Gavi in talks with China's Sinopharm, other vaccine makers for Covax doses

‘The GAVI Vaccine Alliance is in talks with COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers including China's state-owned Sinopharm to expand the COVAX pipeline and secure doses for distribution, a GAVI spokeswoman said on Monday.

‘Sinopharm received emergency use listing from the World Health Organization (WHO) last Friday, making it eligible for the COVAX programme and bolstering Beijing's push for a bigger role in inoculating the world.

‘COVAX, run jointly by GAVI and the WHO to provide doses to the world's poorest people, has hit major supply problems. To date the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) shot made by the Serum Institute of India account for most doses rolled out, but authorities there have restricted exports because of India's massive epidemic.’

Read here (Reuters, May 10, 2021)

More risks to pregnant women, their newborns from COVID-19 than known before - Study

‘Pregnant women infected with COVID-19 and their newborn children face higher risks of complications than was previously known, a study by British scientists showed on Friday. An infection of the new coronavirus in such newborns is associated with a three-fold risk of severe medical complications, according to a study conducted by scientists at the University of Oxford. (https://bit.ly/3tNwkJ7)

‘Pregnant women are at higher risk of complications such as premature birth, high blood pressure with organ failure risk, need for intensive care and possible death. "Women with COVID-19 during pregnancy were over 50% more likely to experience pregnancy complications compared to pregnant women unaffected by COVID-19," said Aris Papageorghiou, co-lead of the trial and a professor of fetal medicine at Oxford University.’

Read here (Reuters, Apr 23, 2021)

China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine 67% effective in preventing symptomatic infection: Chile govt report

‘China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine was 67% effective in preventing symptomatic infection, data from a huge real-world study inChile has shown, a potential boost for the jab which has come under scrutiny over its level of protection against the virus.

‘The CoronaVac vaccine was 85% effective in preventing hospitalizations and 80% effective in preventing deaths, the Chilean government said in a report, adding that the data should prove a "game changer" from the vaccine more widely.’

Read here (Reuters, Apr 17, 2021)

A third of Covid survivors suffer neurological or mental disorders: Study

‘One in three COVID-19 survivors in a study of more than 230,000 mostly American patients were diagnosed with a brain or psychiatric disorder within six months, suggesting the pandemic could lead to a wave of mental and neurological problems, scientists said.

‘Researchers who conducted the analysis said it was not clear how the virus was linked to psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and depression, but that these were the most common diagnoses among the 14 disorders they looked at.

‘Post-COVID cases of stroke, dementia and other neurological disorders were rarer, the researchers said, but were still significant, especially in those who had severe COVID-19.’

Read here (Reuters, Apr 7, 2021)

Data withheld from WHO team probing Covid-19 origins in China: Tedros

‘Although the team concluded that a leak from a Wuhan laboratory was the least likely hypothesis for the virus that causes COVID-19, Tedros said the issue required further investigation, potentially with more missions to China. "I do not believe that this assessment was extensive enough," he told member states in remarks released by the WHO. "Further data and studies will be needed to reach more robust conclusions."

‘The WHO team's leader, Peter Ben Embarek, told a press briefing it was "perfectly possible" the virus had been circulating in November or October 2019 around Wuhan, and so potentially spreading abroad earlier than documented so far. "We got access to quite a lot of data in many different areas, but of course there were areas where we had difficulties getting down to the raw data and there are many good reasons for that," he said, citing privacy laws and other restrictions.’

Read here (Reuters, Mar 31, 2021)

Michael Yeadon: The ex-Pfizer scientist who became an anti-vax hero

‘Late last year, a semi-retired British scientist co-authored a petition to Europe’s medicines regulator. The petitioners made a bold demand: Halt COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials. Even bolder was their argument for doing so: They speculated, without providing evidence, that the vaccines could cause infertility in women.

‘The document appeared on a German website on Dec.1. Scientists denounced the theory. Regulators weren’t swayed, either: Weeks later, the European Medicines Agency approved the European Union’s first COVID-19 shot, co-developed by Pfizer Inc. But damage was already done.

‘Social media quickly spread exaggerated claims that COVID-19 jabs cause female infertility. Within weeks, doctors and nurses in Britain began reporting that concerned women were asking them whether it was true, according to the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists. In January, a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), a non-profit organization, found that 13% of unvaccinated people in the United States had heard that “COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to cause infertility.”

‘What gave the debunked claim credibility was that one of the petition’s co-authors, Michael Yeadon, wasn’t just any scientist. The 60-year-old is a former vice president of Pfizer, where he spent 16 years as an allergy and respiratory researcher. He later co-founded a biotech firm that the Swiss drugmaker Novartis purchased for at least $325 million.’

Read here (Reuters, Mar 18, 2021)

India's Covid vaccine wins over some sceptics after promising data

‘Indian doctors and politicians on Thursday welcomed efficacy data for a state-backed coronavirus vaccine that was given emergency approval in January without the completion of a late-stage trial, making people reluctant to receive the shot.

‘Government data shows (dashboard.cowin.gov.in) that only 10% of about 13.3 million people immunised in India have taken the COVAXIN shot, which was found to be 81% effective in an interim analysis of the late-stage trial, its developer Bharat Biotech said on Wednesday.’

Read here (Reuters, Mar 4, 2021)

China approves two more domestic Covid-19 vaccines for public use

‘China’s medical products regulator said on Thursday that it had approved two more COVID-19 vaccines for public use, raising the number of domestically produced vaccines that can be used in China to four. The two newly cleared vaccines are made by CanSino Biologics Inc (CanSinoBIO) and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm).

‘They join a vaccine from Sinovac Biotech approved earlier this month, and another from Sinopharm’s Beijing unit approved last year.

‘Prior to formal approval for wider public use by the National Medical Products Administration, millions of doses of the two Sinopharm vaccines and Sinovac shot had been administered in China’s vaccination program. The program targets select groups of people facing a higher risk of infection.’

Read here (Reuters, Feb 25, 2021)

Rich nations stockpiling a billion more COVID-19 shots than needed: Report

‘Rich countries are on course to have over a billion more doses of COVID-19 vaccines than they need, leaving poorer nations scrambling for leftover supplies as the world seeks to curb the coronavirus pandemic, a report by anti-poverty campaigners found on Friday. In an analysis of current supply deals for COVID-19 vaccines, the ONE Campaign said wealthy countries, such as the United States and Britain, should share the excess doses to “supercharge” a fully global response to the pandemic.

‘The advocacy group, which campaigns against poverty and preventable diseases, said a failure to do so would deny billions of people essential protection from the COVID-19-causing virus and likely prolong the pandemic. The report looked specifically at contracts with the five leading COVID-19 vaccine makers - Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax.’

Read here (Reuters, Feb 19, 2021)

Global life insurers impose restrictions, worried about long-term pandemic risks

‘Global life insurers are taking steps to curb payouts stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, including long-term health consequences that are not fully understood, industry sources told Reuters. Life insurers, including Prudential Financial Inc, and Aviva PLC, are now imposing waiting periods before COVID-19 patients, including those who have recovered, can apply for coverage, executives and spokespeople said. Some are also limiting coverage for certain age groups.

‘These changes come as some reinsurers demand new safeguards from life insurers they backstop, and as the industry struggles to ascertain the extent of problems caused by the novel coronavirus.’

Read here (Reuters,  Jan 25, 2021)

WHO chief welcomes EU Council proposal for pandemic preparedness treaty

‘World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday welcomed a proposal by the European Council to negotiate a global treaty on pandemic preparedness, noting it would be the second such treaty after a tobacco pact of 2003. Tedros, addressing the WHO’s Executive Board, referred to the proposal made by European Union Council President Charles Michel in December and said: “As you know we have the Tobacco Convention and if we can make this happen, this would be the second Convention or the second treaty and for a very important area, pandemic preparedness and response.

“All of us have seen how unprecedented this pandemic is, and we have to give it our best. And I think a treaty is the best thing that we can do that can that (bring) the political commitment of member states,” Tedros added.

Read here (Reuters, Jan 20, 2021)

Travel body rejects compulsory COVID-19 shots as experts say herd immunity not close

‘Some policymakers have proposed immunisation should be compulsory for air travel as the world steps up the battle to curb the spread of Covid-19, and Australia's Qantas Airways has said it plans to introduce such a requirement. But Ms Gloria Guevara, chief executive of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said such moves would be similar to workplace discrimination.

"We should never require the vaccination to get a job or to travel," Ms Guevara, whose organisation represents a sector that has been badly hit by the pandemic and accounts for as much as 10 per cent of global employment, told a panel at Reuters Next.’

Read here (Reuters, Jan 11, 2021)

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine appears effective against mutation in new coronavirus variants: Study

‘Pfizer Inc and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine appeared to work against a key mutation in the highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus discovered in the UK and South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the U.S. drugmaker.

‘The not-yet peer reviewed study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch indicated the vaccine was effective in neutralizing virus with the so-called N501Y mutation of the spike protein.’

Read here (Reuters, Jan 7, 2021)

German Covid-19 vaccination campaign overshadowed by mishaps

‘Germany's COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been overshadowed by an overdose mishap in the north and problems with the transportation of the vaccine in the south which lead to 1,000 shots being sent back.’

Read here (Reuters, Dec 28, 2020)

Special Reuters report: How a British Covid-19 vaccine went from pole position to troubled start

‘Much was riding on the Oxford vaccine, a British-led endeavour also involving UK drugs firm AstraZeneca. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was desperate for a success story after its early mishandling of the pandemic contributed to one of the world’s highest death tolls from COVID-19 - around 65,000 by mid-December. The government has secured 100 million doses. On Nov. 23, Oxford and AstraZeneca delivered positive news. They announced that the regimen of a half dose followed by a full dose booster appeared to be 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. Two full doses scored 62%. Oxford researchers have said they aren’t certain why the half-dose regimen was much more effective.

‘Johnson called the vaccine team and tweeted his thanks “for their brilliant work.” He went on, “These results are incredibly encouraging and a major step forward in our fight against COVID-19.” Oxford and AstraZeneca are now hoping for quick authorization by Britain’s regulator. But questions about the trial and the results won’t go away...’

Read here (Reuters, Dec 24, 2020)

WHO vaccine scheme 'risks failure', leaving poor countries with no COVID-19 shots until 2024

 ‘In internal documents reviewed by Reuters, the scheme's promoters say the programme is struggling from a lack of funds, supply risks and complex contractual arrangements which could make it impossible to achieve its goals.

"The risk of a failure to establish a successful COVAX Facility is very high," says an internal report to the board of Gavi, an alliance of governments, drug companies, charities and international organisations that arranges global vaccination campaigns. Gavi co-leads COVAX alongside the WHO.’

Read here (Reuters, Dec 16, 2020)

Relaxing Covid rules at Christmas will cost lives: Rare joint statement by two major UK medical journals

‘The British government came under intense pressure on Tuesday to revise its plan to relax COVID-19 restrictions for five days around Christmas, with two influential medical journals making a rare joint appeal for the policy to be scrapped... In what was only their second joint editorial in more than 100 years, the British Medical Journal and the Health Service Journal said the government should be tightening the rules rather than allowing three households to mix over five days. “We believe the government is about to blunder into another major error that will cost many lives,” the editorial said.’

Read here (Reuters, Dec 15, 2020)

Malaysia's Top Glove fired whistleblower before virus outbreak

‘Afraid of losing his job if he complained directly to management, Khadka, 27, sent the photos to a workers’ rights campaigner in his native Nepal who sent them on to the company and the Malaysian government, without identifying who took them.

‘On Sept. 23, Top Glove sent Khadka a letter terminating his employment for sharing the photos. In the letter, seen by Reuters, the company said it identified him as the originator of the photos from CCTV coverage of workers entering the factory.

‘Fast-forward almost three months, Top Glove’s complex of factories and dormitories in Klang, 40 km (25 miles) west of Kuala Lumpur, has become Malaysia’s biggest coronavirus cluster with more than 5,000 infections, about 94% of them foreigners, the country’s health ministry said in a statement on Dec. 1.’

Read here (Reuters, Dec 13, 2020)

Not without India: World's pharmacy gears up for vaccine race

‘India, the world’s biggest vaccine maker, is getting set for the massive global blitz to contain the coronavirus pandemic with its pharmaceutical industry and partners freeing up capacity and accelerating investments even without firm purchase orders. India manufactures more than 60% of all vaccines sold across the globe, and while its $40 billion pharmaceutical sector is not yet involved in the production of the expensive Pfizer Inc and Moderna shots, the nation will play a pivotal role in immunizing much of the world. Indian companies are set to produce eight, more affordable vaccines designed to fight COVID-19, including AstraZeneca's Covishield, called the "vaccine for the world here" by its developers.’

Read here (Reuters, Dec 10, 2020)

Vaccine rollout could cause US dollar to fall 20% in 2021: Citi

‘The widespread distribution of vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing monetary easing could cause the U.S. dollar to weaken as much as 20% next year, Citibank said on Monday. “When viable, widely distributed vaccines hit the market, we believe that this will catalyze the next leg lower in the structural USD downtrend we expect,” the U.S. bank said in a research note.’

Read here (Reuters, Nov 17, 2020)