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Vaccine co-creator defends its safety

Vaccine co-creator defends its safety

KATE KELLAND ONE of the Oxford scientists who co-developed AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine defended its safety on Friday and said he was not worried that some countries had opted to restrict its use amid concerns about a possible link to very rare side effects. Adrian Hill, director of the Oxford University's Jenner Institute, said teams around the world were working to pin down any potential mechanism for what might be causing the blood clots, using real world data now so many shots have been administered. He agreed with medicines regulators in Britain, and Europe, and with World Health Organization experts, that…
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WHO to review COVID-19 vaccines

WHO to review COVID-19 vaccines

TECHNICAL experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) will review on April 26 Chinese drugmaker Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine for possible emergency use listing, to be followed by the Sinovac jab on May 3, the agency said on Thursday. "We would expect a decision a couple of days later," the WHO said in response to a Reuters query. So far COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have received a WHO listing - an endorsement of their safety and efficacy that helps to guide countries' regulatory agencies.
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Calls to tackle vaccine hesitancy

Calls to tackle vaccine hesitancy

KIM HARRISBERG WARINESS about taking AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in Africa could be compounded by the African Union's decision to halt plans to procure the shot, health experts said on Friday, calling for public awareness programmes to fight misinformation. The African Union (AU) said its announcement was not related to recent findings by European and British medicine regulators that there are possible links between the vaccine and extremely rare blood clots, but rather a case of diversifying options. Still, experts said the timing of Thursday's announcement could fuel vaccine hesitancy. "The announcement happening around the same time the European medical authority…
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India refunds SA for undelivered doses

India refunds SA for undelivered doses

THE Serum Institute of India has fully refunded South Africa for 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which the country did not want and which had not yet been delivered, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said yesterday. He added that South Africa expected to get more than 1 million vaccine doses from Johnson & Johnson in April as the country looks to ramp up its vaccination drive.
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African Union drops AstraZeneca vaccine

African Union drops AstraZeneca vaccine

THE African Union's disease control body has dropped plans to secure AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for its members from the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine supplier, amid global shortfalls of the shot. The announcement is another blow to AstraZeneca, which has touted its shot as the vaccine for the world because it is the cheapest and easiest to store and transport, making it well suited to the needs of developing countries. It comes the day after European and British medicine regulators said they had found possible links between the vaccine and rare cases of brain blood clots, while…
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Nigeria to limit first doses of AstraZeneca due to supply concerns

Nigeria to limit first doses of AstraZeneca due to supply concerns

LIBBY GEORGE NIGERIA has directed its 36 states and federal capital territory to stop giving first doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines once they use half their current stock in order to safeguard supply for the second dose, its health minister said. Osagie Ehanire said the directive came amid concerns over when Nigeria would get another shipment of the shots after India put a temporary hold on all major exports of the doses made by the Serum Institute of India (SII). India, the world's second most populous country, is aiming to preserve supply to meet domestic demand. It reported a record…
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Egypt gets 854,400 doses of vaccine

Egypt gets 854,400 doses of vaccine

EGYPT has received 854,400 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine as part of the global COVAX agreement, the health ministry said. COVAX was established by the Geneva-based GAVI vaccine alliance and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the equitable distribution of vaccines. The shipment is part of 40 million doses that Egypt is set to receive via GAVI. The AstraZeneca vaccine has received approval for emergency use from WHO and the Egyptian Drug Authority, the ministry spokesman said in a statement. The shipment will be tested in the authority's labs before the vaccination of medical workers, the elderly, and eligible groups…
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Indonesian Muslim concerns over vaccine addressed

Indonesian Muslim concerns over vaccine addressed

ASTRAZENECA has given reassurances that its COVID-19 vaccine contains no pork-derived ingredients, countering an assertion in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, that the drug violates Islamic law. Indonesia's highest Muslim clerical council, the Indonesia Ulema Council, said on its website Friday that the vaccine is "haram" because the manufacturing process uses "trypsin from the pork pancreas." Still, the council approved the AstraZeneca vaccine for use given the pandemic emergency. But AstraZeneca Indonesia director Rizman Abudaeri said in a statement: "At all stages of the production process, this virus vector vaccine does not use nor come in contact with…
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Countries resume use of AstraZeneca vaccine

Countries resume use of AstraZeneca vaccine

MANY countries are resuming the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine after the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization said the benefits outweighed the risks following investigations into reports of blood clots. At least 17 countries in Europe had suspended or delayed use of the vaccine after reports of people being admitted to hospitals with clotting issues and bleeding after being inoculated. AstraZeneca and the EMA have said concerns about coagulation disorders did not emerge in human trials, with the WHO recommending inoculations continue as the global coronavirus death toll passes 2.8 million. Below is a list of countries…
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WHO calms concerns over AstraZeneca vaccines

WHO calms concerns over AstraZeneca vaccines

STEPHANIE NEBEHAY and JACOB GRONHOLT-PEDERSEN THE World Health Organization has appealed to countries not to pause vaccination campaigns after two more European nations and one in Asia joined a handful that has suspended the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine over safety fears. Thailand announced plans on Monday to go ahead with the Anglo-Swedish firm's shot but Indonesia said it would wait after Ireland and the Netherlands announced suspensions on Sunday. Denmark and Norway have reported isolated cases of bleeding, blood clots and a low platelet count after the AstraZeneca vaccine. Iceland and Bulgaria had earlier suspended its use while Austria…
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