Tag: covid vaccination

Categories : COVIDTags :

WHO Calls for COVID Booster Pause to Let World Vaccinate

On By ModernMedia

The head  of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday called for a moratorium on COVID vaccine boosters until “at least the end of September” to enable the world’s most vulnerable people to be inoculated.

“I understand the concern of all Governments to protect their people from the Delta variant, but we cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected”, said Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, WHO head.

Speaking during his weekly press conference, Tedros recalled that in May he had asked for international support to promote global vaccinations with the goal of enabling a minimum of 10 percent of each country’s population to be vaccinated by the end of September.  

With the time already half gone, he lamented the lack of progress towards that goal, and even less towards the target of 30 percent vaccinated by year end.

Widening inequality
So far, more than four billion COVID vaccine doses had been administered around the globe, 80 percent of them in high- and middle-income countries – even though less than half of the world’s population live there, the WHO chief said.

As of May, high-income countries had administered about 50 doses for every 100 people, a figure that has since almost doubled, while supply shortages in low-income countries meant only 1.5 doses for every 100.

“Still, some rich countries are considering booster doses even though there are hundreds of millions of people waiting to have access to a first dose”, stressed Tedros, urging that most of those vaccines instead go to low-income countries.

The WHO has insisted global vaccination requires cooperation by all, “especially the handful of countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines”.

Tedros said that the G20 nations have a vital role to play as its members are the largest producers, consumers, and donors of COVID vaccines.

“It’s no understatement to say that the course of the pandemic depends on the leadership of the G20 countries”, he said, adding, that one month from now, the G20 health ministers will meet, ahead of the October summit and calling on them to “make concrete commitments to support WHO’s global vaccination targets. We call on vaccine producers to prioritise COVAX“.

Tedros also called on leaders and influential personalities, as well as every individual and community to support the moratorium on booster doses.

Booster’s immune benefit questionable
Meanwhile, Dr Jarbas Barbosa, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) emphasized that so far there is no evidence that a booster dose adds immune benefits to people who already have the full vaccination course.

Source: UN News

Categories : COVIDTags :

Breakthrough Infections Among Vaccinated Alarmed CDC

On By ModernMedia
Image source: CDC/Unsplash

Three-quarters of COVID cases were among the vaccinated in an outbreak during large public gatherings at Cape Cod island in Massachusetts, USA, with the Delta variant predominating, researchers found. This helped reverse the official US recommendations on mask-wearing when fully vaccinated.

Of 469 cases linked to numerous summer events and large summer gatherings in a small town, 346 (74%) happened in fully vaccinated people, and almost 80% of those cases were symptomatic, reported Catherine Brown, DVM, of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and colleagues.

There were five hospitalisations, four among fully vaccinated people, and no deaths. Of 133 cases with sequence information available, 89% were from the Delta variant, the authors wrote in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Moreover, vaccination coverage in Massachusetts was reported to be 69% as of July 3, they noted.

The data on this outbreak, along with the Delta variant, reportedly motivated the Centers for Disease Contol’s change in indoor masking guidance earlier last week. 

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, noted that “rapid receipt and review of unpublished data” contributed to the guideline change.

The authors found that RT-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) values in vaccinated and unvaccinated people were comparable. Pointing to these high viral loads among the vaccinated in this case, Dr Walensky said it suggested that vaccinated individuals infected with Delta could still transmit the virus.

“This finding is concerning and was a pivotal discovery leading to CDC’s updated mask recommendation,” she said, saying it was “updated to ensure the vaccinated public would not unknowingly transmit virus to others, including their unvaccinated or immunocompromised loved ones.”

The authors detailed increased reports of COVID cases in Barnstable County, beginning on July 10, including those who were fully vaccinated. Many COVID patients reported attending large indoor and outdoor gatherings.

They identified a cluster of cases, 346 of them fully vaccinated, in Massachusetts residents, who tested COVID positive 14 days or sooner after travel to or staying in Barnstable County.

Cases were also reported from residents of other states who traveled to this town during the period, and reports of secondary transmission.

The authors urged stricter prevention measures at such events, given, “the potential risk of infection during attendance at large public gatherings that include travelers from many areas with differing levels of transmission.”

Source: MedPage Today

Journal information: Brown CM, et al “Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Infections, Including COVID-19 Vaccine Breakthrough Infections, Associated with Large Public Gatherings – Barnstable County, Massachusetts, July 2021” MMWR 2021; Published July 30, 2021.

Categories : VaccinesTags :

Vaccination Setbacks and Medical Supply Shortages from Riots

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash
Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash

Speaking to Bheksisa, deputy director-general at the health department Dr Nicholas Crisp described the vaccination programme’s setbacks and medical supply shortages resulting from the recent violence and looting.

The vaccination programme has been set back due to damage at vaccination sites such as pharmacies, and others such as clinics being unable to operate except for some in KwaZulu Natal’s outer rural regions. The programme is unlikely to reach its 250 000 vaccinations per day, he said, rather, 200 000 is a more likely goal. Currently, “going flat out”, the programme is vaccinating 140 000 people per day elsewhere in the country.

All of the available vaccines will be used including those Johnson & Johnson vaccines left over from innoculating teachers and other critical workers.

Those receiving Pfizer vaccines needn’t be too concerned about missing their second dose appointment, as research shows that the immunity conferred is as strong or even stronger at 42 days as compared to the standard 21 days.

However, he said that “the biggest disaster with the looting of medicine isn’t vaccines; it’s the looting of chronic medicine. For close to half of patients in KwaZulu-Natal, it’s gone. So much of the insulin for diabetes patients, the morphine, the antiretroviral drugs for HIV patients, are gone.”

The other challenge, he said, is getting oxygen to COVID patients via blocked roads, and delivering food supplies to hospitals, warning that there are patients who are without food. 

Afrox has confirmed that its facilities in Durban have not been affected by rioting, and their deliveries of medical oxygen continue though often under police escort.

Source: Bheksisa

Categories : COVIDTags :

South Africa Mulls AstraZeneca Again in Light of Delta Protection

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

Four months after selling off one million AstraZeneca vaccine doses, South Africa is considering buying more of them to contain the spread of the Delta variant.

The Delta variant is much more transmissible than previous strains, including the beta variant. However, the government presented data on 26 June showing a 70% efficacy against it with the AstraZeneca vaccine. The vaccine, which of June 2021 comprises over 90% of all doses supplied through COVAX globally, will have a significant impact as the Delta variants spread.

The government may approach the Serum Institute of India for the shots, deputy health minister Joe Phaahla told lawmakers on Wednesday.
This would add to supplies as the health regulator considers approving Russia’s Sputnik V and China’s Sinovac inoculations, he said, adding that he hoped to secure these doses from India’s Serum Institute.

In March, also facing expiry on the doses, the government sold off its doses to the African Union after research showed the then dominant Beta variant was resistant.

In February, University of the Witwatersrand Professor of Vaccinology Shabir Madhi said the AstraZeneca vaccine had a roughly 20% efficacy in preventing mild disease from the Beta variant.

“We don’t want to go back to the original argument of whether its limited efficacy on the Beta variant was correct, to dispose of it, to sell it to other countries,” Phaahla said. “With the current information that it is quite efficacious when it comes to the Delta, it is already registered.”

A study by the University of Oxford,demonstrates that AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine, will provide protection against the Delta and Kappa variants; formerly the ‘Indian’ variants. The study investigated the ability of monoclonal antibodies from recovered or vaccinated people to neutralise the Delta and Kappa variants. 

Neutralisation against the Delta and Kappa variants was comparable with that seen against the Alpha and Gamma variants, with no evidence of widespread antibody escape as seen with the Beta variant. These results indicate that the vaccines could be effective in real-world settings. The Phase III COV002 trial in the UK showed vaccine efficacy of 70.4% at preventing symptomatic COVID against the Alpha variant, when measured more than 14 days after a second dose.

Furthermore, a recent analysis by Public Health England showed early evidence of real-world data that two doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine are effective against the Delta variant, with similar levels of protection achieved as those seen against the Alpha variant.

Sources: BusinessTech, AstraZeneca

Categories : Mental HealthTags :

Half of GP Staff Face Abuse as a Result of Vaccinations

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash

A survey published in The BMJ has found that in UK practices, over half (52%) of GP staff face abuse while working on the COVID vaccination programme.

The Medical Protection Society (MPS) survey of 222 GP practice staff , which included GPs, nurses, and practice managers, also found that over half (53%) of staff said that their surgery or vaccination centre had been defaced by anti-vaccination material. GP practices in the UK had been offering COVID vaccinations since December 2020.

One respondent said, “Staff of all disciplines are leaving the profession in droves because of the behaviour of the public creating unbearable working situations. Morale is the lowest I have ever known, anyone near retirement is retiring early.” Another said, “Abuse—especially written and posted in the prescription box on the gate—has resulted in staff being very concerned for their safety at the surgery.”

About two-thirds of respondents (60%) said that abuse and complaints relating to the UK’s COVID vaccination programme had affected their own or their team’s mental wellbeing. A further 71% said that the increased workload resulting from the programme has impacted their wellbeing.

Pallavi Bradshaw, medicolegal lead for risk prevention at MPS, said that GP practices were in the firing line over patient frustrations with the vaccination programme. “GPs are mentally and physically exhausted, with the risk of disillusionment and burnout higher than ever,” Bradshaw said. “Wellbeing support must be provided to all GP surgery staff who are feeling overwhelmed and demoralised, and a zero tolerance policy of abuse must be enforced across the NHS so healthcare workers feel their safety is a priority.”

Source: The BMJ

Categories : COVID VaccinesTags :

Millions of J&J Vaccines for South Africa Unfit for Use

On By ModernMedia

In yet another blow to South Africa’s flagging vaccination programme, millions of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses meant to be used have been declared unfit for use. This is due to contamination concerns at one of the group’s facilities in the US.

The US Food and Drug Administration said that the doses were not suitable for use. Upon reviewing this decision, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) said in a statement that it had decided “not to release vaccine produced using the drug substance batches that were not suitable”.

J&J’s Emergent plant was ordered to pause production in April several weeks after it was determined that batches of a substance used to produce the vaccine were cross-contaminated with ingredients from another jab made by Anglo-Swedish pharma giant AstraZeneca. The FDA is yet to allow the factory to reopen.

Acknowledging the setback in South Africa’s vaccination programme, acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said Saturday that the batches concerned were stored in a high-security laboratory in Port Elizabeth belonging to drugmaker Aspen. Aspen meanwhile promised that it is ramping up production elsewhere to meet the shortfall, and President Ramaphosa said that he discussed with President Biden the possibility of receiving US vaccine donations.

Along with other countries South Africa, is pushing for a patent waiver on COVID vaccines to allow low cost production of generics.

“If we are to save lives and end the pandemic, we need to expand and diversify manufacturing and get medical products to treat, combat and prevent the pandemic to as many people as quickly as possible,” President Cyril Ramaphosa told the G7 group of wealthy nations meeting in Britain on Sunday. The country needs 31 million doses of the J&J vaccine to help vaccinate its population of 59 million.

South Africa has secured 30 million doses of the highly effective Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but is a two-dose vaccine which has significant cold chain requirements.

Emergency shipment

SAHPRA stated that there is a new delivery of approximately 300 000 J&J doses “that have been cleared by the US FDA that meet the requirements and will subsequently be released and shipped to South Africa.” The expiry date of these doses have been extended, and will be ready for administration to South African teachers within days.

Vaccinations were already paused in April after reports of rare cases of blood clots. And in February, South Africa rejected over 1.5 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine as it was deemed ineffective. The J&J vaccines were already facing expiry as they had been removed from long term storage.

South Africa has only vaccinated just over 1% of its population but as far as can be ascertained with limited testing in Africa is the hardest hit by COVID on the continent, with over 1.7 million recorded cases.
Source: Eyewitness News

Categories : COVIDTags :

WHO Warns of African Third Wave

On By ModernMedia
COVID cases map. Photo by Giacomo Carra on Unsplash

A surge in COVID cases in many parts of Africa could mean a continental third wave, the World Health Organization warned, posing a great threat for a continent where immunisation drives have been hamstrung by funding shortfalls and production delays for vaccine doses.

The WHO said that over the last week, test positivity had risen in 14 African countries, with eight reporting a surge of over 30% in new cases. Infections are steadily climbing in South Africa, where four of nine provinces are battling a third wave and the positivity rate was 14.2% as of Sunday. Uganda has also seen sharp increases, with hospitals overwhelmed with COVID patients and a lockdown being considered.

Weak compliance with social restrictions, increasing travel and the arrival of winter is behind the rise in cases, the WHO said. Experts also believe that new variants are also driving the numbers up.

Although Africa has reported less than 3 per cent of global coronavirus cases, the WHO said that the continent accounted for 3.7 percent of total deaths. This is likely an underestimate, given the lack of formal reporting for deaths.

“The threat of a third wave in Africa is real and rising,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, in a statement. “It’s crucial that we swiftly get vaccines into the arms of Africans at high risk of falling seriously ill and dying of Covid-19.”

While many wealthier countries have vigorous vaccination campaigns and some are on track to fully reopen, many of Africa’s poorer countries face a huge challenge in accessing vaccines.

Out of 1.3 billion people on the continent, only 31 million have received at least one dose, Dr Moeti said, and only seven million are fully vaccinated. Just 1386 people in Kenya have received two doses of a vaccine, out of a population of 50 million.

Countries like Ghana and Rwanda have run through their first deliveries of vaccines through Covax, the global facility working to ensure the equitable distribution of vaccines.

In some countries, vaccine hesitancy has been so high that it even caused stocks of vaccines to expire. Possible contamination in Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses detected at a US manufacturing plant has resulted in yet another delay to South Africa’s immunisation programme.

Meanwhile, fake vaccines and PPE pose another problem; last November a police raid in South Africa found almost 2400 doses of fake vaccine.

The WHO warned that the surge of causes could swamp the limited capacities of healthcare systems. To stave off a full-blown crisis, Dr Moeti urged “countries that have reached a significant vaccination coverage to release doses and keep the most vulnerable Africans out of critical care.”

Only about two per cent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose, compared with the 24 per cent global figure.

“While many countries outside Africa have now vaccinated their high-priority groups and are able to even consider vaccinating their children, African countries are unable to even follow up with second doses for high-risk groups,” said Dr. Moeti. “I’m urging countries that have reached a significant vaccination coverage to release doses and keep the most vulnerable Africans out of critical care.”

Source: UN News

Categories : COVID Medical Research & TechnologyTags :

A COVID Vaccine Without the Jab

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Webstacks on Unsplash

University of Queensland scientists used a ‘patch’ to deliver a US-developed COVID vaccine without the jab, and successfully protected mice from the virus.

The vaccine candidate from University of Texas Hexapro was delivered via the high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) and provided protection against COVID disease with a single, painless ‘click’ from a handheld applicator.

Dr David Muller, from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, said the vaccine patch produced strong immune responses that were shown to be effective when the mice were exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

“When the Hexapro vaccine is delivered via HD-MAP applicator – rather than a needle – it produces better and faster immune responses,” Dr Muller said.

“It also neutralises multiple variants, including the UK and South Africa variants.

“And it’s much more user-friendly than a needle – you simply ‘click’ an applicator on the skin, and 5000 microscopic projections almost-imperceptibly deliver vaccine into the skin.

“The UQ team, together with Vaxxas, hope to take the technology to the world and are looking for funding opportunities to accelerate to clinical trials as soon as possible.”
Dr Muller said that Hexapro, delivered by the high-density microarray patch, could dramatically assist global vaccine rollout effort, particularly for billions of vulnerable people in low- and middle-income countries.

“We’ve shown this vaccine, when dry-coated on a patch, is stable for at least 30 days at 25 degrees Celsius and one week at 40 degrees, so it doesn’t have the cold chain requirements of some of the current options.”

High-density microarray patch (HD-MAP)

Vaxxas was founded in 2011 with the help of University of Queensland. The company’s president and CEO, David L Hoey, said he was extremely excited about the findings.

“These results are extremely clear – vaccination by HD-MAP produces much stronger and more protective immune responses against COVID-19 in model systems than via needle or syringe,” he said.

“We thank and recognise our incredible research collaborators at UQ for these important findings.

“The prospect of having a single-dose vaccine, that could be easily distributed and self-administered, would greatly improve global pandemic vaccination capabilities,” said Hoey

The research is currently undergoing peer review and has been published in BioRxiv (DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.30.446357).

Source: The University of Queensland

Categories : COVID General InterestTags :

French President Macron in SA for Talks on COVID

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French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in South Africa today for talks with President Cyril Ramaphosa on a range of issues including possible technological assistance to aid South Africa’s response to the COVID pandemic.

On the agenda of the visit is the economic, health, research and manufacturing responses to the COVID pandemic.

Arriving from Rwanda, where he acknowledged France’s role in the 1994 genocide, Macron held talks in Pretoria with President Ramaphosa, whom he met last week in Paris at a summit on African economies.

The pair were also due to attend an event to support vaccine production on the continent, sponsored by the European Union, the United States and the World Bank. 

So far South Africa is the country worst hit by COVID on the continent as far available monitoring can determine, and has vaccinated just 1 percent of its population of 59 million people.

South Africa’s immunisation efforts have been hampered by delayed procurement, and then selling off its AstraZeneca vaccines obtained via Covax to other African countries after trial results showed drastically reduced effectiveness against the local B.1.351 variant. Rollout of the replacement Johnson & Johnson vaccine was paused for two weeks in April due to blood clot fears.

Now, along with India, South Africa is campaigning for a waiver of intellectual property rights on COVID vaccines, so that each country may produce its own doses. This effort has met with stiff resistance so far.

Macron has voiced support for a technology transfer to enable vaccine production sites to be set up in poorer countries.

Visit long delayed

Macron’s visit to South Africa has been long delayed due to the COVID pandemic.
The initial purpose for the trip had been to discuss multilateral cooperation with South Africa, an important G20 partner which is also a regular guest at G7 summits.

According to Foreign Policy, the French leader will also seek to establish greater influence in a region that is experiencing greater instability, marked by recent insurgencies in Mozambique.   

Jihadist attacks forced French energy giant Total to suspend work on a multi-billion euro gas project in Cabo Delgado province after a nearby town was targeted.

Before he returns to France, he will pay a visit to the Nelson Mandela Foundation, whose main missions are the fight against AIDS and education in rural areas.

Source: RFI

Categories : COVID VaccinesTags :

Vaccine Flops and Shortages Leave SA with no Covax Shots

On By ModernMedia
Image by Quicknews

Nearly six months after South Africa’s first procurement deal was made with the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) programme, but vaccine flops and shortages in supply have left South Africa empty-handed, while Covax struggles to even meet its June delivery goal.

South Africa’s vaccine rollout has been anything but smooth. The first batch of vaccines, produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), arrived in the country on 1 February but were abandoned a week later after a study found it was ineffective against the 501Y.V2 variant. That first batch of one million doses were sold onto the African Union (AU) and the remainder of the order refunded.

The health department switched to the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) single-dose shot and vaccinated nearly half a million healthcare workers until its use was also halted over blood clot concerns. Phase 2 of the rollout is using the Pfizer vaccine. Fortunately, it has been found that it can be stored at much higher temperatures than its previous ultracold requirements, making it easier to distribute.

However, the failure to join Covax by December 2020 was an early warning sign over the government’s handling of vaccine acquisition. The Covax iniative, led by the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and World Health Organization (WHO) to supply vaccines to poorer nations, were expected to kickstart South Africa’s rollout.

Missing that first deadline, the health department and Solidarity Fund confirmed, on 22 December 2020, that a down payment of R283 million had been made to secure doses through Covax.

Vaccine flip-flopping
At first, South Africa was to receive almost 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, but the country’s decision to abandon the use of AstraZeneca caused severe delays. The country’s allocated AstraZeneca doses were taken back into the Covax programme.

“South Africa was allocated 2 426 400 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine… it has requested to be allocated another vaccine in place of AZ, and will receive allocations of alternative vaccines instead,” Gavi spokesperson Evan O’Connell told Business Insider South Africa.

“It has already been allocated, at this stage, 1,392,300 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, allocated for Q2 2021.”

According to Covax’s first-round schedule,  South Africa was due to receive 117 000 Pfizer doses before April. But Covax’s deliveries are falling behind, putting initiative’s ability to meet its second quarter target.

On 17 May UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta Fore announced that the Covax facility would shortly have delivered 65 million doses, which should have been 170 million doses by that time.

“By the time G7 leaders gather in the UK next month, and as a deadly second wave of COVID will likely continue to sweep across India and many of its South Asian neighbours, the shortfall will near 190 million doses.”

Covax hamstrung by Indian COVID crisis

India’s COVID crisis has hamstrung Covax’s aim of delivering 237 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine in the first half of 2021. With India having the world’s highest infection numbers and deaths since April, the SII, which produces AstraZeneca doses for Covax, announced that it would halt foreign supply until December at the earliest.

“We continue to scale up manufacturing and prioritise India,” said SII CEO Adar Poonawalla on 18 May. “We also hope to start delivering to Covax and other countries by the end of the year.”

At only 35% of its targeted vaccine deliveries, Covax is calling for renewed funding and donations from developed nations — who are also accused of hoarding vaccines. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, criticised wealthy nations for continuing a “scandalous inequity” on Monday.

“We need countries to donate tens of millions of doses of vaccines immediately through Covax, which is the agreed global mechanism for distributing vaccines,” stated Ghebreyesus.

“We need companies to help make donations happen fast, and to give Covax the first right of refusal on all uncommitted doses now, in 2021.”

It’s unclear whether the SII’s decision to halt its supply will result in reallocations of the Pfizer doses, on which SA is depending, and which therefore could result in further delays for its Covax-allocated doses.

Source: Business Insider