The German government defended its decision to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it was based on expert advice.
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN — The German government defended its decision to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying it was based on expert advice.
Government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer told reporters in Berlin on Thursday that while she understood some might be worried by the move it should be seen as a sign that “trust in our control mechanisms is justified.”
“That’s why this step could also strengthen trust” in the vaccines, she said. “Concerns are taken seriously and examined. And as soon as these concerns are cleared up a vaccine can be used again without hesitation.”
A spokesman for the Health Ministry said Germany would rely on the EMA decision for how to proceed.
“It’s clear that the EMA decision is binding and of course we will follow the EMA decision too,” said Hanno Kautz.
THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— EU regulator ‘convinced’ AstraZeneca vaccine's benefits outweigh risk
— Brazil’s Bolsonaro names 4th health minister during pandemic
— Australia gives COVID-19 shots to virus-hit Papua New Guinea
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
SEATTLE — Health officials in Washington state have extended COVID-19 vaccination eligibility to people in the next phase.
Those added on Wednesday include grocery store workers, transit workers and first responders.
KOMO-TV reported that the Washington State Department of Health estimates 740,000 more residents will now be eligible for shots, raising concerns for people who were already eligible but have not yet been be inoculated.
Officials said this week that the state was allotted about 300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses or about 11,000 doses for a county like Snohomish County.
About 2.5 million doses have been administered in the state, with 1.3 million people receiving the first shot and 250,000 fully vaccinated.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norway has seen a spike in cases, prompting Norwegian Health Minister Bent Hoeie to say that “we are now setting a record that no one wants to set.”
“In the last 24 hours, we have seen 1,156 new cases in Norway,” Bent Hoeie said, adding that official figures show that there have been 5,337 new cases since last week. “This is the highest number we have had since the beginning of the pandemic.
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The capital city of Oslo and surrounding region “represent 80% of all (new) cases in Norway,” said Bjoern Guldvog, head of the Norwegian Directorate of Health.
Norway has in recently weeks chiefly opted for local restrictions and recommendation with Hoeie saying that “we want as far as possible to avoid stricter restrictions where there is little infection.”
Oslo has banned more than two visitors in private homes and ordered education in upper school classes as well as universities to switch to distant learning. Restaurants and bars, and non-food shops have also been closed.
CAIRO — Libyan health officials said Wednesday that the variant strain of the coronavirus first detected in South African has now been confirmed in the conflict-wrecked country.
The National Center for Disease Control said at least 15 cases have been reported in the western city of Misrata, along with two more cases of another variant first identified in the United Kingdom.
The U.K. variant was first detected in Libya on Feb. 24.
The center suggested that the new variants were among the causes of a recent, speedy surge in the confirmed cases of coronavirus in the North African country.
Viruses are constantly mutating, and numerous variants have emerged. These variants spread more easily and quickly.
Libya has yet to receive vaccines against the virus,
The center announced Wednesday at least 1,054 confirmed cases and 16 fatalities, brining the tally in the country to 148,175 including 2,422 deaths.
However, the actual numbers of COVID-19 cases, like elsewhere in the world, are thought to be far higher, in part due to limited testing.
JERUSALEM — Israel’s parliament has approved a law mandating electronic bracelets for all arrivals to Israel who are required to quarantine due to the coronavirus.
The new law states that people sent to quarantine at home must wear the tracking bracelet to ensure compliance. If they refuse, they must quarantine in a state-run hotel.
The contentious requirement passed a final vote in the Knesset 4-1 on Wednesday, with only five of the parliament’s 120 members voting on the bill. Critics, including the sole dissenting lawmaker, said that it violates individuals’ privacy.
At the same time, the country’s Supreme Court struck down a series of measures restricting the entry and exit of Israeli citizens from the country, saying those limitations were illegal.
The regulations limiting the number of people entering the country per day to 3,000, and requiring those unvaccinated to receive approval from a committee in order to leave the country, will expire Saturday and cannot be renewed.
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GENEVA — A top World Health Organization expert on vaccines says people should feel reassured that even if health authorities turn up a link between blood clots and the AstraZeneca vaccine, such cases are “very rare.”
Dr. Kate O’Brien, who heads WHO’s department of immunizations and vaccines, said the U.N. health agency and the European Medicines Agency are trying to investigate the possibility of a link between blood clots and the AstraZeneca shots. The potential side effect has prompted some countries -- mostly in Europe -- to temporarily suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
A WHO committee on vaccines is looking into the issue.
The current “benefit-risk assessment” from the European Medicines Agency and WHO is for countries to continue giving people AstraZeneca shots, she said. Both WHO and EMA are expected to present updated recommendations on Wednesday or Thursday.
O’Brien said in general “vaccine recommendations are dynamic,” and are reviewed over days, months, and years. She noted that blood clots occur regularly in the population.
Dr. Annelies Wilder-Smith, a technical adviser to a WHO expert panel on vaccines, noted that studies on the J&J vaccine involving some 42,000 people turned up 10 cases of blood clotting in the placebo group -- slightly more than half of all participants -- and 14 cases among those who were administered the vaccine. She called that difference “not statistically significant.”
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