DIRECT. Covid-19: global vaccine supply exceeds demand, a first for the Covax system

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Serbia and Vietnam will be able to produce messenger RNA vaccines. These countries will benefit from the transfer of technology from the center set up by the WHO in South Africa.

Last week, the UN organization had already designated six African countries to host their own production of mRNA vaccines.

The flu epidemic in France has so far remained at levels well below those of previous years. But “in the context of a sharp decrease in the circulation of SARS-CoV2 and a possible lower adherence of the population to barrier measures, it is difficult to anticipate with certainty the dynamics of the circulation of influenza viruses in the coming weeks”, according to Public Health France.

In January, 436 million doses of vaccine were available under the Covax device, according to a report published in mid-February. However, the poorest countries have only requested 100 million doses to be distributed by the end of May. It is the transport (in particular the cold chain) which now poses a problem, according to the Spiegel website.

Questioned by a journalist, Gabriel Attal again defended the government’s health policy. “This winter a lot of Europeans couldn’t celebrate Christmas with their families, couldn’t travel around their country, couldn’t go to a restaurant or a bar. They were confined or had a curfew. We did not have all of this in France, because we took the right measures at the right time and in particular the health pass, ”said the spokesperson.

“The lifting of the measures is done gradually, calmly and without waiting a single day too long when the epidemic allows it. We are more optimistic and more confident than ever about the way out of this health crisis and we are moving forward with serenity and determination towards a life without restrictions,” concludes Gabriel Attal.

“The more the virus recedes, the more the lifting of restrictions advances”, adds Gabriel Attal, citing in particular the reduction of the health protocol at school. “The next step should be the lifting of the vaccination pass and the obligation to wear a mask indoors. “Measures that could arrive “in mid-March”, according to “projections of the Institut Pasteur”.

The situation in the hospital is also improving. “There are 400 critical care patients and 3,500 people hospitalized less than a week ago,” recalls Gabriel Attal. “In just over two weeks the number of hospital admissions has been halved and, above all, the R0 is now significantly lower than 1, which proves that the peak of the epidemic wave is more further behind us. »

“The trend is confirmed week after week: the health horizon is clearing up a little more every day and the epidemic collapse continues”, underlines government spokesman Gabriel Attal, who specifies that the number of cases has decreased by 40. % in one week and that the incidence rate is now “significantly below” 1000.

According to an analysis by the Office for National Statistics, nearly four in five children of primary school age in the UK now have antibodies capable of providing some protection against Covid. “The estimates, which relate to children aged 8 to 11, reach 82.0% in England and Scotland, and 79.7% in Wales. Northern Ireland has a slightly lower figure of 72.2%,” the AP news agency said.

According to the Institut Pasteur, the BA.2 variant should only have a limited impact on the epidemic, at least until April 1. It “seems crushed by the wave of BA.1 which preceded it”, indicates epidemiologist Simon Cauchemez. It should “slow down the decrease in cases, without however generating a significant epidemic rebound”, notes the Institut Pasteur in a report published on Tuesday and that thewe detail you here.

These “ghost flights”, which refer to international flights in which no more than 10% of the seats were occupied, took off from 32 airports between March 2020 and September 2021, according to a government analysis. Heathrow recorded the most with 4,910 flights, followed by Manchester (1,548 flights) and Gatwick (1,044 flights).

1.1 million doses of the fifth vaccine authorized in France will be delivered this week and partly sent to overseas territories, where vaccination coverage is lower. But the ambient discourse on the imminent end of the vaccine pass could discourage some. Our article to read here.

A UN human rights expert has called on the international community to provide millions of doses of vaccines to North Korea, where “draconian” health measures have worsened the food crisis. Since closing its borders in 2020 to protect itself from the coronavirus, North Korea has been a more reclusive country than ever.

Denis Agret, a former emergency doctor who resigned from his post in September 2021 in protest against health policy, will appear at 2 p.m. before the Montpellier Criminal Court for “endangering the lives of others”. “He wanted to take a picture of children in the street without the mask asking them to smile, a photo published on social networks,” his lawyer explained to Sud Radio.

Health officials have approved Pfizer’s vaccine for ages 5-11, expanding the country’s immunization program in the face of a massive Omicron outbreak. A record 171,452 new cases were recorded on Wednesday.

The French pharmaceutical giant has announced large-scale positive results for its anti-Covid vaccine (which does not relate to Omicron), developed with the British GSK, a project which thus succeeds almost a year late following multiple reports. “Sanofi and GSK will seek regulatory approval for their vaccine against (the) Covid-19” in the United States and in the European Union, the two groups said in a press release, specifying that this vaccine had, in the term of these trials, shown to be effective in avoiding any hospitalization.

According to a study cited by The Guardian, children produce about four times fewer aerosol particles when they breathe, speak or sing compared to adults. These data could help explain why children seem to be less at risk of spreading Covid. This could be related to the size and shape of their lungs and airways. Smaller, they therefore emit fewer aerosols when they breathe and speak.

The main airport of the British capital experienced its second consecutive black year in 2021 and experienced the lowest number of passengers in 50 years, announced its management in a press release published on Wednesday. Heathrow was “the only European hub to see a reduction in traffic last year, due to stricter travel restrictions” in the United Kingdom than in the European Union, assures the airport.

What add heartbreak to the major epidemic that is sweeping the city. In Hong Kong, parents must remain separated from their Covid-19 positive children until the latter are out of the woods. “I said I would sleep in the hallway, on the floor, anywhere,” says Laura, 32, holding back tears. Her 11-month-old daughter Ava tested positive after being admitted to hospital on Sunday evening with a fever and labored breathing. The girl still has to recover without her parents for at least seven days.

Thanks to “significant immunity”, the Pasteur Institute estimates, in a report published this Wednesday on the BA.2 sub-lineage, that an epidemic resumption should not be feared in the short term. “The BA.2 subvariant is not expected to generate a strong rebound in the epidemic in the short term,” the institute said.

Seven times fewer positive cases in Île-de-France compared to mid-January, four times fewer positive cases throughout France compared to the end of January… The contamination peaks known at the start of the year are receding .

The French tennis player, who had reported poor health on Tuesday “probably following (his) third dose of vaccine”, dotted the i’s on Wednesday: “the causes of my glitches remain unclear and even the doctors do not know not tell me exactly what this is due to, he wrote on Twitter. Let’s stop appropriating everyone’s words for political purposes or simply to serve your convictions. The day before, the link that he emitted between his physical health and his third dose had been widely relayed by the antivax.

Hong Kong’s finance chief on Wednesday unveiled a HK$170 billion (€19.2 billion) budget, including tax breaks and consumer bonds, as the city endures its worst episode in the coronavirus pandemic nowadays. Hong Kong is overwhelmed by an Omicron wave, after its zero-Covid strategy collapsed. This upsurge has led to the reimposition of painful restrictions, leading to the closure of many businesses and schools and deepening the city’s international isolation.