Vaccine
Around 6,000 Americans contracted Covid after being fully vaccinated, 74 died: CDC
US health officials have confirmed fewer than 6,000 cases of Covid-19 in fully vaccinated Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. Seventy-four of them died.
The cases represent just 0.007% of the 84 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated, reports CNBC. Despite the 'breakthrough' infections, Dr Walensky this week said the vaccines are working as intended.
Read Half of US adults have received at least one COVID-19 shot
"With any vaccine, we expect such rare cases, but so far out of more than 84 million people who were fully vaccinated, we have only received reports of less than 6,000 breakthrough cases," Walensky told reporters at a press briefing on Monday. Breakthrough cases are defined as someone contracting the virus more than 14 days after their second shot of the vaccine, i.e. when they can be said to be fully vaccinated.
"Although this number is from 43 states and territories and likely an underestimate, it still makes a really important point, these vaccines are working. Of the nearly 6,000 cases, approximately 30% had no symptoms at all," Walensky said. "This is really encouraging news. It demonstrates what we’ve already discussed about these vaccines. They also help prevent you from getting seriously ill."
Also read: Oregon: CDC investigating woman’s death after J&J vaccine
Out of the 6,000 or so breakthrough infections, 396 people were hospitalized and 74 people died, according to CDC data released last week.
The breakthrough infections have been reported in people of all ages. Around 45% of the infections were in patients over 60 years old.
Some 65% of these breakthrough infections have been reported in females.
Also read: Global Covid-19 cases cross 144 million
Half of all American adults have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of those aged 65 and older, 81% have received one dose or more and about two-thirds are fully vaccinated.
CDC's breakthrough case investigations
According to the CDC, there will be "a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated who still get sick, are hospitalized, or die from COVID-19." Variants will cause some of these breakthroughs.
Also read: Fully vaccinated people can travel safely again, CDC says
It adds that "[t]o date, no unexpected patterns have been identified in the case demographics or vaccine characteristics among people with reported vaccine breakthrough infections." The CDC website reiterates that the Covid-19 vaccines are effective, and recommends that all eligible people get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as one is available to them.
Nothing to worry about vaccine stock: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Thursday said there is no reason to be worried about Covid-19 vaccine stock, noting that Bangladesh will have enough vaccine jabs as planned, including a gift of 6 lakh doses from China.
“We’ve enough stock. We’ve made a lineup. We’ll have enough. China will give 6 lakh doses of vaccine as a gift. We don’t have to worry about it... we’re okay,” he said.
Bangladesh has received 7 million of Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) through its contract. Bangladesh also received 3.3 million doses of vaccine as a bilateral partnership gift.
This is the largest amount sent from India to any country.
Talking to reporters at his residence, Dr Momen said the two health ministries of Russia and Bangladesh agreed in principle on the proposal of vaccine coproduction in Bangladesh.
Also read: Will do our best to support vaccine rollout in neighbouring countries: India
“We’re on the same page. Our Health Ministry knows the details. Things will be finalised by the Health Ministry,” said the Foreign Minister.
He said Bangladesh will also purchase vaccine doses from Russia.
Talking to UNB last week, the Foreign Minister revealed that Russia proposed Bangladesh to go for a co-production of vaccines. “It’s not bad. We’re keeping our options open.”
He said Russia will give the technology and Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies will produce the Russian vaccine here if things go well. “It’ll be cheap and hopefully it’ll be better.”
Responding to a question on discussion with the USA, Dr Momen said the United States has assured of making Covid-19 vaccines available for other countries, including Bangladesh, once they have surplus reaching the level of mass vaccination in the US.
“I can assure you when we can reach the level of the critical mass vaccination and we’ve surplus, we’ll absolutely make vaccines available in whatever different ways,” John Kerry, the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate told reporters during his recent visit to Bangladesh.
Also read: Covid vaccines should be declared as global public goods: PM Hasina
Despite high demand in India, Bangladesh hopes that India will supply the rest of the Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccine doses produced by Serum Institute of India (SII) to Bangladesh as agreed between the two countries but keeps other options open.
Bangladesh has purchased three crore doses of the vaccine from Serum Institute and the first shipment of 50 lakh arrived here in January last week while the second consignment of 20 lakh doses of Covid-19 came in February.
The Foreign Minister acknowledged the high demand for vaccines globally, including the demand by some political leaders in India to halt export.
“I think it won’t be applicable for us as we made arrangements and made advance payment. India announced the vaccine will be delivered as per schedule. And we believe it,” Dr Momen said.
Once China had shown much interest to give vaccines to Bangladesh but Bangladesh was reluctant at that time as their vaccine was not approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), he said.
Also read: Hopeful of getting rest of vaccine doses from India as scheduled: FM
Dr Momen said China administered vaccines for their vast population, which they say without any side-effects apart from proving their vaccine to over 50 countries. “We’re continuing discussion with them (China) again so that they can help us.”
India has also approved the use of Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said.
Bangladesh was one of the few countries to get the vaccine first joining hands with its neighbour India amid high demand for it globally.
“It could have been possible due to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s prudent leadership and farsightedness. She took the initiative from day one,” Dr Momen added.
CVASU research: Vaccinated yet Covid-positive people at less risk
A study has found people who were coronavirus infected after vaccination are at lower health risk.
The study was conducted from February 7 to April 13 on 200 such cases by a team of researchers at the University of Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CVASU).
The study by CVASU found that only one infected patient died after taking the first dose of the vaccine.
Read Half of US adults have received at least one COVID-19 shot
According to the study, 82.5 percent of the patients did not have to go to hospital for treatment.
Although 17.5 percent vaccinated yet infected patients were admitted to the hospital, no serious health risk was observed among them.
More than 88 percent of 200 infected people did not have respiratory problems and 92 percent of the patients did not need oxygen.
Read Are some Covid-19 vaccines more effective than others?
The study showed that most of the vaccinated people became infected on average 32 days after vaccination and their average body temperature was 101 degrees.
These findings came up in the study in Chattogram region, led by Vice Chancellor Prof. Gautam Buddha Das of CVASU on the health risks of corona sufferers
The study was performed on 200 infected people who had taken the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India.
Also read: WHO calls for more research into post-Covid complications
Professor Dr. Sharmin Chowdhury, Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Rana, Dr. Trideep Das, Dr. Pranesh Dutta, Dr. Sirajul Islam and Dr. Tanvir Ahmad Nizami were among others in the research team.
Only 35 of the 200 had to be hospitalized for treatment and rest of them took treatment from home.
The primary symptoms of coronavirus attack are fever, sneezing and cough. The most notable symptom is shortness of breath. Most patients die from these respiratory and lung infections.
However, the patients in this study showed these symptoms in a limited scale.
The positive side of the study is that only one in 200 infected patients needed to be admitted to the ICU and died after six days.
Also read: Researchers find Italian woman infected with COVID-19 in November 2019: media
Studies have shown that those who had shortness of breath, did not show symptoms more than five days on average. Their average oxygen saturation rate was 96.8 percent.
In this regard, the head of the research team, CVASU VC Prof. Gautam Buddha Das, said that research has shown that people get infected even after vaccination but the risk of death is reduced. Only one in 200 infected people died after taking the first dose of the vaccine. This rate is 0.5 percent.
However, others who take the first dose of the vaccine are better now, he added.
Read Embattled Indian state looks to Bangladesh pharmas for supplies of Remdesivir
Embattled Indian state looks to Bangladesh pharmas for supplies of Remdesivir
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has sought permission from the Indian central government to import 50,000 vials of Remdesivir from Bangladeshi pharmaceutical companies for emergency use.
He has written to D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Indian Cabinet Minister, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, requesting him to allow import and use of the medicine.
Read Nigeria collects coronavirus medicine from Bangladesh
“With the increasing demand for Remedisivir for critical patients in Jharkhand & its unavailability, we have reached out to Pharma companies in Bangladesh for buying around 50,000 vials for emergency use. I have written to DV Sadanand Gowda for permission to import as soon as possible,” Chief Minister Soren tweeted.
He said they have been able to get a quotation from Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd for 50,000 vials of Demsivir Injection (Remdesivir) at a total cost of US$ 1 million, which the Jharkhand government is willing to procure at the earliest in light of the pressing needs of this medicine.
Also read: Covid-19 turns India into vaccine importer from exporter
“I would request you to kindly allow us to import and use the above mentioned medicine from the said company of Bangladesh so that we are able to save the precious lives,” Soren wrote in his letter to Minister Gowda.
Currently Eskayef (SK-F), Beacon, Incepta, Beximco, Healthcare and Square are producing the drug, which was first developed by US biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences.
Also read: Beximco Pharmaceuticals hands over 1000 doses of Remdesivir to Health Ministry
Remdesivir was the first drug approved by US regulator the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is indicated for treatment of COVID-19 disease in hospitalized adults and children aged 12 years and older.
Full approval was preceded by the US FDA issuing an EUA (emergency use authorization) on May 1, 2020 to allow prescribing remdesivir for severe COVID-19 (confirmed or suspected) in hospitalized adults and children, according to Medscape.
Read Beximco Pharmaceuticals hands over 1000 doses of Remdesivir to Health Ministry
Day 4 of lockdown: Dhaka wears a deserted look
Residents of Dhaka woke up to deserted roads as the Covid-19 lockdown in Bangladesh entered the fourth day on Saturday.
The complete lockdown, which came into effect on April 14 morning to contain the spread of Covid, will continue till April 21 midnight.
On Saturday, fewer private vehicles were seen plying on the city's roads as most of the otherwise busy stretches, including Bijoy Sarani and Mirpur Road, remained empty.
At all the important junctions of the city, the police have set up barricades and check posts to monitor the movement of vehicles as well as people.
Rickshaws, which provide last-mile connectivity to the residents, were, however, seen plying in the bylanes. Kitchen markets in the city too remained open though the footfall was low as compared to other days.
China ramps up vaccination drive with free eggs, other goods
China’s success at controlling the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in a population that has seemed almost reluctant to get vaccinated. So it is accelerating its inoculation campaign by offering incentives — free eggs, store coupons and discounts on groceries and merchandise — to those getting a shot.
After a slow start, China is now giving millions of shots a day. On March 26 alone, it administered 6.1 million shots. A top government doctor, Zhong Nanshan, has announced a June goal of vaccinating 560 million of the country’s 1.4 billion people.
The challenge lies partly in the sheer scale of the effort and the need to convince a population that currently feels safe from infections.
When patients first showed up at hospitals in Wuhan in late 2019 with fevers, coughs and breathing difficulties, the government locked down the city and others in Hubei province for more than two months starting in January 2020. Wuhan later became known as the epicenter of the outbreak.
Also read: Covid-19 vaccines: Ex-leaders, Nobel laureates urge Biden to waive intellectual property rules
Since then, China has controlled the virus through stringent border controls and quick lockdowns whenever new outbreaks crop up. People can dine out in restaurants and the risk of infection is low, so many don’t seem to be in a hurry to get the vaccine.
“I think everyone has a sense of security and comfort, and there’s no big rush to get vaccinated unless you are asked to do so,” said Helen Chen, a health care specialist at a market research firm in Shanghai.
But China also wants to open up as the world seeks to return to pre-pandemic normalcy and Beijing readies to welcome tens of thousands of visitors as host of the Winter Olympics in February 2022. While successful with swift lockdowns and a robust contact tracing system via smartphones, the government is also weighing those measures in balance with an eventual return to normalcy.
For now, in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing, the government has relied mostly on sustained messaging and freebies to convince people to get vaccinated.
Shopping malls have offered points at stores or coupons. A temple in Beijing offered free entry to anyone showing proof of vaccination. Shanghai is using buses in its campaign to set up mobile vaccination points.
And then there are the free eggs.
“Good news. Starting from today, residents 60 years old and above who have gotten their first shot are eligible for five ‘jin’ (2.5 kilograms or 5 1/2 pounds) of eggs. First come, first serve,” said a poster by a city-run health center in Beijing.
Also read: Denmark stops AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Wang Feng was too young for the eggs from the clinic, but the 25-year-old chef said he got the vaccine anyway because he could not go to work without it.
“I thought if it worked, then might as well,” he added.
Some people have expressed doubts about how good the existing vaccines are, Chinese or not, given how quickly they were developed.
“I don’t think such an effective vaccine can be made so quickly,” said Amy Lu, who works in a university in Shanghai.
The five vaccines currently being used in China have an efficacy range of 50.7% to 79.3%, based on what the companies have said. That doesn’t mean they have no value — most experts say that anything above 50% is useful getting the pandemic under control, along with preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
“Even if everyone gets two doses, you may not be able to achieve herd immunity.” said Wang Chenguang, a former professor at Peking Union Medical College and an immunology expert. Herd immunity occurs when enough of the population has immunity, either from vaccinations or past infection, to stop the uncontrolled spread of an infectious disease.
China may need to vaccinate at least 1 billion people to achieve that, said Wang Huaqing, a top immunology official with China’s Center for Disease Control, in an interview with state media this week. As of early April, roughly 34 million people had received two shots and about 65 million got one dose.
Gao Fu, the head of the CDC, said last weekend that China is considering various strategies such as mixing different vaccines to try to increase effectiveness. Outside experts say China could eventually deploy other, more effective vaccines, such as the Pfizer or Moderna shots.
“The best thing to do is to actually allow the use of other better vaccines and make them to be available to the Chinese people, but that’s probably very challenging politically,” said Jin Dong-yan, an expert on vaccines at the University of Hong Kong’s medical school.
Chinese drugmaker Fosun Pharmaceutical Group has partnered with Germany’s BioNTech to sell the Pfizer vaccine in China. However, it has only been approved in Hong Kong and Macao, special territories in China with their own regulatory agencies. A clinical trial for mainland approval is underway.
Vaccination is supposed to be voluntary, but overzealous efforts by some local governments and companies prompted health officials to issue a warning this week against forced vaccinations.
Also read: South Asian Govts must ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines: AI
A hospital in Danzhou on the southern island province of Hainan issued an apology after it issued a notice to staff saying, “Those who are not vaccinated could be fired.”
In Zhejiang province, an April 2 announcement said all government departments, Communist Party cadres and people working in universities would be required to take the lead in getting shots.
The national government also required vaccination for all residents in Ruili, a border town with Myanmar, because of a recent outbreak.
Getting vaccinated can also mean being able to avoid some of the more onerous obstacles that some local institutions have set up in the name of pandemic control.
Beijing student Bright Li said he got vaccinated so he would no longer need approval to leave campus. Although barely enforced, Li became concerned after the university put up posters publicly denouncing a student who left campus without permission last winter after that student had gone to an area with a confirmed COVID-19 case.
The vaccine drive has run into scattered shortages and delays.
In Haikou, the capital of Hainan, health authorities issued a temporary stay on providing a second shot to those not involved with two major upcoming events, “owing to relative tightness” in the vaccine supply. Shortages were also reported in two southern cities, Foshan in Guangdong Province and the port of Xiamen in Fujian province.
China’s vaccine makers have expanded production capacity massively, and health officials say they are confident demand can be met by the end of the year.
Funding for vaccine procurement earmarked in deals with WB, ADB: Dr Meerjady
The government has signed deals with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to get Covid-19 vaccine shots quickly, Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora, additional director general of Health Services division, said.
The World Bank has agreed to provide $500 million to Bangladesh in additional financing to buy the Covid-19 vaccine shots, while ADB has agreed to give $940 million, she said on Wednesday at a virtual press conference from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The $500 million World Bank loan for buying vaccine shots under the "Covid-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness Project" will help Bangladesh vaccinate about 54 million people, the multinational lender said on Wednesday.
Also read: Bangladesh inks over $1 b deal with World Bank for responding to COVID-19 pandemic
Also, the World Bank said the project would help Bangladesh procure vaccines; expand storage facilities; and distribute and deploy the vaccines.
However, Sabrina said: "We are in touch with India's Serum Institute about vaccine supply, too. Also, the government is exploring alternative sources of Covid-19 vaccines. "
Sabrina hoped that Bangladesh would get COVAX vaccine doses fast.
Also read: WHO calls for prioritising vaccine contracts with COVAX
COVAX now has agreements in place to access nearly 2 billion doses of several promising vaccine candidates and laid the groundwork for further doses to be secured through contributions from donors, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on December 18, 2020.
"These agreements mean that all COVAX's 190 participating and eligible economies will be able to access doses to protect vulnerable groups in the first half of 2021."
"At least 1.3 billion donor-funded doses will be made available to 92 economies eligible for the Gavi COVAX AMC, targeting up to 20% population coverage by the end of the year," the WHO added.
Also read: ‘We sink or we swim together’: 5 things you need to know about COVAX
However, Sabrina also said: "If the local companies want to make the vaccine, the government will give them maximum support. The Health Minister Zahid Maleque has already visited the factories of several companies; they are making good progress."
Tokyo adopts tougher virus rules, starts vaccinating elders
Tokyo adopted tougher measures against the coronavirus Monday as it struggles to curb the rapid spread of a more contagious variant ahead of the Olympics in a country where less than 1% of people have been vaccinated.
Japan started its vaccination drive with medical workers and expanded Monday to older residents, with the first shots being given in about 120 selected places around the country.
The tougher COVID-19 rules, just three weeks after a state of emergency ended in the capital, allow Tokyo’s governor to mandate shorter opening hours for bars and restaurants, punish violators and compensate those who comply. The measures remain through May 11.
The status was also raised for Kyoto in western Japan and the southern island prefecture of Okinawa, where cases have surged in recent weeks. The near-emergency status there is to continue through May 5, the end of Japan’s “Golden Week” holidays, to discourage traveling.
Also read: Dhaka-Tokyo people-to-people ties to grow: Ambassador Naoki
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike has asked residents to avoid nonessential trips and practice social distancing. She asked bars and restaurants in many areas of the prefecture to close at 8 p.m.
An elder care home in downtown Tokyo was among the locations where vaccines were being administered Monday.
But Koike urged residents to buckle up and be cautious while vaccinations are in an early stage.
Also read: Tokyo reports 91 new cases of COVID-19, total number tops 2,000
“We are still unarmed as we fight against the resurgence of the infections,” Koike said. “Please follow the guidelines.”
Health officials also will patrol bars and restaurants to ensure safety measures are observed, and testing will be increased at elderly care facilities.
The alert status had been raised a week ago for pats of western prefectures of Osaka and Hyogo, as well as Miyagi in the north. Fifteen cities in the six prefectures, including downtown Tokyo, are now under elevated virus measures.
The non-binding emergency ended in the Tokyo area on March 21. Tokyo’s return to the alert status Monday underscores the difficulty of balancing anti-virus measures and the economy. Suga’s government has been criticized for being too slow in enacting anti-virus measures out of a reluctance to further damage the pandemic-hit economy.
Japan has managed the pandemic better than the United States and many countries in Europe, but not so well compared to other Asian countries and vaccinations have largely lagged behind due to limited supplies of the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only one approved in Japan which so far entirely relies on imports.
In Hachioji city in western Japan, a first group of elderly residents had their first shots Monday. But officials are expecting a slow start due to limited shipment at the beginning. It will be the end of June when Japan will have enough vaccine to cover the elderly population of 36 million, officials said.
Just over 1 million people in Japan have received the first of two vaccine doses, and the surge in cases may cause further cancellations of Olympic-related events.
Inoculations started in mid-February for medical workers, and the campaign will focus on older people through late June. The rest of the population is likely to have to wait until about July, making it almost impossible for Japan to reach so-called herd immunity before the Tokyo Olympics begin on July 23.
Stalled at first jab: Vaccine shortages hit poor countries
As many as 60 countries, including some of the world’s poorest, might be stalled at the first shots of their coronavirus vaccinations because nearly all deliveries through the global program intended to help them are blocked until as late as June.
COVAX, the global initiative to provide vaccines to countries lacking the clout to negotiate for scarce supplies on their own, has in the past week shipped more than 25,000 doses to low-income countries only twice on any given day. Deliveries have all but halted since Monday.
During the past two weeks, according to data compiled daily by UNICEF, fewer than 2 million COVAX doses in total were cleared for shipment to 92 countries in the developing world — the same amount injected in Britain alone.
On Friday, the head of the World Health Organization slammed the “shocking imbalance” in global COVID-19 vaccination. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said that while one in four people in rich countries had received a vaccine, only one in 500 people in poorer countries had gotten a dose.
The vaccine shortage stems mostly from India’s decision to stop exporting vaccines from its Serum Institute factory, which produces the overwhelming majority of the AstraZeneca doses that COVAX counted on to supply around a third of the global population at a time coronavirus is spiking worldwide.
Also read: Shocking imbalance in Covid vaccine distribution: WHO
COVAX will only ship vaccines cleared by WHO, and countries are increasingly impatient. Supplies are dwindling in some of the first countries to receive COVAX shipments, and the expected delivery of second doses in the 12-week window currently recommended is now in doubt. In a statement, the vaccine alliance known as GAVI told The Associated Press that 60 countries are affected by the delays.
In vaccination tents set up at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, many of those who arrived for their first jabs were uneasy about when the second would arrive.
“My fear if I don’t get the second dose, my immune system is going to be weak, hence I might die,” said Oscar Odinga, a civil servant.
Internal WHO documents obtained by the AP show the uncertainty about deliveries “is causing some countries to lose faith in the COVAX (effort).” That is prompting WHO to consider speeding up its endorsement of vaccines from China and Russia, which have not been authorized by any regulators in Europe or North America.
The WHO documents show the U.N. agency is facing questions from COVAX participants about allotments in addition to “uncertainty about whether all those who were vaccinated in round 1 are guaranteed a second dose.”
WHO declined to respond specifically to the issues raised in the internal materials but has previously said countries are “very keen” to get vaccines as soon as possible and insisted it hasn’t heard any complaints about the process.
Also read: Are some Covid-19 vaccines more effective than others?
Concern over the link between the AstraZeneca shot and rare blood clots has also “created nervousness both around its safety and efficacy,” WHO noted. Among its proposed solutions is a decision to “expedite review of additional products” from China and Russia.
WHO said last month it might be possible to greenlight the Chinese vaccines by the end of April.
Some experts have noted that Sinopharm and Sinovac, two Chinese-made vaccines, lack published data, and there are reports of people needing a third dose to be protected.
“If there is something that we miss from not having thoroughly evaluated the risks of serious adverse events from these vaccines, that would undermine the confidence in all the good products that we’re using that we know are safe,” said Dora Curry, director of health equity and rights at CARE International.
Other experts worried that delays could erode faith in governments that were particularly efficient in their vaccination programs and were counting on second doses soon.
“In the absence of high vaccination coverage globally, we risk dragging out the pandemic for several more years,” said Lavanya Vasudevan, an assistant professor at Duke University’s Global Health Institute. “Every day that the virus is in circulation is an opportunity for it to mutate into a more deadly variant.”
Also read: COVAX reaches over 100 economies, 42 days after first international delivery
Earlier this month, the WHO appealed to rich countries to urgently share 10 million doses to meet the U.N. target of starting COVID-19 vaccinations in every country within the first 100 days of the year. So far, countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to COVAX. But there are simply no doses to buy, and no country has agreed to immediately share what it has.
Bilateral donations of doses tend to go along political lines, rather than to countries with the most infections, and they aren’t nearly enough to compensate for the goals that COVAX has set out. Think Global Health, a data site managed by the Council on Foreign Relations, identified 19 countries that have donated a total of 27.5 million doses to 102 nations as of Thursday.
“You can make a strong argument that we’re better off making donations in crisis and getting the pandemic under control than vaccinating low-risk groups at home,” said Thomas Bollyky, director of the Global Health Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. Bollyky said COVAX was both a great disappointment and the only available option for most the world.
According to the International Rescue Committee, COVID-19 cases and deaths last month surged in numerous crisis-hit countries: by 322% in Kenya, 379% in Yemen and 529% in northeast Syria.
On Thursday, the agencies behind COVAX — WHO, vaccines alliance GAVI and CEPI, a coalition for epidemic preparedness — celebrated their delivery of 38 million lifesaving vaccines to more than 100 countries.
Brook Baker, a vaccines expert at Northeastern University, said the laudatory message was misplaced.
Also read: Countries worldwide hit new records for virus cases, deaths
“Celebrating doses sufficient for only 19 million people, or 0.25% of global population, is tone deaf,” he said, adding it was time for WHO and partners to be more honest with countries.
“WHO and GAVI have repeatedly overpromised and underdelivered, so why should we believe that they will suddenly be able to ramp up production and deliveries in a couple of months?” he said.
Outside the vaccination tents in Nairobi on Thursday, Dr. Duncan Nyukuri, an infectious disease physician, tried to reassure people getting their first dose.
“If you receive the first dose and you fail to receive the second dose, this does not mean that your body will be any weaker or you will be at an increased risk of getting any infection,” he said. “What it means is your body will have developed some immunity against the coronavirus infection. But this immunity is not as good as somebody who has received both doses.”
Shocking imbalance in Covid vaccine distribution: WHO
The World Health Organisation has said that low-income countries have just received only 0.2 percent of the total Covid-19 jabs globally as more than 700 million vaccine doses have been administered across the world.
The vast majority of Covid-19 vaccines administered so far have gone to wealthy nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
“There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines," WHO chief Tedros Adhanonom Ghebreyesus told reporters at the agency’s regular briefing from Geneva.
“On average in high-income countries, almost one in four people has received a vaccine. In low-income countries, it’s one in more than 500. Let me repeat that: one in four versus one in 500," the UN News quoted him as saying.
Bilateral deals hurt COVAX
The global solidarity initiative, COVAX, has also experienced a shortage of vaccines. While the mechanism has distributed some 38 million doses so far, it was expected to deliver nearly 100 million by the end of March.
Also read: 36 countries yet to get Covid jabs: WHO
“The problem is not getting vaccines out of COVAX; the problem is getting them in," he said.
“We understand that some countries and companies plan to do their own bilateral vaccine donations, bypassing COVAX for their own political or commercial reasons. These bilateral arrangements run the risk of fanning the flames of vaccine inequity.”
Scaling up solidarity
COVAX partners, who include Gavi, the vaccine alliance, are working on several options to scale up production to meet the goal of delivering two billion doses by the end of the year.
Dr Seth Berkley, the Chief Executive Officer at Gavi, highlighted the need for continued solidarity. "What we are now beginning to see are supply constraints, not just of vaccines, but also of the goods that go into making vaccines.
COVAX is in discussions with several high-income countries to get them to share surplus vaccine doses, he said. It is also developing cost-sharing mechanisms so that low-income countries can buy additional doses through COVAX, funded by multilateral development banks.
Also read: Share Covid jabs out of self-interest: WHO
Dr Berkley said that financing is also needed as demand for vaccines has risen with the emergence of new Covid-19 variants.
Concern over ‘raging inferno’ in Brazil
WHO remains deeply concerned about what one of its experts labelled the “raging inferno of an outbreak” in Brazil, in response to a journalist’s question about scaling up vaccines to address the emergency there.
South America’s largest country has recorded more than 340,000 deaths since the pandemic began, making it second only to the United States.
Tedros said he has spoken with the newly appointed health minister, and officials at the federal level, which he hoped will “help with moving forward in our partnership".
Continue prevention measures
Dr Bruce Aylward, a WHO Senior Adviser, described the situation in Brazil as “very, very concerning”. Delivering more vaccines would have minimal impact, he said, emphasing the need to continue measures that have proved to slow virus spread.
“Even by the time you get vaccines into a country, by the time you get them into people -- and you’re getting them to a relatively small proportion of the population -- that will have a small effect in limiting the risk to some people," he said.
“But what you’re dealing with here is a raging inferno of an outbreak, and that requires population-level action in the rapid identification, isolation, quarantining, because you have to approach this at that scale to slow this thing down.”
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO Technical Lead on Covid-19, said that while vaccines are a powerful tool, they alone will not end the pandemic.
“The trajectory of this pandemic around the world is going in the wrong direction," she said, referring to six consecutive weeks of increased cases and rising deaths.
“We have tools right now that can prevent infections and can save lives, so we need to find reasons why measures aren’t in place... and find solutions to actually get these in place.”