1st Apr 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=262 lockdown_exit

Vaccination certificates won’t end lockdown. Prosocial approaches will

STAT News Covid19 immunity and vaccination certificates are being held up as golden tickets to the new normal. Israel the country leading the way on vaccination rates has a green pass program to help its citizens return to public spaces such as gyms and theaters. The European Union and China have announced similar passports to revive travel. In the United States the Biden administration is assessing the viability of vaccine certificates. These efforts raise serious red flags. Vaccination certificates will likely deepen existing inequalities in health care education and employment. And the rush to a new normal via certificates sets the stage for function creep a way of shortcutting public debates and considerations around surveillance and the use of personal data. Triggering prosocial behaviors the want to get vaccinated because it is internally satisfying to help society as a whole is a better way to promote largescale vaccination than vaccine certificates which favor a select group of people who long to go on vacation go back to the gym and generally find their new normal. https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/31/vaccination-certificates-wont-end-lockdown-prosocial-approaches-will/ 31st Mar 2021

Vaccination certificates won’t end lockdown. Prosocial approaches will

Sky News EU digital vaccine certificates will be ready in June at the latest Spains foreign minister has said. European Union leaders agreed last month to work on the certificates to try to kickstart the tourism industry. Speaking on Wednesday Arancha Gonzalez Laya said the scheme would be a good tool for European citizens and if all goes well we will have a vaccination certificate in June at the latest. If it can be in midMay better but not later than June she added. The certificates would not prevent those without the jab from travelling Ms Gonzalez Laya said but people who had one would be able to pass through EU borders faster. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-digital-vaccine-certificates-to-be-ready-in-june-at-latest-says-spain-12261459 31st Mar 2021

Coronavirus: how wealthy nations are creating a ‘vaccine apartheid’

The Guardian A chorus of activists are calling for changes to intellectual property laws in hopes of beginning to boost Covid19 vaccine manufacturing globally and addressing the gaping disparity between rich and poor nations access to coronavirus vaccines. The US and a handful of other wealthy vaccineproducing nations are on track to deliver vaccines to all adults who want them in the coming months while dozens of the worlds poorest countries have not inoculated a single person. Activists have dubbed the disparity a vaccine apartheid and called for the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies to share technical knowhow in an effort to speed the global vaccination project. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/coronavirus-vaccine-distribution-global-disparity 31st Mar 2021

Coronavirus surge could be worse than the last for the Americas: PAHO

Reuters Countries in the Americas could see a worse surge in coronavirus cases than the previous surge last year with Brazil Uruguay and Cuba already suffering more the Pan American Health Organization PAHO said on Wednesday. Director Carissa Etienne said the end of the Southern Hemisphere summer following holidays where people grouped together and spread cases had prompted spikes. She urged citizens to stay at home and governments to think hard before lowering movement restrictions. So far this year over 19.7 million COVID cases and 475000 related deaths have been reported in the Americas she said. Vaccines are rolling out 124 million people have received one dose and 58 million have received two PAHO said. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-americas/coronavirus-surge-could-be-worse-than-the-last-for-the-americas-paho-idUSKBN2BN2TQ 31st Mar 2021

Coronavirus surge could be worse than the last for the Americas: PAHO

CNBC We have people dying because of lack of oxygen people are literally suffocating Patricia Campos Mello a reporter for Folha de Sao Paulo told CNBCs The News with Shepard Smith. The situation is completely out of control Campos Mello added. Campos Mello comments came after Brazil registered on Tuesday a daily record tally of Covid deaths recording more than 3700 deaths. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/30/covid-in-brazil-completely-out-of-control-says-sao-paulo-based-reporter.html 30th Mar 2021

The FDA could authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds 'in time for the fall school year,' former FDA commissioner says

Yahoo News Pfizers COVID19 vaccine could get FDA approval for 12 to 15 year olds in time for the fall school year the former FDA commissioner said. Scott Gottlieb was asked on CNBC on Tuesday when he thought the FDA could approve the vaccine for that age group. Gottlieb is also a member of Pfizers board. His comments come after Pfizer announced on Wednesday that its vaccine was highly effective at preventing COVID19 infection in kids aged 12 to 15 in a latestage trial of more than 2000 participants. Pfizer said it plans to submit the data to the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency to request for emergency authorization of the vaccine https://www.yahoo.com/news/fda-could-authorize-pfizers-covid-121724598.html 31st Mar 2021

The FDA could authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds 'in time for the fall school year,' former FDA commissioner says

Evening Standard The Pfizer Covid19 jab is 100 effective and well tolerated among children aged 12 to 15 a new study suggests. Pfizer said it now plans to seek approval for use of the vaccine in this age group from regulators around the world and hopes youngsters will start to receive the jab before the next school year. The pharmaceutical company said it plans to submit the data to the UK regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency within the next couple of months. Researchers examined the use of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine in a trial of 2260 teenagers in the US. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/pfizer-inc-oxford-university-public-health-england-fda-b927283.html 31st Mar 2021

The FDA could authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds 'in time for the fall school year,' former FDA commissioner says

CBS News Pfizer announced Wednesday that its COVID19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12 a step toward possibly beginning shots in that age group before they head back to school in the fall. Most COVID19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide are for adults who are at higher risk from the coronavirus. Pfizers vaccine is authorized for ages 16 and older. But vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic and helping schools at least the upper grades start to look a little more normal after months of disruption. In a study of 2260 U.S. volunteers aged 12 to 15 preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given placebo shots Pfizer reported. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pfizer-covid-vaccine-safe-effective-adolescent-12-15-year-olds/ 31st Mar 2021

The FDA could authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds 'in time for the fall school year,' former FDA commissioner says

The Associated Press Pfizer announced Wednesday that its COVID19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12 a step toward possibly beginning shots in this age group before they head back to school in the fall. Most COVID19 vaccines being rolled out worldwide are for adults who are at higher risk from the coronavirus. Pfizers vaccine is authorized for ages 16 and older. But vaccinating children of all ages will be critical to stopping the pandemic and helping schools at least the upper grades start to look a little more normal after months of disruption. In the vaccine study of 2260 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15 preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given dummy shots Pfizer reported. https://apnews.com/article/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-protect-younger-teens-43b33e2b90ee8660c5a4d9d161331f9e 31st Mar 2021

The FDA could authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds 'in time for the fall school year,' former FDA commissioner says

CIDRAP Pfizer and BioNTech today announced that their COVID19 vaccine was 100 effective and triggered a robust antibody response in a phase 3 US trial involving 2260 adolescents 12 to 15 years old. The immune responses in that agegroup the companies said exceeded those recorded previously among 16 to 25yearolds. The companies say they plan to submit the data to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization of the vaccine in this agegroup. The initial results we have seen in the adolescent studies suggest that children are particularly well protected by vaccination which is very encouraging given the trends we have seen in recent weeks regarding the spread of the B.1.1.7 UK variant BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said in the companies press release. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/03/pfizer-biontech-covid-vaccine-effective-teens 31st Mar 2021

The FDA could authorize Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds 'in time for the fall school year,' former FDA commissioner says

STAT News Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that their Covid19 vaccine prevented symptomatic disease and was welltolerated in a Phase 3 study of adolescents ages 12 to 15. The companies say they will submit the data to the Food and Drug Administration as an amendment to the vaccines emergency use authorization and will also submit the results to other regulators around the world. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a press release that the companies hope it will be possible to begin vaccinating adolescents in this group before the beginning of the next school year. https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/31/pfizer-covid19-vaccine-adolescents-data/ 31st Mar 2021

A dangerous coronavirus variant is wreaking havoc in parts of Europe. Experts fear US could be next

CNN A dangerous coronavirus variant is wreaking havoc in other parts of the world so the US must stick with safety measures over the next few months to prevent that kind of damage as the variant takes more of a hold stateside an expert says. The B.1.1.7 variant first spotted in the UK is more contagious may cause more severe disease and is rapidly infecting younger populations epidemiologist Michael Osterholm told CNN on Tuesday night. Recent research suggests the strain may also be more deadly. If we can just hold out if we can just get enough vaccine between now and the summer we can actually beat this one Osterholm said. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/31/health/us-coronavirus-wednesday/index.html 31st Mar 2021

A dangerous coronavirus variant is wreaking havoc in parts of Europe. Experts fear US could be next

CIDRAP Data from a UK phase 23 clinical trial suggest the AstraZenecaOxford COVIDvaccine is 70.4 effective against symptomatic COVID19 caused by the B117 variant which was identified in the United Kingdom in late 2020. The data published in The Lancet yesterday also showed it was 28.9 effective at preventing asymptomatic infections or cases with unknown symptoms. Overall efficacy was 61.7 against the B117 variant and 77.3 against other variants according to the study. The vaccine was 81.5 effective in preventing symptomatic COVID19 caused by nonB117 strains. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/03/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-70-effective-vs-b117-variant 31st Mar 2021

A dangerous coronavirus variant is wreaking havoc in parts of Europe. Experts fear US could be next

The Star I always say we have the brightest smartest people right here in Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at a news conference on Wednesday. Its too bad he doesnt listen to them. Because its a simple fact that the brightest smartest people in the province frontline physicians and epidemiologists for example would want to lock it down right now institute paid sick leave for Ontarians and vaccinate younger essential workers. Theyve said as much recently and at various points in the pandemic. But theres no time like the present to say it again when highly contagious and more virulent variants of concern account for nearly 70 per cent of COVID19 infections in the province. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2021/03/31/this-wave-of-covid-19-is-coming-for-the-30-somethings-because-politicians-wont-protect-them.html 1st Apr 2021

Governments, Sanofi unveil nearly $1B for vaccine-manufacturing site

iPolitics Three levels of government unveiled funding for a nearly 1 billion expansion of drugmaker Sanofis vaccine manufacturing facility in Toronto to support future domestic production of influenza and coronavirus vaccines. The funding announced at a joint news conference Wednesday will allow French pharmaceutical company Sanofi S.A. to build an endtoend bulk vaccine manufacturing facility at the firms North York campus in Toronto Innovation Minister FranoisPhilippe Champagne said. The project which is expected to be fully operational by 2026 is meant to prepare Canada for vaccine selfsufficiency during future pandemics. When complete it will enable stateoftheart product formulation filling inspection and packaging of vaccines. This project of nearly 1 billion is one of the largestever biomanufacturing investments that has been made in Canadian history Champagne said. https://ipolitics.ca/2021/03/31/governments-sanofi-unveil-nearly-1b-for-vaccine-manufacturing-site/ 31st Mar 2021

Analysis: In mutant variants, has the coronavirus shown its best tricks?

Reuters The rapid rise in different parts of the world of deadly more infectious coronavirus variants that share new mutations is leading scientists to ask a critical question has the SARSCoV2 virus shown its best cards Although it will continue to mutate immunologists and virologists said they suspect this coronavirus has a fixed number of moves in its arsenal. The longterm impact for the virus survival and whether a limit on the number of mutations makes it less dangerous remains to be seen. It is plausible that this virus has a relatively limited number of antibody escape mutations it can make before it has played all of its cards so to speak said Shane Crotty a virologist at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-evolution-analysis-idUSKBN2BN0L3 1st Apr 2021

University scientists deconstruct Covid-19 vaccines and publish 'recipe' on open web

The Guardian Scientists have determined the recipes for two Covid19 vaccines using leftovers in vials bound for the trash and published the mRNA sequences on Github the online repository for software code. The group of scientists from Stanford University were able to determine the sequences of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and included the mRNA sequences in a post they published on Github last week tech news site Motherboard first reported. Experts say the publication will help researchers around the world better identify when testing samples whether they are looking at sequences from the Covid19 virus or vaccines to treat the virus because they can give false positives. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/30/university-scientists-deconstruct-covid-19-vaccines-and-publish-recipe-on-open-web 31st Mar 2021

Amid rollout imbroglio, AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine has at least one fresh start: A new brand name

FiercePharma AstraZenecas COVID19 vaccine has an official name Vaxzevria now approved in Europe. But is a new name enough to hurdle its rollout communication glitches and now wavering vaccine confidence Probably not on its own. However some do see another hope on the horizon for AstraZenecas vaccinethe FDA. AZ plans to apply for FDA emergency use authorization in the first half of April its executives have said and the U.S. regulatory body may represent the companys best chance to improve public opinion of its shot. The agencys endorsement will go a good way to restoring confidence Ann Falsey M.D. a vaccine scientist and investigator on the U.S. clinical trial told Nature in an article published after AZ restated its efficacy data last week. She reiterated that the final story is the results for the final analysis are great. They look very similar to the interim analysis. https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-gets-new-vaxzevria-name-but-it-enough-to-overcome-rollout 31st Mar 2021

New COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe

Reuters French President Emmanuel Macron is to address the nation on Wednesday and is expected to announce that schools will close in April as he seeks to change the course of a third wave of COVID19 infections that risk overwhelming hospitals. A government official said an extension of the April school holidays was an option. An operation to transfer intensive care patients from overloaded hospitals to lesserhit regions and a full lockdown in the hardesthit parts of France had also been discussed the source said. BFM TV reported a fourweek shutdown of schools was under consideration with one week of remote learning and three weeks of holiday instead of the planned fortnight. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france/macron-to-make-covid-address-as-third-wave-overloads-hospitals-idUSKBN2BN0RJ 31st Mar 2021

New COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe

Reuters Hungary on Wednesday reported coronavirus fatalities reaching a new high and doctors described hospitals filling beyond capacity signalling the government may be forced to postpone a reopening scheduled to begin in midApril. The central European country of 10 million recorded 302 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday its highest daily toll of the pandemic and 6700 new COVID19 cases the government said. Prime Minister Viktor Orban who faces an election in a year is walking a tightrope between a lockdown to tame the COVID19 surge and the need to reopen the economy to avoid a second year of deep recession. Hungary has had the highest daily per capita fatalities in the world for several days according to Johns Hopkins University data. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-hungary/mounting-covid-19-deaths-dim-hungarys-hopes-of-reopening-idUSKBN2BN1JC 31st Mar 2021

New COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe

U.S. News & World Report Frances health ministry said on Tuesday that the number of people in intensive care units ICUs with COVID19 increased by 98 to 5072 people the highest this year. The last time France had more than 5000 people in ICUs for coronavirusrelated disease was on April 23 2020 during the first lockdown when the number of people in ICU peaked at 7148 on April 8. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-03-30/france-reports-2021-high-of-5-072-people-in-intensive-care-with-covid-19 30th Mar 2021

New COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe

Metro US Ukraines capital Kyiv will impose a strict lockdown from April 5 amid a gloomy prediction for a further surge in infections and a record daily number of coronavirusrelated deaths Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Wednesday. Ukraines Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said there were 407 coronavirusrelated deaths recorded in the country over the past 24 hours and warned infections were likely to rise further over the next one to two weeks. https://www.metro.us/kyiv-sets-strict-lockdown/ 31st Mar 2021

New COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe

BBC News French schools will close for at least three weeks as part of new national restrictions to fight rising Covid cases President Emmanuel Macron says. Mr Macron said that schools would move to remote learning from next week. Lockdown measures introduced in some areas of France earlier this month are also being extended to other districts. All nonessential shops are to close from Saturday and there will be a ban on travelling more than 10km six miles from home without good reason. The country is facing a peak of over 5000 people in intensive care. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56597319 31st Mar 2021

New COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe

Reuters Ireland hopes to reopen all shops for the first time this year in May and hotels in June Prime Minister Michel Martin said on Tuesday as the government announced a minor easing of one of Europes toughest and longestrunning national lockdowns. Ireland shut most shops building sites and hospitality in late December after a brief reopening led to an enormous spike in COVID19 infections. A steady fall in infection rates since then has stalled in the last two weeks https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-ireland/update-1-ireland-eyes-may-retail-reopening-as-lockdown-eased-slightly-idUSL1N2LS204 31st Mar 2021

New COVID-19 wave sweeping Europe

The Financial Times Steffen Bockhahn does not mince his words when it comes to Germanys Covid19 vaccination campaign. We are the laughing stock of the world he says. Germany was supposed to be world champion at organising things and look at us. Bockhahn heads the social affairs department of Rostock a northeastern port which has set up a massive vaccination centre housed in an exhibition hall on the outskirts of the city. The complex has the capacity to administer 2100 jabs a day. A shortage of vaccine doses means its currently doing less than half of that. Germans have been grumbling about the slow pace of inoculations for weeks now so far only 11 per cent of the population have received at least one dose compared with 45 per cent in the UK 29 per cent in the US and 60 per cent in Israel according to the latest Our World in Data figures. https://www.ft.com/content/bc5a3b02-a90d-4206-a441-1bada29feba2 31st Mar 2021

Hungarian journalists accuse gov’t of censoring COVID reporting

AlJazeera Hungarian journalists have accused the government of putting lives at risk by barring the media from covering the full extent of what is now the worlds deadliest COVID19 outbreak. In an open letter published by most of the countrys independent news outlets on Wednesday reporters said they had been blocked from hospitals and barred from speaking to medics making it impossible to alert the public to the crisis. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/31/hungarian-journalists-accuse-govt-of-censoring-covid-reporting 31st Mar 2021

Some Johnson & Johnson Covid Vaccine Doses Delayed in US by Factory Mix-Up

The New York Times Workers at a Baltimore plant manufacturing two coronavirus vaccines accidentally conflated the vaccines ingredients several weeks ago ruining about 15 million doses of Johnson Johnsons vaccine and forcing regulators to delay authorization of the plants production lines. The plant is run by Emergent BioSolutions a manufacturing partner to both Johnson Johnson and AstraZeneca. Federal officials attributed the mistake to human error. The mixup has halted future shipments of Johnson Johnson doses in the United States while the Food and Drug Administration investigates. Johnson Johnson has moved to strengthen its control over Emergent BioSolutions work to avoid further quality lapses. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/31/world/johnson-and-johnson-vaccine-mixup.html 31st Mar 2021