Category: Covid-19

AstraZeneca has initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine because of a surplus of available updated vaccines, and it has requested that the European authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine be pulled. While most countries ceased using the shot in 2021, this move Tuesday makes that cessation official.

Does the withdrawal mean anything for Canadians who got the vaccine? Heres what you need to know.

AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine was first approved in Canada on Feb. 26, 2021, a month after approval from the European Medicines Agency in January, 2021. Within weeks, however, concerns grew about the vaccines safety, when dozens of countries suspended the vaccines use after unusual but rare blood clots were detected in a small number of immunized people.

Canadas National Advisory Committee on Immunization called for a pause in injections of the AstraZeneca shot to anyone under 55 on Monday March 29, 2021, a day before the country was scheduled to receive 1.5 million doses of the vaccine from the United States.

At that time, about 307,000 AstraZeneca doses had been administered. As of June 11, 2021, there had been one case of capillary leak syndrome, a rare blood clot, after vaccination with the AstraZeneca or COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine in Canada.

On May 11, 2021, Ontario and Alberta paused the use of AstraZeneca as a first dose. Ontario stated it was due to an increase in thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome blood clots which can block blood flow and cause damage to organs, and a lower than normal number of platelets in the blood, which is dangerous because platelets help your body from forming clots linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. The change was also made because Canada had the luxury of relying on two other shots for its mass vaccination campaign.

In July, 2021, Health Canada updated the label for the AstraZeneca and COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccines to add capillary leak syndrome, a rare and serious condition where the small blood vessels start to leak fluid, as a potential side-effect. The agency also included a warning for patients with a history of the syndrome to not get those vaccines.

On Dec. 19, 2023, authorization for AstraZeneca was cancelled under the Food and Drug Regulations at the request of the manufacturer.

As of Feb. 25, Canada has administered 105,605,632 COVID-19 vaccines. Of those, 2,811,963 or 2.66 per cent of them were AstraZeneca.

As of Jan. 5, 58,712 adverse vaccine events have been reported in Canada. Of those, 3,318 were nonserious complications from AstraZeneca, the most common being headache, fatigue and fever. There were 122 serious complications from AstraZeneca such as cardiac arrest, cardiac failure, myocarditis, pulmonary embolism, Bells palsy and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). The majority of adverse symptoms from COVID-19 vaccines started between five minutes and 113 days after vaccination.

AstraZeneca is being sued by a few different parties. A British man, Jamie Scott, is suing AstraZeneca for what he says is damage caused by the jab in April, 2021. Another British woman, Kam Miller, is suing after her husband, Neil Miller, 50, developed fatal blood clotting after receiving the jab in March, 2021. Miller told the BBC she was not anti-vaccination, but is arguing the compensation she received following his death should be increased.

Canada has a Vaccine Injury Support Program, set up to help people who experienced a serious and permanent injury as a result of receiving a Health Canada authorized vaccine, administered in Canada on or after Dec. 8, 2020. The program was established to ensure no-fault compensation for those affected by vaccine injuries. Health columnist Andr Picard, writing about the idea in 2019, noted that vaccination is the cornerstone of public health and compensating the rare cases where vaccines cause injury is the fair and just thing to do.

The program began accepting claims on June 1, 2021, and as of December, 2023, had given out $11,236,314 to claimants. Vaccine side effects and injuries reported to the database are self-reported, with no confirmation that the injuries were caused by vaccines.

Several vaccines for COVID-19 are authorized and available for use in Canada. These include messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, which are preferred, and a protein subunit vaccine. The XBB. 1.5 vaccines are now the recommended products. There are three vaccines currently approved for use by Health Canada:

A study by researchers in Britain found that people infected with COVID-19 are at least nine times more likely to develop potentially deadly blood conditions compared with those who have received either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

The study, led by a team at the University of Oxford, involved analyzing medical data from 29.1 million people in England who received one dose of vaccine from Dec. 1, 2020, to April 24, 2021. The scientists also looked at medical records for 1.8 million people who tested positive for COVID-19 during that period.

Dr. Seema Marwaha, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Toronto, says that one in five patients hospitalized with COVID-19 actually develop blood clots.

I have looked after multiple patients who have had COVID-related strokes and COVID-related pulmonary embolisms [blood clots in the lungs], Dr. Marwaha said. None of these patients had been vaccinated.

So, your risk of getting a serious clot from COVID is significant.

Evidence indicates that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks of the disease.

Dr. Michelle Sholzberg, head of the division of hematology-oncology at St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto, said that clots due to AstraZeneca tended to develop between four and 30 days after the vaccination.

If you were symptom-free after 30 days, the odds are that you are in the clear, she added.

Since no Canadians have received the AstraZeneca vaccine since its cancellation in December, 2023, its unlikely that anyone would develop new serious side effects now.

First and foremost, its important to keep in mind that vaccine-related blood clots are extremely rare.

The range of symptoms include:

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What Canadians need to know about AstraZeneca withdrawing its COVID-19 vaccine - The Globe and Mail

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Here's what Arizonans need to know about the FLiRT COVID-19 variants. - The Arizona Republic

News Release

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Part of the NIH RECOVER Initiative, trials will test four treatments.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will launch clinical trials to investigate potential treatments for long-term symptoms after COVID-19 infection, including sleep disturbances, exercise intolerance and the worsening of symptoms following physical or mental exertion known as post-exertional malaise (PEM). The mid-stage trials, part of NIHs Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative, will join six other RECOVER studies currently enrolling participants across the United States testing treatments to address viral persistence, neurological symptoms, including cognitive dysfunction (like brain fog) and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. The new trials will enroll approximately 1,660 people across 50 study sites to investigate potential treatments for some of the most frequent and burdensome symptoms reported by people suffering from long COVID.

The group of symptoms these trials will try to alleviate are truly disruptive and devastating for so many people struggling with long COVID, said Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., director of NIHs National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and co-lead of the RECOVER Initiative. When people cant get reliable sleep, cant exert themselves and feel sick following tasks that used to be simple, the physical and mental anguish can lead to feelings of utter helplessness. We urgently need to come up with answers to help those struggling with long COVID feel whole again.

All four trials were developed using comprehensive feedback from the community and in close partnership with patient representatives, whose insights were especially important for the PEM trial. The PEM trial was developed to address concerns expressed by patient advocacy groups about patient safety, and to better understand how this study program may help improve PEM symptoms.

Structured pacing is currently the only intervention used to prevent post-exertional malaise, so we hope to test its effectiveness and determine how to best guide patients regarding activity management, said Lucinda Bateman, M.D., an expert in PEM and founder of the Bateman Horne Center, Salt Lake City, a facility specializing in treating people with ME/CFS, long COVID and fibromyalgia.

Diversity among trial participants is a high priority for the RECOVER Initiative. To support diverse and inclusive representation, study sites are chosen based on geographic location, their connection to communities, and track record for enrolling diverse research participants. Teams at the selected study sites will recruit participants from their health systems and surrounding communities.

Sites currently activated for each trial can be found on ClinicalTrials.gov (RECOVER-SLEEPNCT06404086,NCT06404099,NCT06404112 and RECOVER-ENERGIZE NCT06404047,NCT06404060,NCT06404073). New sites will be added to clinicaltrials.gov as they begin enrolling participants.

With the launch of these four studies, RECOVER is currently testing 13 treatments across eight clinical trials and continues to enroll participants. Those interested in learning more about RECOVER clinical trials should visit trials.recovercovid.org.

About RECOVER: The National Institutes of Health Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (NIH RECOVER) Initiative brings together clinicians, scientists, caregivers, patients, and community members to understand, diagnose, and treat long COVID. RECOVER has created one of the largest and most diverse groups of long COVID study participants in the world. In addition, RECOVER clinical trials are testing potential interventions across five symptom focus areas. For more information, please visit recovercovid.org.

HHS Long COVID Coordination: This work is a part of the National Research Action Plan, a broader government-wide effort in response to the Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services to mount a full and effective response to long COVID. Led by Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, the Plan and its companion Services and Supports for Longer-term Impacts of COVID-19 report lay the groundwork to advance progress in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and provision of services for individuals experiencing long COVID.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

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NIH to open long COVID clinical trials to study sleep disturbances, exercise intolerance, and post exertional malaise - National Institutes of Health...

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Posted: May 08, 2024 Last Updated: May 08, 2024

AstraZenecasays it is withdrawing Vaxzevria, its vaccine to protect against COVID-19, from global markets. The vaccine was used early on in the pandemic in many countries, including Canada.

In an update on the European Medicines Agency's website on Wednesday, the regulator said that the approval for Vaxzevria had been withdrawn "at the request of the marketing authorization holder."

More than three billion doses of the vaccine have been supplied since it first was administered in the United Kingdom in January 2021.

AstraZenecasaid as multiple vaccines against newer variants of the pandemic coronavirus have been developed, there is a surplus. Demand forVaxzevriadeclined and the company said it is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

Dr. Samir Gupta, a respirologist atSt Michael's Hospital in Toronto, said what's important is that the creation of the AstraZeneca vaccine, testing, roll out,discovery of complications and stopping of vaccine distribution played out as it should for a new pandemic virus.

WATCH | Spring 2024 COVID vaccine dose criteria:

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According to media reports, AstraZeneca previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine can cause rareside-effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

"Ultimately we can't forget that the virus is worse than the vaccine, even with this complication," Gupta said in an interview on CBC News Network.

AstraZeneca'sapplication to withdraw the vaccine was made onMarch 5 and came into effect on May 7, according to theTelegraph, which first reported the development.

The Serum Institute of India (SII), which producedAstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine under the brand name Covishield, stopped manufacturing and supply of the doses since December 2021, an SII spokesperson said.

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AstraZeneca withdraws its vaccine to protect against COVID-19 worldwide - CBC.ca

Much of the country has moved on from the COVID-19 pandemic, but Ruth and Mohammed Nasrullah keep a vigil from their Houston home, posting thousands of pictures and stories of those who have fallen: coaches, tax clerks, teachers, autoworkers and graphic designers.

We spend our time immersed in death, Ruth said of the couples COVID-19 Wall of Memories, which went on online when graveyards were widening and fear was spreading in January 2021. The wall holds more than 21,000 photographs and histories of those who died. It gives us perspective. Weve seen an arc of change in COVID response and grief.

The pandemic is fading and Americans want to forget, said Mohammed. But people are still dying and the fallout from the virus is playing into attitudes over the divisive state of the country and its politics.

The coronavirus is seldom mentioned by the campaigns of President Biden and Donald Trump, even though its impact on voters and the way the pandemic altered how we live, work, die and mourn has been profound. It accelerated mistrust in government and institutions, emptied downtowns of workers, sparked fights over masks and science, turned school board meetings into political blood sport, hardened the lines between red and blue states and ignited a mental health crisis.

The lingering trauma 1.2 million people died in the U.S. and an estimated 17 million suffer from long COVID echoes through issues confronting voters, including inflation, education, crime, immigration and the unease many have for the future. These challenges are shaping a presidential rematch between two candidates most Americans dont want at a time when the nation appears trapped in a despairing loop of restiveness and uncertainty over the fate of democracy and an economy that has raised rents and kept food prices stubbornly high.

Society has become more disillusioned over the governments ability to take on larger issues. The pool of people distrusting the government has gotten larger," said Kristin Urquiza, who co-founded Marked By COVID, which is calling for an accounting of the governments pandemic response and establishing a National COVID Memorial. "The pandemic exacerbated everything.

Read more: Has Californias COVID-19 winter surge peaked? Heres what the data show

It wasnt that long ago that the country and the world slipped through the looking glass. Preachers warned of the end of days. Hospitals filled, ventilators failed and refrigerated trucks were stacked with corpses. The isolated and the lonely sang from windows and balconies. Final goodbyes were spoken over video links and smartphones. No one knew when it would end as collective grief and anger settled in amid news of broken supply chains and the latest from Wuhan, the city in China from where death crossed oceans and borders.

It completely shifted our lives, said Natalie Jackson, vice president of the polling firm GQR. There are ways society has changed that were not totally aware of. Historians in a couple of decades will be able to tell us a lot more about how our behavior changed that were not able to understand right now.

Former President Trump who suggested injecting disinfectant to kill the virus in April 2020 doesnt reflect much on the early days of the pandemic, when his administration was criticized for its slow response. Instead, he tells voters, as he did at a recent rally, that America under his leadership was stronger and tougher and richer and safer and more confident. President Biden also seldom speaks of COVID, but he recently chided Trumps handling of the outbreak when he told donors, I hope everyone in the country takes a moment to think back when it was like in March of 2020.

Biden, meanwhile, is contending with the consequences of his own pandemic policies.

His administration averted economic catastrophe by pushing through at least $5 trillion in stimulus checks, child tax credits and loans to help families, small businesses, airlines, local governments and others lessen the ravages of the pandemic. Those protections largely stopped as jobs and the economy began to recover. But the loss of subsidies collided with a sharp jump in inflation. That overall rate has fallen to 3.5%. But steep prices have remained a persistent burden home mortgage interest rates are around 7.3% on household incomes and are a constant target by Trump against Biden.

Read more: More parents are delaying their kids vaccines, and its alarming pediatricians

Thats the problem Biden faces, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Berkeley IGS Poll. It was inevitable that after all those price controls were gone people would notice. Thats the lasting impact of the pandemic.

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that 73% of Americans believe the economy should be the top priority of the next president and Congress. The cost of living is particularly pronounced in California where inflation, high interest rates and escalating rents are demoralizing the working and middle classes. Were seeing it in spades, said DiCamillo. The American dream seems to be out of reach for renters, and homeowners are stuck.

The pandemic also changed the dynamics of the nations long-standing failure to fix a broken immigration system, which became further politicized in 2022 when busloads of migrants sent from Texas and Florida began appearing in traditionally Democratic controlled cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Marthas Vineyard, Mass.

Trump-era restrictions on immigration to prevent the spread of the virus during the pandemic, notably Title 42, limited the influx of illegal migrants. A loosening of those policies by the Biden administration resulted in a record surge of illegal border crossings, hitting 2.2 million in fiscal year 2022. Tough enforcement measures by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised by conservatives to deter undocumented migrants from entering his state meant that San Diego in April became the main entry point for migrants along the southern border.

Immigration remains a dominant campaign theme for Republicans, even though the Pew survey ranks it behind the economy, healthcare costs, education and terrorism as as Americans' top priorities for the next Congress and president. Illegal crossings have declined since December, but Trump has become increasingly pointed in his attacks on migrants and Bidens policies. We need to stop the invasion now! the Trump campaign posted on social media. Biden has absolutely FAILED to secure our borders.

The pandemic immediately altered our reality and influenced our perceptions afterward, agitating existing anxieties in American life, raising fears not only over a spreading virus but of the safety of our communities. Violent crime and murder soared at the start of the pandemic and the 2020 protests following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Gun violence and homicides declined significantly by the end of 2023, but many Americans, notably Republicans and Black voters, remain concerned about violent crime, said Jackson, adding: Those narratives take time to reverse.

Conspiracy theories flourished as the number of COVID-related deaths rose. Suspicions and outrage reverberated around the safety of vaccines, wearing masks, and how quickly children should return to the classroom. Battles over each issue broke along political lines that are playing into the 2024 campaign, including the support behind third-party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist, and how parent groups demanding the reopening of schools became part of wider cultural war issues around book bans, race and gender identity.

We still have the impacts of increased polarization. Were you a masker or not a masker? said Mindy Romero, a political sociologist and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at USC. We had a sustained period where our fellow human beings were a potential threat to our health and our lives. I do wonder what that impact will be long term. Its been so politicized that people are hesitant or outright scared to talk about what COVID did to their lives.

Read more: Politics and pandemic collide in a tiny red state: Masks? What masks?

Urquiza turned her personal grief into political action. After her father died of the virus in 2020, she spoke at the Democratic National Convention and blamed Trumps handling of the pandemic: My dad was a healthy 65-year-old, she said. His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that he paid with his life.

Her organization, Marked By Covid, is working to raise awareness about the consequences of the pandemic and setting up trust funds for more than 200,000 children who lost one or both parents to the virus. Americans need a public memory and the truth of what happened, she said. We need a clear, unbiased record on the pandemic. What we did well and what we didnt. We need a 9/11-like commission. The 2024 election is an opportunity to remember what COVID did.

A lot of service industry and low-income workers felt abandoned during the pandemic," she said. Isnt it the governments job to keep us safe? I think the rise of workers unions is somewhat related to COVID. It called attention to working conditions.

Ruth and Mohammed Nasrullah started their online memorial after pandemic deaths rose to more than 100,000: What was being reported on the news was just numbers, said Mohammed, a retired project manager who worked with NASA. But no one was talking about the people behind those numbers. The memorial provides a way to grieve. Families visit it like you would go to a cemetery. They come with stories and leave messages.

The stories were at once startling and common. A mother and father dying of the virus and leaving behind two young children; an elderly couple who perished within minutes of one another.

The pandemic became its own period of time. Its its own era, said Ruth, whose memorial has been archived by the U.S. Library of Congress. But we want to minimize and forget that terrible time. I still see people rolling their eyes when I wear a mask. The divisiveness is still there."

Read more: Did California or Florida handle COVID-19 better? The answer is complicated

Although it still influences voters' attitudes, many people dont mention the pandemic directly. It has been tucked away like a dark family history or a misbegotten war, even as its consequences play out daily. In the Pew survey, COVID was not listed by Americans as one of the top 20 concerns they see for the next president. Its not on anyones radar, said Mohammed, who has been a local election judge for years. The candidates dont mention it. They look at the polls for the publics priorities, and for 70 to 80% of the public, COVID is not an issue.

Between March 31 and April 27, at least 1,589 people in the U.S. died from COVID. The latest vaccine booster is available, but the lines have long since dwindled. The country is engaged with other perils, although, at times, a mask can be glimpsed dangling from a stranger's arm and a passing conversation can lead to memories of empty shelves and lockdowns.

A bit of psychology has to come into this, said Jackson. You think about a big traumatic event. An individual is not going to realize the degree to which they changed their behavior. ... The same thing happens to a nation."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Mistrust, fights and blood sport: How COVID-19 trauma is shaping the 2024 election - Yahoo! Voices

"As multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines. This has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzervria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied," the statement said.

AstraZeneca said it would now work with regulators and partners to establish a path forward. AstraZeneca in March 2024 voluntarily withdrew its marketing authorization in the European Union, which previously allowed it to promote the vaccine.

The Vaxzevria vaccine was developed with the University of Oxford and was one of the first shots against Covid-19 to hit the market during the coronavirus pandemic, with millions of people around the world receiving it.

The U.K. was the first country to roll out the shot in January 2021, around a year after the World Health Organization first characterized the Covid-19 outbreak as a pandemic.

AstraZeneca's vaccine, despite confirmation of its safety and efficacy, has at times been met with concerns about side effects after a small number of people began to experience blood clots linked to the vaccine. A U.K. study found that blood clots were "rare" but could be "devastating."

The pharmaceutical maker on Wednesday said it was "incredibly proud" of the vaccine's role during the pandemic.

"According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally," its statement said.

"Our efforts have been recognised by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic," the statement continued.

Next to Covid vaccines, AstraZeneca has been working on a range of other treatments for illnesses, such as cancer. The company said in March that it would buy clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc, which specializes in cancer treatments.

Read more:

AstraZeneca to withdraw Covid vaccine worldwide, citing a drop in demand - CNBC

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More than three years since AstraZeneca created its lifesaving Covid-19 vaccine, the pharmaceutical company has withdrawn the jab worldwide.

Once hailed by former prime minister Boris Johnson as a triumph for British science, the jab is thought to have saved six million lives with its creation during the pandemic.

Citing purely commercial reasons for the withdrawal, the company said the vaccine had been superseded by a surplus of available updated vaccines.

The company also said it would withdraw the marketing authorisations of the vaccine - now known under its new name Vaxzevria - within Europe.

The firms withdrawal application came into effect on Tuesday, months after the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker admitted in court documents for the first time that the vaccine causes side effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

As the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab is discontinued, heres everything we know about it.

What is the jab?

AstraZenecas vaccine was developed in collaboration with Oxford University and produced by the Serum Institute of India.

The vaccine was first approved for use in the UK in December 2020 and the first vaccination outside of a trial was administered on 4 January 2021.

It was widely administered in over 150 countries and is thought to have saved six million lives.

Some studies conducted during the pandemic found the vaccine was 60 to 80 per cent effective in protecting against the novel coronavirus.

Why does AstraZeneca say the jab has been withdrawn?

AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine due to a surplus of available updated vaccines since the pandemic.

The company also said it would proceed to withdraw the vaccine Vaxzevrias marketing authorizations within Europe.

As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines, the company said, adding that this had led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

The firms application to withdraw the vaccine was made on 5 March and came into effect on 7 May, according to The Telegraph, which first reported the development.

The firm began moving into respiratory syncytial virus vaccines and obesity drugs through several deals last year after a slowdown in growth as Covid-19 medicine sales declined.

Are there health concerns?

AstraZeneca recently admitted in court documents that its vaccine could cause very rare side effects like blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

The admission came after the company was slapped with a class action lawsuit in the UK which claimed that the vaccine had caused deaths and severe injuries and sought damages up to 100m for about 50 victims.

It is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known, AstraZeneca said in court documents in February, The Telegraph reported.

Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) can cause potentially fatal blood clots due to low blood platelet counts in humans.

One of the people who died after having the vaccine was BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Lisa Shaw, who had her first jab in May 2021 and died just a week later.

In August of that year, Newcastle coroner Karen Dilks ruled the 44-year-old had died from a rare condition associated with the jab that induces swelling and bleeding on the brain, vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia.

AstraZenecas admission that the vaccine could potentially prove lethal ran counter to its insistence in 2023 that it would not accept that TTS is caused by the vaccine at a generic level.

The World Health Organization also confirmed that the vaccine could have fatal side effects, saying in a statement: A very rare adverse event called Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, involving unusual and severe blood clotting events associated with low platelet counts, has been reported after vaccination with this vaccine.

Read this article:

What are the health concerns over AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine as jab withdrawn? - The Independent

The simmering fears over bird flu should leave no doubt: The health of humans and our fellow animals is inextricably linked.

Covid-19 was likely transmitted from animals to humans, and millions died as a result. The world is now anxiously watching for any sign that H5N1, i.e., the bird flu, could cause another pandemic so soon after the last one.

For years, public health experts have preached the importance of a One Health philosophy: treating the health of the environment, animals, and human beings as a single issue that requires a comprehensive approach because the health of one affects the others. On the ground, however, it remains a work in progress; the slow implementation of livestock surveillance for bird flu is only the latest example of that struggle.

The worlds nations are currently negotiating a pandemic treaty that was supposed to prevent humanity from repeating the mistakes of Covid-19. In particular, the agreement was seen as an opportunity to put those One Health principles into practice.

But we might miss our chance. As the pandemic fades into memory, self-interest appears to be winning out over global cooperation.

In December 2021, the World Health Assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization, announced that it would draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The goal was to create a binding international agreement that would compel countries around the world to take steps to prevent future pandemics and, should those efforts fail, to ensure smoother coordination in any future public health emergency.

Negotiators are supposed to largely wrap up their work by Friday, May 10. Representatives from the worlds governments will convene in Geneva on May 27 for the World Health Assembly. The plan is for the pandemic accord to be ratified before the assembly adjourns.

Even with the threat of H5N1 looming, however, it has become clear the world is downsizing its ambitions for the treaty. In place of firm commitments are vague aspirations.

On two important sections the One Health measures and the establishment of a system to share pathogens between countries the latest draft text would defer momentous operational decisions until at least 2026.

One Health has been one of the major points of contention: Rich countries want it because it would lead to a significant investment in disease surveillance in poorer countries, where it is easier for threatening pathogens to lurk unnoticed. But poorer countries dislike it for the same reason, arguing it amounts to a massive unfunded mandate placed on them.

Its a vital step to reduce future pandemic risks. But achieving this demands substantial and costly changes, Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Centre (GHC) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, told Geneva Solutions. It requires changing how we raise livestock and animals.

Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day.

Comparing the text of an October 2023 draft of the treaty and the most recent draft reveals the dwindling ambition. In the earlier version, there were specific commitments that called for stronger animal surveillance, more research and more education for health workers and communities, and a whole of government and whole of society approach.

In the latest draft, much of that language has been removed. Governments are given more leeway to promote and engage One Health principles as they see fit.

The problem is again money.

Poor countries already spend significantly less money on health care than wealthy nations. Historically, long-term economic growth has been the way to increase health expenditures.

If developed nations want developing ones to make new investments now, the middle and low-income countries argue that the rich countries should be willing to help pay for it.

But at the same time they are demanding One Health investments, those rich nations are balking at a proposal that would help the world identify and fight potentially dangerous pathogens.

I wrote about this issue in late February. Its called pathogen access and benefit sharing (PABS). The idea is that rich countries or the pharma manufacturers should pay for access to pathogens of concern that are identified in developing countries and commit to sharing the benefits derived from that access i.e., diagnostics and vaccines that are ultimately produced with those poorer countries. That provision has been a priority for the developing world after the pandemic, when Covid-19 vaccines were slow to reach low-income nations in Africa and the rest of the world.

But the rich countries dont like it. They, along with the pharmaceutical companies they represent, argue such a system would be too bureaucratic and risk slowing down innovation in a future public health emergency.

Some experts have noted the irony of the US and Europe insisting on unfettered access to pathogens from low-income countries at the same time the US government is facing criticism for being slow to share data about H5N1.

The situation with avian influenza across the United States exemplifies the inherent hypocrisy and vested economic interests around Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response, Dr. Christian Walzer, executive director of health at the Wildlife Conservation Society, said in a statement. While the Global North is demanding transparent and rapid access to pathogen data from the Global South it seems unwilling to share such information with the world.

The two issues have become entwined in last-minute horse-trading. Based on the latest reporting, developed countries are trying to force a compromise by dangling PABS in exchange for the One Health provisions.

But as of now, the most likely outcome appears to be, at best, a symbolic commitment to One Health principles and a directive to reach an agreement on more specific provisions in the next two years.

Such a disappointing resolution, even as concerns about bird flu grow, is symptomatic of the worlds struggles to apply the lessons of Covid-19. As the urgency with which the negotiations began continues to fade, self-interest and geopolitical rivalries are standing in the way of making the world safer from pandemics.

Lets hope we dont pay the price for that shortsightedness.

This story originally appeared in Today, Explained, Voxs flagship daily newsletter. Sign up here for future editions.

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As bird flu fears rise, the world is negotiating a pandemic treaty. It looks like a disappointment. - Vox.com

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WhatsApp messages exchanged between DUP ministers after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic have indicated concern at the high level of restrictions in the first few months.

The exchanges were published late on Wednesday on the Covid inquiry website.

In May 2020, then-Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots told colleagues: "Incremental relaxation based on publi (sic) safety needs to happen and soon."

The discussion then moved onto wider health issues.

The first case to be detected in Northern Ireland had happened in February that year.

Former Education Minister Peter Weir said: "There is no point saving 100 lives from Covid if we cost 200 from other sources."

Mr Poots replied: "We are doing that, less screening, less clinics, less people reporting TIAs (transient ischaemic attack) and chest complaints leading to more strokes and heart attacks.

"All hospitals are operating well below capacity."

Image source, COVID INQUIRY

He added: "Lockdown was based on an overwhelmed health service... we are not in that place."

Messages were also published from the then-DUP Junior Minister Gordon Lyons and special adviser Philip Weir.

It appeared to be a WhatsApp group but the document which has been published does not make it clear.

The exchange is contained in a document entitled "Extract of Edwin Poots' WhatsApp messages with Philip Weir, Emma Little-Pengelly and other members of the Executive, dated between 09/06/2020 and 11/06/2020".

However, the WhatsApp messages quoted above are dated 7 May 2020.

They included what appears to be criticism of some non-DUP ministers, but, again, this is not totally clear.

Meanwhile, the former Sinn Fin minister Carl N Chuiln included a formal apology to families who lost relatives during the pandemic in her written statement to the inquiry.

It has now been published on the inquiry website.

Ms N Chuiln wrote: "I attended the funeral of my dear friend Bobby Storey in a personal capacity, and I accept that in doing so I caused hurt to families who lost a loved one during the pandemic. I apologise for the hurt caused by my actions."

The former minister also wrote about receiving abuse online during the pandemic, some of which she said was misogynistic.

She concluded by saying she hoped lessons could be learned "to ensure that we are better placed to protect lives in the event of a future pandemic".

Ms N Chuiln said there needed to be better information sharing and co-operation with the Irish government.

Continued here:

DUP Covid lockdown messages published by inquiry - BBC.com

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was a critical part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. However, on May 7 2024, the European Commission announced the vaccine is no longer authorised for use.

This EU announcement was preceded by an application from AstraZeneca on March 27 2024 to withdraw the EU marketing authorisation. This development has been covered in various media outlets as primarily related to the known adverse events, namely a very small risk of blood clots. However, other factors are far more likely to be driving this decision.

The first AstraZeneca vaccine dose, outside of clinical trials, was administered on January 4 2021. In that year, about 2.5 billion doses were administered, and an estimated 6.3 million lives saved.

It was a key product at the peak of the pandemic. This includes during the emergence of the delta variant in India, across the first half of 2021 where, amid significant global supply issues, the AstraZeneca vaccine was one of the few tools available during that humanitarian crisis.

This COVID vaccine, like those from Pfizer, Moderna, Novavax and others, went through the appropriate levels of testing. The phase 3 trials (where the vaccine is tested on thousands of people) showed the AstraZeneca product was safe and effective. It was distributed in many countries in Europe in early 2021, including the UK.

The potential adverse events related to blood clots were publicly reported in February 2021, with, for example, the UK government and the drugs regulator (the MHRA) then publishing a statement about its continued use on March 18 2021.

Amid speculation and investigation, the European Medicines Agency and the World Health Organization both highlighted how the benefits of the vaccine greatly outweighed any possible risks.

This was a time when COVID levels were extremely high, and getting higher, with around 4 million confirmed new cases globally per week.

It is well established that COVID itself caused a significantly increased risk of these related blood clots and also thrombocytopenia (low platelet count). An August 2021, analysis of 30 million vaccinated people in the UK showed that the risks of thrombocytopenic events were much higher following a COVID infection, compared with any COVID-related vaccine.

From that study, the British Heart Foundation describe how for every 10 million people who are vaccinated with AstraZeneca, there are 66 extra cases of blood clots in the veins and seven extra cases of a rare type of blood clot in the brain. By comparisons, infection with COVID is estimated to cause 12,614 extra cases of blood clots in the veins and 20 cases of rare blood clots in the brain.

To put this into some perspective, these vaccine-associated blood clot rates are much lower than many widely prescribed medicines. For example, the combined contraception pill, prescribed widely to women, has blood clot-related risks of around one in 1,000. With women taking postmenopausal hormone therapy, around one in 300 per year are likely to develop a blood clot.

The AstraZeneca vaccine did suffer from a poor public profile, arguably much of it undeserved. There was some poor quality reporting in Germany in January 2021, with claims that the vaccine was only 8% effective in the elderly. This claim was widely repeated, but it turns out that 8% figure referred to the percentage of people aged over 65 years in the study and not the efficacy measure.

The antivaccine lobby had a field day with fuelling the infodemic, including other false claims such as fabricated links between the vaccine and female infertility. As with the blood clots, COVID infection is known to increase the risks of infertility, but there is no link between infertility and the vaccine.

For individuals and families likely to have been injured by any medicine, including any of the COVID vaccines, compensation schemes are available. Many claimants report difficulties and frustrations with accessing the compensation. This is an area where the government-led schemes should be more transparent, and also where the misinformation from the anti-vaccine lobby hinders those groups they are claiming to support.

So, why would AstraZeneca withdraw this high-profile product? One reason for the withdrawal is likely to be that other COVID vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna, are essentially better products.

AstraZeneca is very good, but the mRNA versions have better effectiveness and safety levels.

Read more: Our new vaccine could protect against coronaviruses that havent even emerged yet new study

The initial concerns around the difficulties of the specialist refrigeration needed to transport and store the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been overcome, including in low-income countries. The mRNA vaccines are also easier to update when new variants emerge.

With those factors, orders for the AstraZeneca vaccine are probably much lower now than they were in previous years. It is being overlooked in favour of better-performing vaccines.

For the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, perhaps its time has indeed passed. But it has been a safe and effective vaccine and a key part of the pandemic response for most countries around the world.

Correction. The sentence that read: It is well established that COVID itself caused a significantly increased risk of these related blood clots (thrombocytopenia). Now says: It is well established that COVID itself caused a significantly increased risk of these related blood clots and also thrombocytopenia (low platelet count).

Continue reading here:

AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine withdrawn right to the end it was the victim of misinformation - The Conversation