Vaccination

Half of Germans believe the EU has handled the coronavirus vaccine rollout badly , according to a survey released by pollsters Kekst CNC on Wednesday. The poll cited 51% of German respondents saying EU institutions had done a poor job of acquiring jabs, a view shared by 35% of French and 24% of Swedish respondents. German voters say the vaccine rollout has been too slow "In Germany more people now disapprove of the EU than approve of its pandemic response for the first time," the report said. It also found that 46% believed the German government had handled the rollout poorly. "Responsibility is landing on politicians rather than business," the survey found. Kekst CNC conducted the poll last month amid a row between Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca and the European Commission. The EU executive has taken up the role of negotiating vaccine contracts. Merkel set to extend lockdown The apparent shift in public mood comes as German Chancellor Angela … [Read more...] about Germans unhappy with EU’s handling of vaccine scheme

It’s one of the front-runners in the fight against coronavirus , and now Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine is starting to be tested in teenagers. The pharmaceutical giant has announced that the first adolescent participants have been dosed in the Phase 2/3 study of its Covid-19 vaccine, called mRNA-1273. Teens aged 12-17 will receive the vaccine as part of the trial. Stephane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, said: “We are pleased to begin this Phase 2/3 study of mRNA-1273 in healthy adolescents in the U.S. “Our goal is to generate data in the spring of 2021 that will support the use of mRNA-1273 in adolescents in advance of the 2021 school year. “We are encouraged by the interim and primary analyses of the Phase 3 COVE study in adults ages 18 and above and this adolescent study will help us assess the potential safety and immunogenicity of our COVID-19 vaccine candidate in this important younger age population. “We hope we will be able to provide a safe vaccine to provide protection … [Read more...] about Covid vaccine: Moderna has started testing its jab in kids aged between 12 and 17

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are both highly effective at preventing over-80s from being admitted to hospital, according to a new study. Researchers in Bristol found that 14 days after one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, it was 79.3% effective at preventing people in that age group from developing symptomatic illness severe enough to be admitted. For AstraZeneca 's COVID-19 jab, the effectiveness was 80.4%. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world What EU leaders said about AstraZeneca vaccine - and the data forcing a rethink The study tallies up with the Public Health Scotland (PHS) and Public Health England (PHE) reports released in February and on Monday respectively. Advertisement Professor Adam Finn, professor of paediatrics and chief investigator of the study at the University of Bristol, said his team took a different approach, using a smaller geographical area and … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines ‘highly effective’ at preventing hospital admissions in over-80s, study finds

SPAIN is looking at introducing UK travel corridors again this summer for Brits if the vaccine passport scheme doesn't go ahead. Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés said if the immunisation certificate does not succeed, Spain is willing to consider bilateral agreements and corridors "with third countries", according to the Spanish press. This would include the UK. He explained: "The way to allow travel in Europe must be decided at the level of the European Union but if those decisions cannot be taken, we will think of other solutions such as corridors, green corridors with third countries that can help us to restart tourist flows." He said that the vaccination rollout in the UK meant that the summer is looking likely for Brits to return . Bookings to Spanish hotspots are already soaring following Boris Johnson's announcement of his roadmap to freedom which could see life return to normal by June 21. Mr. Valdés said decisions on allowing travel must … [Read more...] about Boost for Spanish holidays as country plans ‘green corridors’ for UK travel if vaccine passports don’t go ahead

Covid deaths in England are falling faster than gloomy SAGE advisers thought they would, official data show — and scientists claim lockdown rules could be loosened faster. Models produced by the SPI-M group of scientists predicting the future of the Covid outbreak in February suggested the daily death count would stay above 200 until mid-March. But the average number of victims recorded each day had dropped below this level before the end of February, statistics show. Experts told The Telegraph the progress is 'better than expected' and suggested the Government's 'data not dates' approach could see relaxations brought forward. The vaccine rollout has made immense progress, with 20million people now vaccinated across the UK, and studies suggest the jabs are working better than expected, preventing between 85 and 94 per cent of hospitalisations. SPI-M's prediction was more pessimistic about how well the vaccine would work and whether it would stop transmission, which may … [Read more...] about Lockdown ‘could ease earlier’ in England because Covid deaths are falling FASTER than SAGE predicted thanks to vaccine success