Displaying items by tag: Covid vaccine

Thursday, 01 April 2021 21:40

EU threaten UK over AstraZeneca jabs

Brussels will not export AstraZeneca’s (AZ) vaccine manufactured in the EU to the UK until it meets its vaccine commitment to the EU. Its internal market commissioner, emphasised, ‘there is nothing to negotiate’ referring to EU’s ongoing talks over vaccine production. He said coronavirus vaccine production from Belgium and the Netherlands matches vaccine commitment made by AZ to the EU and thus must be reserved for them. ‘If AZ does more, we don’t have any issue, but as long as it doesn’t deliver its commitment to us, the doses stay in Europe - except for Covax (a vaccine programme delivering vaccines to poor countries).’ He said they are trying to ensure that AZ’s contract with the EU is delivered. In August AZ agreed to supply 300 million doses, with an option for another 100 million doses. Unfortunately, the supply has been slow, and they slashed their commitment to 30 million in the first quarter.

Published in Europe
Thursday, 28 January 2021 20:45

Suspicious package sent to Covid vaccine factory

Police have detained a 53-year-old man from Chatham after a suspicious package was sent to a Covid-19 vaccine factory in north Wales. He remains in custody as enquiries continue. However, the police said in a statement that there is no evidence to suggest there is an ongoing threat.

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 03 December 2020 21:01

Covid vaccine - rumours amid trickle of facts

With the rollout of vaccines for Covid-19 now imminent, there are increasing concerns around misinformation (online or on social media) turning people against being immunised. The WHO says an overload of information, some false, makes it difficult for people to make decisions about their health. One participant in a coronavirus vaccine trial said, ‘It's often very difficult with the amount of information that we are being bombarded with to make sense of what you should be doing. I think a vaccine is one of the only ways out of the situation if we want to get away from endless lockdowns and curfews.’ Researchers have moved at record speed to develop vaccines, and the WHO is monitoring data from over 200 trials on several types of vaccine based on different technologies. They are going through the same safety tests as vaccines already used all around the world.

Published in British Isles