UK COVID vaccine has same 'winning formula'

The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the UK drugs firm AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has achieved a "winning formula" for efficacy, the company's chief executive said on Sunday.

Pascal Soriot told the Sunday Times newspaper that trials will show his firm has achieved a vaccine efficacy equal to Pfizer-BioNTech at 95% and Moderna at 94.5%.

Asked about the vaccine's efficacy against the new variant of coronavirus spreading in the UK, Soriot answered: "So far, we think the vaccine should remain effective. But we can't be sure, so we're going to test that."

The UK government announced on December 23 that the developers had submitted their data to the medicines regulator for approval for a mass rollout. The approval is expected to be granted on Monday, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

The BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine was the first shot to be authorized for use in the UK and has been given to half a million people since its rollout last month, according to ministers.

Europe

The European Union has secured contracts with suppliers for over 2 billion doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer, in order to launch a major cross-border vaccination program on Sunday. The region is aiming to have all adults vaccinated during 2021.

The EU has called retired medics to help with the mass vaccinations and has also loosened rules on who can give the inoculations.

"Vaccination is the lasting way out of the pandemic," said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

Hospitals, care homes, sports halls and convention centers will be used as venues for the administration of the vaccine.

Germany formally started a mass vaccination program against COVID-19 on Sunday. People over 80 years of age and health workers will be given the first batch of vaccines, initially buy mobile inoculation teams, and later at over 400 vaccination centers across the country.

Health Minister Jens Spahn called for a "major national effort" to "get our lives back." Germany has so far recorded over 1.6 million coronavirus cases.

It comes as data from the Robert Koch Institute on Sunday showed that the country's reported death toll rose by 356 to 29,778.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis was given his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in front of the television cameras on Sunday.

The 66-year-old received his jab at the Central Military Hospital in Prague, marking the start of the Central European nation's vaccination program.

In addition to Babis, 95-year-old World War II veteran Emilie Repikova was also given a shot. "It pricked a little bit - that was all," he said.

Officials in Slovakia also said they had started vaccinating.

And in Italy, almost 10 months after the first patient tested positive for the new coronavirus, authorities vaccinated the first residents against COVID-19.

Three health workers at the Rome Spallanzani hospital were inoculated shortly before 0700 GMT with the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, a statement by the commissioner for the epidemic Domenico Arcuri said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen released a video Saturday celebrating the vaccine EU-wide rollout, calling it "a touching moment of unity."

Norway has detected its first cases of the new variant of the coronavirus. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said that the two cases were detected in travelers who had arrived from the UK earlier this month but did not specify when.

The identities and the location of the individuals were withheld due to privacy rules, the institute said, adding that local authorities in the two municipalities were notified and have initiated contact tracing.

Elsewhere in the world

Anthony Fauci, a top US scientist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has warned the worst of the pandemic may be yet to come after the holidays. 

"I share the concern of President-elect Biden that as we get into the next few weeks, it might actually get worse," Fauci told CNN, adding that the US might face a "surge upon a surge" as intensive care units near capacity.

The infectious disease specialist has encouraged eligible people to get vaccinated. Fauci said he experienced “nothing serious at all” after receiving s first shot of the vaccine. 

Jordan has detected its first two cases of the new variant of the coronavirus in travellers who recently arrived from the UK, the kingdom's health minister announced.

Last week, Jordan banned flights to and from the UK until January 3. Jordan has 286,356 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 3,729 deaths.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez announced Saturday the South American country will begin a mass vaccination campaign on Tuesday. Citizens will be given the Sputnik V vaccine developed by Russia, after the country's health authorities approved it for emergency use.

Argentina will vaccinate its health personnel within 72 hours with 300,000 doses that arrived in Argentina on Thursday. It will receive more shipments in early 2021.

Israel entered a third nationwide lockdown as of Sunday, with the country's coronavirus czar estimating it will last at least three weeks, or until the number of newly confirmed cases dipped below 1,000 per day.

"We expect it to last between three to four weeks," said Internal Medicine Professor Nachman Ash.

New COVID variant continues to spread

Canada reported its first cases of the new coronavirus variant on Saturday. Two cases were reported in Ontario, the province's Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Barbara Yaffe said in a statement.

Canada has imposed a ban on flights from the UK until January 6 to prevent the spread of the new variant. This discovery comes a day after France, Spain and Sweden reported their first cases of the new strain. Experts believe the mutated version of the virus is around 70% more contagious, prompting more than 50 countries to impose travel restrictions on the UK.

Not the last pandemic

The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday warned the coronavirus crisis will not be the last pandemic.

In a video message marking Sunday's first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, Tedros said all countries must invest in preparedness capacities to prevent, detect and mitigate emergencies of all kinds because "history tells us that this will not be the last pandemic, and epidemics are a fact of life."

"Strong primary healthcare is especially important as the foundation of universal health coverage," he said, adding that "true preparedness" requires an "all-of-government and all-of-society approach."

Fake vaccines

Catherine De Bolle, the head of Europol, told media on Sunday that there was a risk that criminals could create fake coronavirus vaccines to take advantage of their large demand in the EU.

De Bolle said that EU officials were already seeing "concrete signs" of future foul play, such as fake vaccines being offered for sale on social media. She said that anyone who took up such offers could get duped by either not receiving a vaccine or receiving a fake one, which would have health repercussions.

Europol has sent out warnings about fake vaccines and also warned countries about possible attempts to steal the real vaccine. De Bolle said that Europol has identified hotspots from where the vaccine could be stolen.

jf, am, mvb/mm (Reuters, AFP)