Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

People queue outside a mass vaccination centre for those aged 18 and over at the London Stadium, amid the coronavirus pandemic, in east London, Britain, June 19, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - Britain's mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign has weakened the link between infections and deaths but it has not yet been completely broken, the head of a scientific advisory body to the government said on Sunday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hoping to lift most remaining coronavirus restrictions on July 19 after being forced to postpone any further easing this month because of a growing number of cases largely from the more infectious Delta variant.

Peter Horby, chair of the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG), told the BBC's "Andrew Marr Show" that Britain was seeing a "much lower level of hospitalisation".

He was asked if there was enough data to say vaccinations had broken the link between the virus and serious illness and death.

"They've certainly weakened the link," Horby said of the vaccination programme, which has given a first dose to more than 80% of the adult population and a second dose to more than 60%, according to official data.

"We're definitely seeing increasing infection rates, but what we're seeing is a much lower level of hospitalisation, so that link is really, really much weaker which is really fantastic but it's not completely broken."

The United Kingdom recorded 18,270 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, the highest daily rise since Feb. 5, and 23 deaths, official data showed. Overall, Britain has had one of the highest coronavirus death tolls in the world, with more than 128,000 deaths. read more

Horby also said there might be a case to argue that the arrival and spread of the Delta variant - which has driven the current wave of infections - could have been delayed or prevented if stronger border measures had been in place.

"But there is an obvious trade-off that policy makers and politicians have to make between absolute complete restrictions and stopping various viruses coming in," he added.

Reporting by Elizabeth PiperEditing by Frances Kerry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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UK coronavirus vaccines have weakened link between infections and death, says scientist - Reuters

Queensland has recordedtwonew community cases of COVID-19 on thesecond day of lockdown, including one detected outside known clusters.

Premier AnnastaciaPalaszczuk said one of the new cases was aclose contact of a cluster linked to the Portuguese Family Centre in Brisbane and had been in quarantine.

The otheris a 37-year-old woman who worked at the Qatar Airline check-in counter at the Brisbane International airport.

Shebecame symptomatic on Sunday, with her infectious period dating back to last Friday.

"We are very encouraged at the moment," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"We are not seeing more wide-scale community cases, it is very encouraging ... we're not out of the woods yet, we've gotanother 24 hours to see what happens."

Lockdown is due to lift in south-east Queensland, Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Island at 6:00pm Friday, but a decision is expected tomorrow morning on whether it will be extended or lifted.

Including today's unlinked case, Queensland's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Youngsaid authorities aremanaging five separate clusters at least three are of the highly infectiousDelta variant.

"Each incident in of itself I am fairly confident about, but five of them simultaneously is a lot," she said.

"We will just have to wait and see how we go."

AAP: Darren England

Dr Young believed the airline worker probably acquired the virus through fly-in fly-outinternational flight crew while at the airport.

The woman attended a number of locations including:

"She does have another person who lives in the same household who we are urgently testing and we are testing close contacts,"Dr Young said.

"She works at the check-in counter for Qatar Airlines, so that means she will be checking in not only the passengers but she would be involved with the crew and we do know that international flight crews are high risk."

There were another two cases in Queensland today, both were acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine.

Ms Palaszczuk confirmed she had written to the Commonwealth to request a 50 per cent lowering of the cap for international arrivals.

In the past 24 hours, 29,990 tests were done,as well as a record18,162 vaccinations.

We offer tailored front pages for local audiences in each state and territory. Find out how to opt in for more Queensland news.

The high demandmeant some people were turned away from testing sitesand otherswaited more than seven hours.

Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said vaccination centres wouldhave extended hours and a second testing site wouldbe set up in Townsville today.

She said there had been reports of people abusing staff, including one on the Sunshine Coast.

"Can I ask the public to be respectful to our staff who are working tirelessly," she said.

"They do not deserve any abuse in the roles that they are undertaking."

Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollchewski said it was very disappointing to see people flocking to beaches on the Gold and Sunshine Coast during the lockdown.

"Going to the beach to lie on it, particularly without a mask on, is definitely not one of them [essential reasons to leave home]," he said.

ABC News: Cathy Border

"If people are in their local area and they want to go and exercise, and that includes running on the beach or swimming, fine.

"But for the purpose of just lying there in the sun, no they cannot."

He said officers had been asking beach goers to abide by restrictions, but had "better" things to be doing.

Queensland Health has addedmore venues to the growing list of possible exposure sites.Here is the updated list.

Only"a couple of people" had so far been fined butno breach notices were issued.

"If it happens again today we are really going to have to start looking at whether we take a firmer position on that.

Another 1,315 vehicles were intercepted at the border yesterday but only two were turned around.

At the airport,1,826 people were processed, eight people were refused entry and 72 people were put into quarantine.

"There still are a few people trying to get in when they should not, but the numbers are quite low compared to what we have seen in the past,"he said.

More than 300 international arrivals were also processed yesterday.

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Queensland records four new cases of COVID-19, two of those in the community - ABC News

Find an updated count of COVID-19 cases in California and by county on our tracker here.

Roughly 30 businesses have opened in downtown and old Sacramento waterfront area during the pandemic

Nevada casinos set record winnings in May with $1.23 billion

More states reopen for business

US Supreme Court upholds eviction moratorium

5:30 p.m.: Roughly 30 businesses have opened in downtown and old Sacramento waterfront area during the pandemic

About 30 businesses have opened in downtown Sacramento and the old Sacramento waterfront area during the pandemic, according to the Downtown Business Partnership.

They include restaurants, coffee shops, beauty salons, an escape room, a tattoo parlor, and other storefronts selling ice cream and flip flops.

Its really exciting, said Emilie Cameron, district affairs and development director with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. Its a variety of businesses, some who had already been working towards opening their doors, pre-pandemic, others who seized an opportunity.

The store openings were touted by Mayor Darrel Steinberg during his State of the City address Tuesday, as he described a local economy ready to take off.

However, dozens of businesses in the downtown area had also closed during the pandemic. Cameron says about 10% of the shops shuttered out of the 400 retailers the business partnership represents.

LIST OF BUSINESSES

4:03 p.m.: Nevada casinos set record winnings in May with $1.23 billion

Nevadas tourism and gambling industry has come roaring back after the pandemic shuttered casinos and drove tourists away last year, with casinos setting a record in May by winning $1.23 billion.

Its the highest single-month win in the states history, blowing past a $1.165 billion record set in October 2007, according to the Associated Press.

The record win came before tourist-reliant Nevada lifted basically all restrictions on crowds and business capacity on June 1. The casinos take has topped $1 billion for three months in a row. Even before restrictions were lifted in June, tourists were again flocking to Las Vegas casinos, and most casino resorts were allowed to return to 100% capacity.

3:27 p.m.: More states reopen for business

Oregon and Washington have lifted most of their COVID-19 restrictions to become two of the latest states to broadly ease virus orders that have been in place since the start of the pandemic.

According to the Associated Press, New Mexico is scheduled to reopen Thursday, marking a return to businesses throughout the entire mainland U.S. after 16 months of disruptions and lockdowns.

The last holdout Hawaii has loosened some travel rules but is slated to maintain other restrictions until 70% of its population is fully vaccinated.

The reopenings come as concern grows about a new coronavirus variant threatening to set the country back in the months ahead. In California, health officials in Los Angeles County this week strongly recommended that people wear masks indoors in public places regardless of vaccination status to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. [link to yesterday post]

10:55 a.m.: US Supreme Court upholds eviction moratorium

The Supreme Court is leaving a pandemic-inspired nationwide ban on evictions in place over the votes of four objecting conservative justices.

According to the Associated Press, the court rejected a plea by landlords to end the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium on evicting millions of tenants who arent paying rent during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the Biden administration extended the moratorium by a month until the end of July, but said it didnt expect another extension.

U.S. Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, D.C. had struck down the moratorium as exceeding the CDCs authority, but put her ruling on hold.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and the courts three liberal members voted to keep the moratorium in place, while Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas said they would have ended it.

9:42 a.m.: Boy and Girl Scouts facing unprecedented one-year drop in membership

Americas two most iconic youth organizations the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA have been jolted by an unprecedented one-year drop in membership.

According to the Associated Press, the decline is due partly to the pandemic and partly to social trends that have been shrinking their ranks for decades.

Combined membership in the Boy Scouts two flagship programs declined by more than 40% from 2019 to 2020 and is now well under 1 million. The Girl Scouts youth membership fell by close to 30%, to just over 1 million.

The Boy Scouts problems are compounded by their decision to seek bankruptcy protection to cope with sex abuse lawsuits. An eventual trust fund for victims will likely entail significant contributions from the Boy Scouts and its local councils.

3:51 p.m.: LA County health officials recommend fully vaccinated people keep wearing masks indoors

Health officials in Los Angeles County are recommending, but not requiring, that people wear masks indoors in public places, regardless of their vaccination status.

According to the Associated Press, the recommendation in the nations most populous county is aimed at preventing the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The county public health department suggests that people wear masks when inside grocery or retail stores, theaters, family entertainment centers, and workplaces when peoples vaccination statuses are unknown.

The county experienced a surge in cases and deaths over the winter. To date, the county has recorded a total of 1.2 million coronavirus cases and more than 24,000 deaths.

3:29 p.m.: The pandemics effect on mainstream religions in the U.S.

Churches, synagogues and mosques are returning to normal services as the pandemic recedes, but the looming question is, how many worshippers will return?

According to the Associated Press, religious leaders fear some of the millions who stayed home from places of worship during the pandemic wont be coming back, hastening a slide in attendance. Some houses of worship may not make it.

In the U.S. the latest challenge for places of worship comes against a backdrop of a decades-long trend of less of the population identifying as religious. Its too early to know the full impact of the pandemic on religion, but surveys do show signs of hopefulness and also cause for concern.

About three-quarters of Americans who attended religious services in person at least monthly before the pandemic say they are likely to do so again in the next few weeks, according to an AP-NORC poll. Thats slightly up from the about two-thirds who said in May 2020 that they would attend if allowed to do so. However, 7% said they definitely wont be attending.

10:17 a.m.: Disney Cruise delays test sail due to inconsistent virus results

After a handful of participants had inconsistent COVID-19 test results, the Disney Cruise Line is postponing its first test cruise since the pandemic brought the industry to a standstill, according to the Associated Press.

The Disney Dream had been scheduled to set sail Tuesday from Port Canaveral, Florida with 300 employees onboard who had volunteered for the simulation cruise. However, the trip was postponed until next month because a small number of employees had inconsistent COVID-19 test results.

The federal government is starting to allow cruises to sail again, but only if nearly all passengers and crew are vaccinated.

9:54 a.m.: Many merchant ship crews still stuck at sea due to pandemic

More than 15 months into the coronavirus pandemic, tens of thousands of seafarers vital to the global shipping industry remain stranded at sea or in ports, unable to leave their ships or get new assignments due to global travel restrictions.

Theyve been the forgotten heroes of this pandemic, and theyve really been collateral damage because it was so easy for countries to say well take nobody into our country, except, of course, they wanted the ships to come in and just discharge their cargo, International Chamber of Shipping Secretary-General Guy Platten said to the Associated Press.

This has been a problem since the start of the pandemic, but the Global Maritime Forum said the situation has worsened recently, primarily due to new travel restrictions countries have imposed in response to the Delta variant.

The forum found that the percentage of stranded seafarers jumped from 5.8% to 7.4% from May to June and the figures are expected to continue rising.

More than 80% of world trade is transported by sea, meaning seafarers play a critical role in global commerce. Its estimated that 200,000 crewmembers are either stuck at sea or unable to leave home to get to their ships.

Some have reported being stranded for as long as 20 months, which goes against the International Labor Organizations Maritime Labour Convention maximum of 11 months.

9:41 a.m.: Pandemic-related rental assistance may have failed in many states

A rental crisis spurred by the pandemic prompted many states to make bold promises to help renters, but most failed to deliver on them after Congress passed the sweeping CARES Act in March 2020.

According to the Associated Press, a handful of states, many led by Republicans, offered little to no help. State leaders set aside at least $2.6 billion from the CARES Acts Coronavirus Relief Fund in 2020 to prop up struggling renters. But more than $425 million of that or 16% never made it to tenants or landlords, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and the Associated Press.

A federal eviction moratorium, which was set to expire June 30, has been extended to July 31, threatening millions with losing their homes. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom extended the states moratorium to the end of September. You can find more information on what assistance is available to California renters here.

2:43 p.m.: Do I need to worry about COVID-19 variants if Im vaccinated? Experts say it depends.

If youre currently vaccinated against COVID-19, you may be wondering if you need to worry about the Delta variant or any others that may crop up.

Experts say that depends on a few things, including your personal risk tolerance.

But first off, having gotten your vaccination is quite valuable. The World Health Organization says COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be protective against the new virus variants.

However, exactly how much the various vaccines protect against the Delta variant is still somewhat of a guessing game. About two weeks after youre vaccinated, the odds are highly favorable that you wont get a breakthrough infection. Even if youre one of the unfortunate few, you likely wont get a severe case.

At least for those vaccines approved in Europe and North America, in the case of the variants, these seem to be effective in preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death, says Dr. Jerome Kim, director-general of the International Vaccine Institute.

One important thing to note is that the Delta variant is about 60% more transmissible than the Alpha variant first discovered in the United Kingdom. Alpha is already 50% more contagious than the original virus form.

The Delta variant is likely what people in the U.S. will be at the highest risk of soon, which is part of the reason the CDC upgraded Delta from a variant of interest to a variant of concern.

An even newer mutation was just discovered in India, Delta plus, so experts are saying if it happens to crop up in your area, its time to go back to masking up, physical distancing, and getting tested when traveling.

2:25 p.m.: Las Vegas airport saw over 3.5 million passengers in May

More than 3.5 million passengers came through McCarran International Airport in May, an indicator that Las Vegas is inching toward a post-pandemic comeback, according to the Associated Press.

Airport officials on Friday released data from last month showing a significant increase in foot traffic at Las Vegas main airport. According to the Clark County Department of Aviation, the total number of travelers was 600,000 more than in April.

However, the 3.5 million travelers in May is still a roughly 23% decrease from the more than 4.5 million seen in May 2019. For the year-to-date, McCarran has seen more than 12 million passengers a 41% drop from 2019s 20.7 million travelers.

10:41 a.m.: White House working on vaccinating the movable middle

Thrown off-stride to reach its July 4 COVID-19 vaccination goal, the Biden administration is sending A-list officials across the country, devising ads for niche markets, and enlisting community organizations to persuade unvaccinated people to get their shots.

According to the Associated Press, the strategy has the trappings of a political campaign, complete with data crunching to identify groups that can be won over except the message is about public health, not ideology.

The focus is on a group health officials have named the movable middle some 55 million unvaccinated adults seen as persuadable, many of them under 30.

The effort comes as the White House acknowledges it will miss President Joe Bidens goal of 70% of Americans getting at least one COVID-19 shot by July 4.

9:58 a.m.: States weighing COVID-19 vaccine card checks

As states end their coronavirus restrictions, very few are creating systems to help businesses verify whether customers have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Associated Press.

Instead, far more states are actually banning vaccine checks by public entities and, in some cases, prohibiting businesses from denying service to those who arent vaccinated. About 18 states led by Republican governors or legislatures prohibit creating so-called vaccine passports or ban public entities from requiring proof of vaccination.

The prohibition doesnt apply to the demands employers make on their employees. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas threw out a lawsuit from 117 Houston hospital employees who challenged a workplace requirement that they get vaccinated.

For now, Hawaii is currently the only state with some form of vaccine passport for travelers. California, Louisiana, and New York have voluntary programs that let people download digital proof of vaccination.

The programs let people download digital proof of vaccination that can be shown on smartphones or printed as QR codes for others to scan. Still, many businesses are hesitant about asking customers for vaccine proof.

9:37 a.m.: End to COVID-19 hotel housing projects nationally causes worry

Tens of thousands of people experiencing homelessness have been staying in hotels across the U.S. paid for by federal programs aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19.

But, according to the Associated Press, as hotels re-open to tourists and federal pandemic funding wanes, many face uncertainty as hotel programs end. Many emergency shelters are already full or near capacity, too.

In California, the states motel-housing program, Project Roomkey, has also been winding down, but only 20% of recipients have secured permanent housing to enter in after the program sunsets.

While billions of additional federal dollars to secure housing have been approved, experts warn there will likely be a lag.

12:33 p.m.: Some places around the world are back under lockdown

Some governments have been forced to reimplement lockdown measures to control the spread of the coronavirus as infections increaseincluding Australia, Israel and Portugal.

This is in sharp contrast to the U.S. where many places are still reopening despite warnings from officials.

Read more here.

3:53 p.m.: California to extend evictions moratorium until end of September

California will ban evictions for unpaid rent through the end of September and will use federal money to pay off eligible tenants debt, according to the Associated Press.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders announced the deal on Friday. The agreement extends Californias current eviction moratorium that was scheduled to expire on Wednesday.

To be eligible, tenants must pay at least 25% of what they owe by Sept. 30. They must sign a declaration that they have had economic hardship because of the pandemic, and they must make 80% or less of the areas median income. Newsom said he will sign the bill into law.

3:15 p.m.: First cruise ship to resume business in US sets sail in Florida

The first cruise ship to board passengers at a U.S. port in 15 months is set to sail Saturday from the industrys South Florida hub.

According to the Associated Press, the sendoff will mark a symbolic stride toward normalcy for the U.S., where vaccines are curbing the COVID-19 outbreak. For many Americans, the global pandemic first hit home through news of deadly cruise ship outbreaks, with guests quarantined for weeks and ill passengers carried away on stretchers at ports.

But customers booked on the Celebrity Edges voyage out of Fort Lauderdale are confident it will be smooth sailing, with at least 95% of those onboard vaccinated. Cruise ship companies are aware the world is watching closely.

3:06 p.m.: Japan speeding up vaccine drive for Olympics

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California Coronavirus Updates: Roughly 30 Businesses Have Opened In downtown And Old Sacramento Waterfront Area During The Pandemic - Capital Public...

On June 25, people queued up to register for a COVID-19 vaccine at a site outside a Hindu temple in Hyderabad. Vaccinations are now being administered after a series of missteps led to a shortage of doses. If all goes well, India's public health agency hopes to be vaccinating up to 10 million people a day by late July. Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

On June 25, people queued up to register for a COVID-19 vaccine at a site outside a Hindu temple in Hyderabad. Vaccinations are now being administered after a series of missteps led to a shortage of doses. If all goes well, India's public health agency hopes to be vaccinating up to 10 million people a day by late July.

MUMBAI When Mumbai began lifting its coronavirus lockdown this month, Rekha Gala could finally reopen her late father's photocopy and stationary store, which she runs with her siblings in a jumble of low-slung businesses north of the city center.

They'd been closed for nearly three months. They needed to recoup business. But she was terrified. Gala had lost both her parents to other illnesses in the past year and several neighbors to COVID-19. She'd only been able to get her first vaccine dose, which she knew wouldn't fully protect her from getting ill.

So she strung a rope across her shop's open doorway. Customers point at merchandise through the front window, and Gala passes things to them across the rope. Even so, business is "not even 50%" of what it was before the pandemic, she says.

"Small businesses like ours, we're struggling to survive," Gala says. "But we also need to take precautions for ourselves and take vaccines if we can get them."

A medical worker observes COVID-19 patients in a sports stadium converted into a care facility. At the peak of the pandemic in India, there were over 400,000 cases and 4,500 deaths a day. Numbers are now starting to decline. Getty Images hide caption

On Tuesday, India confirmed 37,566 new coronavirus cases less than a tenth of what it was seeing at its peak last month. As the country emerges from the world's biggest and deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, scientists and policy makers say vaccinations will be key to India's safety, confidence and economic recovery. Small business owners like Gala agree.

But so far, only about 4% of people in India are fully vaccinated. And scientists say another COVID-19 wave may hit India this fall.

The Government's Insufficient Order

That's a surprising position for the country that's home to the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India. It has long churned out more vaccine doses by volume than any other company, even before the coronavirus pandemic.

A technician at India's Serum Institute, the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines, waits to collect vials containing vaccine after they pass through a machine that checks for bottling and vaccine substance deficiencies. For a number of reasons, the supply of COVID vaccines for Indians has fallen short. So far only 4% of the population has been vaccinated. Viraj Nayar for NPR hide caption

A technician at India's Serum Institute, the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines, waits to collect vials containing vaccine after they pass through a machine that checks for bottling and vaccine substance deficiencies. For a number of reasons, the supply of COVID vaccines for Indians has fallen short. So far only 4% of the population has been vaccinated.

Last spring, Serum's CEO Adar Poonawalla made a gamble: He began mass-producing several COVID-19 vaccines even before clinical trials revealed which ones would work. He concentrated on one in particular the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. He knew it would be useful in low resource countries because it doesn't require ultra-cold refrigeration.

Adar Poonawalla is the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. In late April, amid rising public anger over shortages of vaccines, Poonawalla left India for the United Kingdom. He told a British newspaper he faced "threats and aggression" from VIPs in India who couldn't get their shots. He returned to India in June. Sanjit Das (photo of Cyrus Poonawalla) and Dhiraj Singh (photo of Adar Poonawalla)/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

Adar Poonawalla is the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer. In late April, amid rising public anger over shortages of vaccines, Poonawalla left India for the United Kingdom. He told a British newspaper he faced "threats and aggression" from VIPs in India who couldn't get their shots. He returned to India in June.

In late 2020, clinical trials yielded positive results. Countries around the world began granting emergency authorization to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and the World Health Organization followed suit. By then, the Serum Institute already had tens of millions of doses ready to distribute. Poonawalla promised half of his production to his home country of India.

Confident with that pledge from Serum, the Indian government set ambitious goals at the start of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign in January.

But it didn't order enough doses.

It wasn't until Jan. 11 five days before India's national vaccination drive began that the government ordered its first batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute. And it was an order for just 11 million doses in a country of nearly 1.4 billion people. The government also pledged to order another 45 million from Serum and a smaller number of doses of another vaccine from another Indian company, Bharat Biotech.

At the time, coronavirus cases had hit record lows in India. So there wasn't much urgency. Opinion polls revealed some vaccine hesitancy among the public. And the government was still negotiating with Serum for better prices before ordering more.

The Indian government eventually did up its order and even donated tens of millions of doses as a gesture of goodwill to neighboring countries and, analysts say, to compete with Russia and China, which have been selling and donating their own vaccines around the world.

Then a second wave of COVID-19 exploded across India and the country desperately needed those vaccines it had given away.

'A Series Of Missteps' Amid Increased Demand

Throughout April and May, Indians died of COVID-19 in record numbers. Many couldn't get ambulances. Hospitals ran out of oxygen. At its peak, India was confirming more than 400,000 coronavirus cases a day and more than 4,500 daily deaths. But the real numbers may be many multiples higher because coronavirus testing collapsed too.

Amid rising demand for vaccines at home, the Indian government quietly cut back on vaccine exports in April, redirecting those doses to the domestic population.

"It's unofficial of course, but India is going to be using all the vaccine manufactured in the country," says Malini Aisola, one of the leaders of the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a health-care watchdog. "There is nothing left for export."

In late May, Serum acknowledged that it would be unable to supply coronavirus vaccines to COVAX, the WHO's program to distribute vaccines to lower-income countries, until the end of this year. Serum was supposed to be the program's biggest supplier. In addition to COVAX, dozens of countries had placed orders with Serum and in some cases even paid for vaccines they never received.

A worker surrounded by boxes of vaccines in the cold storage unit of the Serum Institute of India. In addition to manufacturing the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, the institute produces vaccines for measles, tetanus and many other diseases. But the supply of COVID vaccines for India and COVAX, the global vaccine program has been problematic. Viraj Nayar for NPR hide caption

Meanwhile in India, even with all of Serum's output redirected domestically, there still wasn't enough. Hundreds of vaccine centers across the country were forced to close temporarily in April and May for lack of supplies. Hundreds of thousands of Indians who'd managed to get a first dose couldn't get a second one.

On May 1, shortages were further exacerbated when the Indian government opened up vaccinations to all adults age 18 and up without enough supply. At the time, health and frontline workers still hadn't all been inoculated. Huge lines formed at vaccine centers across the country, and thousands of them ran out of shots and had to shut again.

In mid-May, the government also lengthened the interval between doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, requiring people to wait 12 to 16 weeks for a second dose. The government denies it was rationing vaccines, and defended the interval decision as based on scientific data. But members of the government's own scientific advisory board told Reuters they did not back the decision.

A technician at the Serum Institute checks for any deficiencies in vaccine doses and vials. Viraj Nayar for NPR hide caption

A technician at the Serum Institute checks for any deficiencies in vaccine doses and vials.

"Unfortunately I think there has been a series of missteps. The current situation was not entirely unforeseeable," Aisola says. "There was always going to be a large amount of vaccine required to immunize a huge population, and the government really should have made efforts not just in terms of purchasing but also efforts early on to utilize unused capacity."

She says unlike the United States, which invoked the Defense Production Act to bolster vaccine production, India failed to use government authority to ramp up manufacturing and also exported or gave away early supplies.

It also allocated 25% of its vaccine supply to private clinics, where prices were out of reach for a majority of Indians.

"What Happens When You Put All Your Eggs In One Basket"

Serum had pledged to ramp up its production, telling NPR in early March that it would soon be churning out 100 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca per month.

That never happened. The company has been producing 60 to 70 million doses per month instead. It has cited price caps by the Indian government, lack of raw material exports from the U.S. and a fire that damaged part of its facility.

"It's a demonstration of what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket," says Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington D.C. "Frankly, the Serum Institute's story what they're telling to the U.S. government, what they're telling to the government of India, what they're saying publicly those stories don't match up."

In late April, amid rising public anger over shortages of vaccines, Poonawalla left India for the United Kingdom. He told a British newspaper he faced "threats and aggression" from VIPs in India who couldn't get their shots.

A spokesperson for Poonawalla told NPR he returned to India in late June. While NPR interviewed him in summer 2020, he has refused several requests for a follow-up interview.

A health official checks data on the Indian government's Co-WIN website. Naveen Sharma/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett hide caption

A health official checks data on the Indian government's Co-WIN website.

Signing Up For A Vaccine: 'Definitely A Challenge'

Amid high demand and low supply, it's been difficult to book vaccination appointments in India. Initially, all appointments had to be booked on a government website or app called CoWIN. But they're notoriously buggy. When NPR visited a vaccination center north of Mumbai back in late January, even hospital administrators were having trouble using CoWIN, amid power cuts. Social media has been full of comments by users exasperated by glitches on the app and website.

So Berty Thomas took matters into his own hands. He's a computer programmer who, in the wake of these glitches, built two apps one for the under-45 age group, and another for those over 45. (On CoWIN, vaccine eligibility is different for those two groups.) Thomas' apps essentially monitor CoWIN and alert users when slots for appointments open up. His service sends out a text message instructing users when to get online and book. More than 3.5 million people in India have used Thomas' tools and a few others have since emerged too.

"On one hand, I like that the government is doing a technology-driven vaccine rollout. There needs to be a central database where they know who is getting vaccinated," Thomas says. "But at the same time, there are places where people do not have access to internet. So this is definitely a challenge."

Hundreds of millions of Indians lack smartphones or regular access to the internet. Several tens of millions of Indians also are unable to read. At first, the CoWIN app was only in English spoken by a minority of Indians but it has since expanded to 12 languages.

Earlier this month, all government vaccination centers began accepting walk-ins for registration.

"I tried and tried but for months I wasn't able to book a shot online," one man told local TV, relieved that he could finally register in person at a clinic in the capital New Delhi.

Modi Hits Back At Criticism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come under widespread criticism for problems with the country's vaccine rollout. He was also attacked for holding election rallies with scant social distancing as coronavirus cases were rising in April. His approval ratings have dipped.

After several weeks of silence, Modi gave a televised address to the nation on June 7 in which he hit back at some of the criticism.

"We should remember that our rate of vaccination is faster than many more-developed countries, and our tech platform CoWIN is also being appreciated," Modi said.

He's right in terms of real numbers: India has administered more than 330 million vaccine doses. But most of those are first doses. The vaccines used in India require two. So India has a long way to go before a majority of its nearly 1.4 billion people have some protection.

Modi also announced a major policy reversal: Starting on June 21, everyone in India age 18 and up became eligible for free COVID-19 shots. Previously, Modi's central government agreed to vaccinate only those aged 45 and up at no cost and left it to individual states to obtain and provide vaccines for younger people, often for a fee.

Aisola, the public health advocate, says she approves of the reversal. It's something the Indian government should have done from the beginning rather than leaving it to individual states to try to procure vaccines on the global market, she says.

"Centralized bulk procurement is really the most efficient way to keep the price low, and also to optimize public resources," Aisola says.

Finally, A Record Vaccination Day

On June 21, India administered some 8.6 million shots a daily record for any country except China. Officials said it was possible because fresh supplies that the government had ordered during April and May are now finally coming online.

"This is a new chapter in the war on corona," India's home minister Amit Shah told supporters that day in the western state of Gujarat.

But an analysis of state data by local media shows states ruled by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, may have withheld vaccinations in the preceding days in order to achieve that one-day record.

India's health minister claims all Indian adults will be able to get fully vaccinated by the end of this year. But even with increased supply, that target may be too ambitious, experts say.

"If we are able to give two doses to all the vulnerable, and if we can give one dose to the rest of the population, then we are in real good shape," says Dr. Giridhara Babu, a Bengaluru-based member of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which is basically India's equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Babu says he hopes that by late July, India might be able to vaccinate up to 10 million people a day.

A health worker inoculates a woman with a dose of the Covishield vaccine at a drive-in vaccination center on a shopping mall parking lot in Kolkata on June 4. Dibyangshhu Sarkar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

A health worker inoculates a woman with a dose of the Covishield vaccine at a drive-in vaccination center on a shopping mall parking lot in Kolkata on June 4.

Vaccinating quickly, 'preparing for a third wave.'

Dr. Daksha Shah isn't taking any chances. She's a municipal health official in Mumbai where, despite declining infections, she's setting up new field hospitals.

"We're slowly opening up the economy, plus doing the vaccination drives but at the same time, we are keeping a watch on daily positivity [rates] and on bed occupancy in the hospitals," Shah says. "So we are preparing for the third wave also in case it happens."

India's second COVID-19 wave was spread in part by attendees at a huge religious gathering in April on the banks of the Ganges River. Again this month, thousands of faithful gathered there to take a ritual dip in the river they consider most holy despite local rules banning large gatherings.

"We have taken a bit of risk in coming here," one devotee told local TV. "But we have taken all the safety precautions, like masks and hand sanitizers."

Meanwhile, whenever you make a phone call in India these days, you hear a similar message: "Wear your mask properly, wash your hands frequently, and yes, do not forget to take your vaccine on your turn."

It's a COVID safety message from the government that plays before the ringtone for all phone calls.

Hundreds of millions of Indians would like to heed that call including Rekha Gala, the photocopy shop owner in northern Mumbai.

But she's still waiting her turn for a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. And she only managed to book an appointment for her first dose, with help from a local politician. She reached out to him after having trouble booking an appointment on CoWIN.

"The government is trying its best, but sometimes you have to go around and use your connections. It's difficult. We have to take care," Gala says.

Right after she got her first dose, the government changed the rules, and she has to wait 84 days for her second dose. She says she just hopes another wave of COVID-19 doesn't hit Mumbai before that.

NPR producer Sushmita Pathak contributed to this story from Hyderabad, India.

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Why India, The World's Largest Vaccine Maker, Has A 4% Rate Of COVID Vaccination : Goats and Soda - NPR

Covid UK news live: Quarantine exemption for business chiefs condemned as offensive slap in the face  The Independent

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Covid UK news live: Quarantine exemption for business chiefs condemned as offensive slap in the face - The Independent

Right now, although we have limited evidence to suggest that painkillers would be bad to take before vaccination, several pieces of research conducted over the years have observed that certain brands of painkillers could interfere with the immune system's working- which is the very thing the vaccine jab tries to do. When a vaccine is administered, it prompts the immune system to generate antibodies which then lead to some inflammatory reactions, also known to us as side-effects. Hence, using painkillers beforehand may suppress the immune system from doing its work properly.

Another study, conducted on mice, which has been published in the Journal of Virology had also found that certain anti-inflammatory pain medications could in fact, even lower the production of antibodies, and curb the immune response.

As for the side-effects, every person reacts differently to side-effects. Therefore, relying on a painkiller doesn't offer any sense of reassurance that you may not get side-effects. Soreness and pain in the arm, fever, chills, and weakness are all mild side-effects of the vaccine, which tend to resolve in a matter of 2-3 days.

Therefore, taking painkillers preventively, is not really advisable, until and unless you have been advised by a doctor to do so.

View original post here:

Coronavirus vaccination: Here's why experts are warning people about taking painkillers before getting the COVID-19 vaccine - Times of India

Beijing is planning to keep its pandemic border restrictions in place for at least another year as officials fret over the emergence of new variants and a calendar of sensitive events, according to people familiar with the matter, despite a coronavirus vaccination campaign that has topped one billion doses.

The provisional timeline of the second half of 2022 was set during a mid-May meeting of the countrys cabinet, or State Council, attended by officials from Chinas Foreign Ministry and National Health Commission, among other government bodies, one of the people said.

The cautious attitude is being driven by a pair of events that officials are eager to have go off without a hitch next year: the Winter Olympics in February and a once-a-decade power transition within the ruling Chinese Communist Party toward the end of the year. At the Communist Party Congress, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is widely expected to seek an additional term beyond the customary two-term limit.

By largely restricting new visas to those who have received a Chinese vaccine and maintaining requirements for an enforced hotel quarantine of at least 14 days upon arrival, Chinese officials have sought to neutralize risks from imported cases, the people said.

After the coronavirus first exploded in the central city of Wuhan last year, Chinese authorities initially condemned countries such as the U.S. that imposed restrictions on travel to and from China.

More:

China to Keep Covid-19 Border Restrictions for Another Year - The Wall Street Journal

But manufacturing problems at a factory in Baltimore run by Emergent BioSolutions, Johnson & Johnsons subcontractor, have had serious consequences for the vaccine. Because of a major production mishap that resulted in a two-month shutdown in operations, Johnson & Johnson has essentially been forced to sit out the brunt of the pandemic in the United States while Pfizer and Moderna, the other federally authorized vaccine makers, provided almost all the nations vaccine stock.

Johnson & Johnson has had to throw out the equivalent of 75 million doses, and the regulatory authorities in Canada, South Africa and the European Union also decided to pull back millions more doses made at the Baltimore plant. The company has been able to deliver less than half of the 100 million doses it promised the federal government by the end of this month.

Dr. Anne Zink, Alaskas chief medical officer, said that in her state, Johnson & Johnsons shot had become a victim of its own timing. By late February, when it was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, Alaska had figured out how to get two-dose vaccines to remote areas, leaving the one-shot regimen less crucial than she had initially imagined.

Dr. Clay Marsh, West Virginias Covid-19 czar, said that the pause and Johnson & Johnsons later authorization more than two months after Pfizers and Modernas deprived it of a halo effect. By the time West Virginia had an ample supply of all three vaccines, he said, people started to get this concept that maybe theres something better about being immunized with Pfizer and Moderna.

The Johnson & Johnson shot had also suffered from a social network effect, said Andrew C. Anderson, a professor of public health at Tulane University who researches vaccine hesitancy. Most Americans who were inoculated in the early months of the vaccine campaign received Moderna and Pfizer shots, and so their friends and family were less likely to deviate and accept a different brand.

In Louisiana, hospitals in the New Orleans area have started offering the Johnson & Johnson shot to people on their way out of the emergency room; the thinking is that people will be more likely to accept the vaccine when a doctor who has treated them asks them to take it. And in Arkansas, where only a third of the population is fully vaccinated, state officials are offering Johnson & Johnson doses to agriculture, manufacturing, wastewater and poultry workers, with gift certificates for hunting and fishing licenses as a reward.

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High Hopes for Johnson & Johnsons Covid Vaccine Have Fizzled in the U.S. - The New York Times

Having witnessed the havoc wreaked by the second wave of coronavirus, it is only proper to stay prepared for a possible third wave. With states lifting their border restrictions and many fleeing to the hills, it seems that the only way to avoid yet another devastating phase is through mass vaccination.

Amidst all the chaos around vaccine shortage, while some are relieved to have taken their COVID shot, there are many who are still reluctant. Given the side effects and cases of adverse reactions, people are still trying to make their way around getting themselves vaccinated.

Apart from fever, fatigue and body ache, pain in the sight of vaccine injection has become a common post vaccination issue. While the pain lingers from a day or two, many are still wondering as to what causes the soreness.

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Coronavirus vaccination: Why do you experience a sore arm after your COVID-19 vaccination? - Times of India

Few knew about mRNA technology before the pandemic ushered the novel approach to the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. But while mRNA shots sailed through testing and have reached hundreds of millions of people so far, the techwont be the panacea for all other diseases, analysts say.

To be sure, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have shown astonishing efficacy, Jefferies analysts wrote in a note Wednesdayfollowing a conversation with an undisclosed world pre-eminent expert on vaccines and infectious diseases. Still, uncertainties remain in areas such as flu and cancer.

Following the mRNA success, experts have started speculatingabout which other diseases might be suitable forthe novel approach. For their part, the Jefferies analysts saidit's not clear how mRNA vaccines wouldstack up against more traditional methods of vaccine-making from industry heavyweights Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline.

For those companies and Merck, established shotsinclude pediatric combinations, plus vaccines against meningitis, shingles and HPV. There may be more room for mRNA developers to tackle cytomegalovirus virus or dengue, the Jefferies analysts wrote.

When it comes to the flu, rival mRNA developers have argued the technology, which uses messenger RNA instead of a weakened germ to instruct cells to trigger an immune response, could disrupt the multibillion-dollar market.

Existing flu vaccines typically hold a low efficacy barroughly 30% to 60%and cant be quickly adjusted to target emerging strains like mRNA can. Except there may be some challenges in that arena as well, Jefferies analysts pointed out.

RELATED:Pfizer, after success in COVID-19, will go solo to develop other mRNA vaccines, CEO Bourla says

For one, its unclear whether one shot of an mRNA vaccine will work just as well as existing flu shots; a two-dose regimen could be a drawback. Its also unknown how much governments would be willing to shell out for more effective flu vaccines.

Meanwhile, developing a cancer vaccine has proven to be a hard nut to crack and the probability an mRNA-based cancer shot would work is likely lower than viral vectors, Jefferies analysts said in the note.

Pfizer and Moderna have both pledged to plow ahead with the gene-based technology. Both companies are working on booster shots to tackle emerging coronavirus variants, and Moderna is testing a dual COVID-flu combo option.

Jefferies noted that the combo shot, while conceivable, could be complicated by the different mutation rates of the two viruses, plus potential for deleterious interactions and added manufacturing complexity.

Beyond COVID-19, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in March that the drugmaker will try to use the technology against a host of other diseases. The drugmakers chief scientist, Mikael Dolsten, told investors on an earnings call that the technology could potentially be applied to flu, CMV and RSV.

RELATED:Moderna advancing early-stage mRNA prospects to show depth beyond COVID-19 shot

But the drugmaker will have to go head-to-head with Moderna, which has been developing drugs in the field over the last decade. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech has more than a dozen different mRNA candidates launched into clinical trials already with plans to further invest in the mRNA platform.

Thats not to mention the mRNA partnerships Sanofi and GSK drummed up recently. Sanofi is working with Translate Bio while GSK is teamed up with Germanys CureVac to develop and a handful of mRNA infectious disease contenders.

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While mRNA saved the COVID-19 day, GSK and Sanofi vaccines likely safe beyond pandemic: analysts - FiercePharma