A version of this story appeared in the March 17 edition of CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.
After virtually all of western Europe temporarily suspended the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, the continent’s top medicines regulator struck out against safety concerns around the shot, saying there is “no indication” that it causes blood clots and that its lifesaving benefits outweigh the risk of any potential side effects.
The backing from Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency, came after France, Spain, Germany, Italy and more than a dozen other countries halted use of the vaccine, even as the continent confronts a third wave of the pandemic and faces criticism over sluggish vaccination rollout campaigns.
The actions of European governments have surprised experts and caused a myriad of questions among people who have had or are in line to get the shot, Rob Picheta writes.
But the pervading message from health experts has been one of calm; when placed in context the reported cases of blood clotting are rare and no greater than numbers would be in the general population, while the vaccine has been proven to work in reducing Covid-19 cases.
“These vaccines are to protect against a pandemic virus. There is an urgency to the rollout,” Michael Head, senior research fellow in Global Health at the University of Southampton, told CNN. “So pausing a vaccine campaign without a very good reason at this point in time just seems a bad move.”
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
Q: Why are European countries suspending the AstraZeneca vaccine?
A: The countries that have suspended the vaccine have said the moves are precautionary. And while experts are surprised at the step, they note that it is not uncommon for medicines and vaccines to be reviewed once they’re in use.
“It’s part of the normal process. This would be happening normally, it’s just that no -one would really know about it because we wouldn’t be in the middle of a pandemic,” Jon Gibbins, director of the Institute for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research at the University of Reading, Gibbins said of the reviews into the vaccine’s safety.
The countries will wait to hear guidance from the EMA that is expected tomorrow but many have expressed a desire to continue the rollout soon.
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Trump tells his supporters to get Covid-19 vaccine
Former President Donald Trump, in a nationally televised interview on Tuesday, backed the Covid-19 vaccine, recommending it to Americans who voted for him and may be reluctant to get it.
“I would recommend it and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly,” Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “But again,” he continued, “we have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But it is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works.”
The comments – which amount to Trump’s most energetic endorsement of vaccination – come as vaccine hesitancy among Republicans continues to threaten the US path to herd immunity. While 92% of Democrats either have gotten vaccinated or want to get vaccinated, that number plummets to 50% among Republicans, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS shows.
Moderna begins testing its vaccine in babies and children
The pharmaceutical company Moderna has begun testing its Covid-19 vaccine in children under 12, including infants as young as 6 months old. The clinical trial, called the KidCOVE study, is expected to enroll 6,750 children in the US and Canada.
“This pediatric study will help us assess the potential safety and immunogenicity of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate in this important younger age population,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a press release.
Moderna is not the only Covid-19 shot currently being tested in children, as the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is also being studied in age groups as young as 12. Johnson & Johnson has announced plans to study the vaccine in adolescents, ages 12 to 18.
Children separated from parents highlight price of Hong Kong’s coronavirus success
When Ariel saw her two young sons isolated in a Hong Kong hospital ward with Covid-19, she broke down. The brothers – age 5 and 1 and both asymptomatic – were wearing vests that were tied to their beds to restrain them. They were covered in dirt and both wearing diapers, even the five-year-old.
Ariel’s family found themselves caught in the crosshairs of Hong Kong’s inflexible but efficient pandemic prevention measures in late February. Though it’s been more than 14 months since the territory identified its first coronavirus case, Hong Kong has shown few signs of easing numerous restrictions.
From a public health standpoint, there’s little arguing with the results. This city of more than 7 million people has only identified about 11,300 cases and 200 deaths, according to government figures. But the lack of flexibility has, in several cases, left parents like Ariel with a heart-wrenching decision: go to quarantine and send their children to the hospital alone, or accompany them to the hospital and risk infection themselves, Joshua Berlinger writes.
ON OUR RADAR
- The United Nations Children’s Fund says the pandemic “may have contributed” to an additional 228,000 child deaths, 11,000 maternal fatalities and 3.5 million unintended pregnancies in South Asia in 2020.
- Britain is considering introducing vaccine passports to allow access to summer travel, entertainment and hospitality, while also discussing the fairness of any potential tiered system, UK Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said.
- Two coronavirus strains first detected in California, that may be about 20% more transmissible, are now officially “variants of concern,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Brazil reported its highest daily death toll since the pandemic began on Tuesday, as the government struggles to get a handle on the virus’ spread and appoints its fourth health minister in a year.
- Australia will donate 8,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Papua New Guinea to help the Pacific island nation contain its recent outbreak.
TOP TIPS
St. Patrick’s Day parties are ripe for spreading coronavirus variants. Don’t let that happen, Holly Yan writes.
St. Patrick’s Day was the first major holiday of the Covid-19 pandemic in the US, and we’ve learned sobering lessons since then. Young, healthy people who were infected around the celebration last year have suffered long-term complications. And infections have been spread by people with no symptoms.
But this St. Patrick’s Day, Americans have a new challenge: the spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants. While parties may happen, infections don’t have to. Here’s what you should know before you think about toasting green beer with strangers.
TODAY’S PODCAST
“What we really need and what we have not seen, despite the fact that we’re more than 20 years into the opioid crisis, is a coordinated response to this problem from the federal government.” – Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-founder of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing
For those struggling with an opioid addiction, the pandemic has created a perfect storm of stress and isolation. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to Dr. Kolodny, the medical director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, about the effect of the coronavirus on America’s opioid crisis. Listen now.