100,000 doses.
The department said production issues mean that the promised doses might not be ready to ship to Kansas until the second or third week of April.
Gov. Laura Kelly had cited the expected arrival of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines last week in announcing that Kansas would make eligible for inoculations all residents from 16 through 64 who have medical conditions that would put them at risk of serious complications or death from COVID-19. The state had been limiting shots to people 65 and older, along with essential workers, as part of a second phase of its vaccine distribution.
SAO PAULO, Brazil — Brazil has reached 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and become the second nation to top that figure. The United States hit the same milestone on Dec. 14, but it has a larger population.
Wednesday’s coronavirus figures from the Brazilian health ministry added another 2,009 deaths to the country’s tally, which local media say is an undercount.
On Tuesday, Brazil hit a single-day record of 3,251 COVID-19 deaths and authorities fear that April could be as grim as March in the country’s overwhelmed hospitals.
Brazil added 100,000 deaths to its tally in only 75 days, a spike health experts have blamed on a lack of political coordination, new variants that spread more easily and a disregard for health protocols in many parts of the country.
WARSAW, Poland – Amid a spike in new COVID-19 cases, Poland’s health and Catholic Church authorities have appealed to all parish priests to strictly observe an attendance limit and distancing at church services, especially during the Easter holiday.
Health Minister Adam Niedzielski and Secretary General of Poland’s Episcopate, Bishop Artur Mizinski, said in Wednesday's appeal that they were driven by concern for the “life and health of all Poles.”
“We must not remain indifferent in the face of the rising number of new infections,” they said and stressed the need to “strictly observe the rules and sanitary requirements.”
They said that was the necessary condition to avoid new restrictions that would be tougher than the current lockdown of hotels, shopping malls, theaters and sports centers.
On Wednesday, the nation of 38 million inhabitants recorded its highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases in the pandemic, reaching almost 30,000. There were 575 deaths.
There have been reports that not all churches are observe pandemic rules. Photos have circulated of ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and other officials failing to observe the required distance at a memorial Mass for Kaczynski’s late mother in a church in Starachowice in central Poland.
Easter, this year on April 4-5, and the week leading to it, are a time when Poles throng churches for prayers and Mass.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana will end its limits Monday on which adults can receive the coronavirus vaccine, giving access to anyone 16 and older who wants to schedule an appointment.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards made the announcement as vaccine supplies grow and immunization appointments go unused. Louisiana is joining a growing list of states that are throwing open vaccine access to any adult interested in a shot.
Edwards says Louisiana also will significantly ramp up its large community vaccination events to try to reach more people and make it easier for them to obtain the immunizations.
BOISE, Idaho — The governor of Idaho has said COVID-19 vaccine eligibility will be open to all Idaho residents 16 and up starting April 5.
Republican Gov. Brad Little made the move three weeks ahead of schedule. He also said people with at least one medical condition will be able to get the vaccine starting Monday, about two weeks ahead of schedule.
Currently eligible for the vaccine are those 55 and older, healthcare workers, long-term care facility staff and residents, first responders, K-12 teachers and school staff, and frontline essential workers.
WAILUKU, Hawaii — A hospital on Maui had to throw out nearly 1,400 vaccine doses after a refrigerator thawing the vials did not properly seal.
A low-temperature refrigerator holding doses of the Pfizer vaccine at Maui Memorial Medical Center was not closed properly, and the vaccines were compromised over the weekend. Officials at the hospital said enough supply remains to keep all current vaccination appointments.
Vaccines are locked in a freezer before being transferred to the low-temperature refrigerator to be thawed. The doses were put in the refrigerator on Friday in preparation for this week’s vaccinations. Staff members discovered the door was not sealed on Monday.
Hawaii has distributed 832,800 coronavirus vaccines, or about 58,819 for every 100,000 residents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 16% of the state's population has completed their vaccination.
BERLIN — Austrian authorities plan to close nonessential shops and businesses such as hairdressers in three eastern regions from April 1 to April 6 over Easter as they attempt to flatten a rise in coronavirus infections.
Health Minister Rudolf Anschober said that the aim is a “cooling-down phase” in the capital, Vienna; the surrounding province of Lower Austria; and neighboring Burgenland province, on the Hungarian border.
The three eastern provinces are a cause of particular concern because of the rapid spread of a more contagious virus variant first detected in Britain.
Austria has an overall infection rate of 247 new cases per 100,000 residents over the past week. The rate is closer to 300 in the eastern provinces. The national rate is more than twice that in neighboring Germany, where authorities initially decided on a five-day nationwide shutdown over Easter but then abandoned the idea because of logistical and legal concerns.
NEW YORK — More than three months into the U.S. vaccination drive, 70% of Americans 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Also, COVID-19 deaths have dipped below 1,000 a day on average for the first time since November. Dozens of states have thrown open vaccinations to all adults or are planning to do so in a matter of weeks.
More than 43% of Americans 65 and older — the most vulnerable age group, accounting for an outsize share of the nation’s more than 540,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths — have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. The number of older adults showing up in emergency rooms with COVID-19 is down significantly. Vaccinations overall have ramped up to 2.5 million to 3 million shots per day.
The outlook in the U.S. stands in stark contrast to the deteriorating situation in places like Brazil and Europe. At the same time, public health experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci in the U.S. are warning it’s too early to declare victory and relaxing social distancing and other measures could easily lead to another surge.
MADRID — Spain’s top health official has warned the country is at risk of another spike in coronavirus infections that has already struck many parts of Europe.
“We are facing a decisive moment,” Health Minister Carolina Darias said after meeting with Spain’s regional health chiefs on Wednesday. “We must invert this tendency. We have to intensify our efforts.”
Darias says the spread of the more contagious variants is pushing up infections across Spain. A nightly curfew and other restrictions on movement had put a cap on infections until two weeks ago, when the figures started to increase.
Darias made her appeal alongside Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who said police will be extra vigilant to enforce bans on travel between regions and unauthorized social gatherings for next week’s Easter holidays.
“Our goal is to save lives,” says Grande-Marlaska. Also Wednesday, thousands of Spaniards lined up to get AstraZeneca shots again, the latest country to restart the vaccine after its credibility suffered a series of recent setbacks.
Spain reported more than 7,000 infections in the past 24 hours and 320 deaths, increasing the confirmed death toll to more than 74,000.
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey has received approximately 1.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and will begin administering shots next week.
Turkey’s health minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Twitter that Turkey received delivery of some 750,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday and 700,000 more arrived on Wednesday. Turkey is set to receive a total of 4.5 million doses of the vaccine.
Turkey rolled out its vaccination program in January after authorities approved the emergency use of the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac company. More than 14 million shots have been administered so far. Some 6 million people have received their two doses.
The country of 83 million aims to provide vaccines to 50 million people by the fall.
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci isn’t ready to say the nation has turned the corner on the coronavirus pandemic, despite about 2.5 million Americans getting vaccinated each day.
The government’s top infectious disease expert says he often gets asked that question. His response: “We are at the corner. Whether we or not we are going to be turning the corner remains to be seen.”
At the White House coronavirus briefing on Wednesday, Fauci says the main challenge remains a stubbornly high level of new daily cases in the country. It’s hovering around an average of 55,000 and up slightly in recent days. While that is clearly much better than the 250,000 daily cases at the peak of the winter wave, it’s uncomfortably close to levels seen during the COVID wave of last summer.
“When you are at that level, I don’t think you can declare victory and say you have turned the corner,” Fauci adds.
On the plus side, along with the growing level of vaccinations, Fauci is underscoring recent studies that show negligible rates of coronavirus infection among fully vaccinated people. There’s also been a significant drop in the number of people 65 and older going to the emergency room with COVID-19. That’s the age group most vulnerable to the disease.
BRUSSELS — Belgium is reintroducing strict lockdown measures in response to a surge of new coronavirus infections.
The government announced schools would be closed on Monday and residents would have limited access to non-essential businesses starting Wednesday night.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo says the virus variant first identified in Britain is likely taking a heavy toll on the health of the country’s people. Confirmed cases increased 40% in the last week and hospital admissions rose 28% following a long stable period.
Under the new rules, non-essential shops can remain open but customers will need to book appointments. Hairdressers and beauty parlors must close until April 25.
PARIS — France’s culture minister has been hospitalized for COVID-19, the latest senior official to be infected as the nation faces a third surge of infections.
Roselyne Bachelot announced last weekend that she had tested positive and her hospitalization was made public Wednesday. The latest surge has been likely propelled by the highly contagious virus variant first seen in Britain.
ICUs in the Paris region as well as in northern and southeastern France are filling up.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who was infected months ago but never hospitalized, on Tuesday announced an acceleration of the country’s vaccination campaign. Now all people over 70 are eligible to get a vaccine shot.
Covid-19 vaccine: DU students asked to get registered by March 31
Dhaka University (DU) on Wednesday asked its student to sign up for Covid-19 vaccine registration by March 31.
Students can apply for registration through the Dhaka University website.
A notice signed by DU Registrar Md Enamuzzaman said, "Students will have to complete their registration through the university's website by 31 March. The university registration number or institutional email ID will be needed to complete registration."
Bangladesh reports new high of 3,567 Corona cases; 25 more die
Covid-19 claimed 25 more lives and infected 3,567 others in the past 24 hours until Wednesday morning amid an alarming spike in the case over the last few weeks in Bangladesh.
The coronavirus fatalities rose to 8,763 with the latest figure while the new cases pushed the total infections to 580,808, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also read:No risk of contracting Covid-19 due to vaccination: DGHS
With the fresh 3,537 cases, Bangladesh has seen the worst daily increase for the 2nd consecutive day since July 15, 2020.
The free movement of people ignoring the health protocols is believed to be the reason behind the recent upsurge in the cases.
The infection rate slightly dropped to 12.97 percent from 13.69 percent a day before.
The mortality rate now stands at 1.51 percent which remained static at 1.52 percent for the past four days, the said.
On January 19 last, Bangladesh reported its virus infection rate just 5 percent and at one stage it fell below 3 percent. The virus cases started soaring again on February 9.
The DGHS media release says 527,909 patients - 91.89 percent - have so far recovered from the virus infection, including 1,915 in the last 24 hours.
Also read:How do we know the COVID-19 vaccines are safe?
The first Covid-19 cases were reported in the country on March 8, 2020 while the first death on March 18 the same year.
Coronavirus tests are conducted at 118 government and private hospitals in Bangladesh.
Until Wednesday, some 4,487,686 samples were tested across the country, including 27,502 in the past 24 hours.
The Covid-19 vaccination drive is underway across the country aiming to protect people from the virus infections.
So far, 4,990,232 people have been vaccinated in the country since the drive began with the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab on February 7.
In the wake of sharp rise in Coronavirus cases, Health Minister Zahid Maleque announced that 3000 more beds will be added to hospitals across the country to tackle rising number of patients.
The minister revealed this while responding to questions from reporters following a meeting on MBBS admission test at his ministry's conference room.
Also read:Covid-19 vaccine not a 'silver bullet': WHO
“The number of Covid patients need to be reduced fast. If the current rate of virus infection continues, it won’t be possible to tackle the situation with the existing arrangements,” he said.
With the Covid-19 situation worsening around the world, the global caseload crossed 124 million on Wednesday.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the global Covid-19 tally and fatalities now stand at 124,143,841 and 2,733,380, respectively.
US: AstraZeneca may have used outdated info in vaccine trial
Results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine may have included “outdated information” and that could mean the company provided an incomplete view of efficacy data, American federal health officials said early Tuesday.
A spokesman from the drug company said Tuesday it was “looking into it.”
Also read:Smithsonian obtains vial from 1st US COVID-19 vaccine dose
AstraZeneca reported Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection among adults of all ages in a long-anticipated U.S. study, a finding that some experts hoped would help rebuild public confidence in the shot around the world and move it a step closer to clearance in the U.S.
In the study of more than 30,000 people, the company reported that the vaccine was found to be 79% effective at preventing symptomatic cases of COVID-19 — including in older adults. There were no severe illnesses or hospitalizations among vaccinated volunteers, compared with five such cases in participants who received dummy shots — a small number, but consistent with findings from Britain and other countries that the vaccine protects against the worst of the disease. AstraZeneca also said the study’s independent safety monitors found no serious side effects, including no increased risk of rare blood clots like those identified in Europe, a scare that led numerous countries to briefly suspend vaccinations last week.
Also read:A rapid COVID-19 vaccine rollout backfired in some US states
But just hours after those encouraging results were reported, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases issued an unusual statement.
The agency said the Data and Safety Monitoring Board “expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.”
“We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible,” the statement added.
The company aims to file an application with the Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks, and the government’s outside advisers will then publicly debate the evidence.
Also read:How do we know the COVID-19 vaccines are safe?
Authorization and guidelines for use of the vaccine in the United States will be determined by the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after thorough review of the data by independent advisory committees.
Share Covid jabs out of self-interest: WHO
The growing gap between the number of vaccines being given in rich countries and those administered through COVAX is becoming “more grotesque every day”, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
“In January, I said that the world was on the brink of a catastrophic moral failure unless urgent steps were taken to ensure equitable distribution of vaccines," the UN News quoted Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, as telling journalists at a regular news briefing on Monday.
“We have the means to avert this failure, but it’s shocking how little has been done to avert it," he added, noting that WHO has been working “day and night to find solutions to increase the production and equitable distribution of vaccines”.
Also read: Virus variants, vaccine inequity responsible for rising Covid caseload: WHO
‘False sense of security’
The WHO chief pointed out that while some countries are vaccinating their entire populations, others have no shots.
“The inequitable distribution of vaccines is not just a moral outrage, it’s also economically and epidemiologically self-defeating," he said, pointing out that some nations are vaccinating low risk, younger people at the cost of “health workers, older people and other at-risk groups in other countries”.
And because more transmissions mean more variants, Tedros upheld that the imbalance in jabs only provides “a false sense of security” as “the more variants that emerge, the more likely it is that they will evade vaccines”.
Also read: COVID infections drop 16% worldwide in one week: WHO
“As long as the virus continues to circulate anywhere, people will continue to die, trade and travel will continue to be disrupted, and the economic recovery will be further delayed," he spelled out.
Last Friday, WHO hosted a meeting on enhancing genomic sequencing of the coronavirus, to better monitor its evolution in the face of the many mutations that are raising international concern.
Tedros said that while knowing when, how and where the virus is evolving, is vital information, it is of limited use if countries do not work together to suppress transmission “everywhere at the same time”.
“If countries won’t share vaccines for the right reasons, we appeal to them to do it out of self-interest," he said.
AstraZeneca equity commitment
Tedros also told journalists that he had spoken to vaccine manufacturers on how to ramp up production, including the CEO of AstraZeneca, manufacturer of the Oxford University-AstraZeneca shots, which were temporarily suspended by a group of countries, mainly in Europe, amid concerns over blood-clotting statistics.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain, are among those who have begun using the vaccine again following reassurances from top regulators. On Monday, a large study in the United States, Chile and Peru, reportedly showed that the vaccine was 79% effective in preventing the illness and 100% effective against severe symptoms and hospitalisation.
“These data are further evidence that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective," Tedros said.
He flagged that AstraZeneca is “the only company that has committed to not profiting from its Covid-19 vaccine during the pandemic” and the only vaccine developer that has made a significant contribution to vaccine equity, “by licensing its technology to several other companies”. This includes in Korea and India, where manufacturers are producing more than 90 percent of COVAX-distributed vaccines.
Sharing vaccine technology
“We need more vaccine producers to follow this example and licence their technology to other companies," underscored the WHO chief.
He noted that a year ago, Costa Rica and WHO had launched a mechanism called the Covid-19 Technology Access Pool or C-TAP, designed precisely to promote an “open-science model”, where licensing would occur “in a non-exclusive, transparent manner, to leverage as much manufacturing capacity as possible. So far, C-TAP remains a highly promising, but under-utilized tool".
Again, he argued that while WHO and partners can design and advocate for solutions to save lives, “we need all countries and all manufacturers to work with us to make them happen".
AstraZeneca: US data shows vaccine effective for all adults
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection against sickness and eliminated hospitalizations and deaths from the disease, including in older adults, in final-stage U.S. testing, the company announced Monday.