Healthy Reading #9 - A Slow Start, a Row, and Variants: Gianni Murzi

Media reports this week on COVID-19 have focused on two main issues:

the slow start of the vaccination campaigns
virus variants found in the UK and South Africa.
Vaccinations campaigns started in earnest in the USA, Israel, UAE, Seychelles, and the UK. Among these countries Israel is vaccinating its population faster than any other country, with 48.9 doses administered for every 100 people. Taken together, however, even among those countries which have begun their campaigns, reality lags far behind earlier targets.

The global picture is even more grim. Overall around the world only 1.1 per cent or 84.907.040 people have been vaccinated.

Production issues at Pfizer and Moderna in the US, and at AstraZeneca in the UK seem to be responsible for this slow start around the world, particularly within the EU block. Two of the companies named above said that they are ramping up production, but also added that delays are to be expected.

See the New York Times Vaccination Tracker at https://nyti.ms/2MirD9A,

The Times reports that “while vaccine doses remain relatively scarce globally, most countries have focused their early vaccination efforts on priority groups like the clinically vulnerable; people in their 60s, 70s and older; and front-line workers, like doctors and nurses.

A row erupted between the EU Commission and AstraZeneca, (see https://bit.ly/2MBtXbw). “Countries across the bloc have felt the pain of vaccine shortages even as a new wave of the virus rages. The pandemic has prompted prolonged lockdowns in most member countries, [including my own country, Italy] and there is also anxiety over the spread of at least two highly infectious variants that are straining national health systems.”

On the question of the new variants, it seems that available vaccines may lose some of their efficacy. Even so the vaccines but still be able to control the virus enough to prevent serious illness. Vaccine producers are all studying the new virus variants to bring required changes to the vaccines. This is a normal procedure. Consider the influenza vaccine, that is updated each year to account for new strains. See also https://nyti.ms/39uNUdc

Please remember that mask wearing, covering mouth and nose, social distancing, hand washing and not touching our face, are still key in protecting us from getting infected.  Note that this is also true for those who have already received the vaccine and those who have been infected but have now recovered.  Don't let your guard down.  Protect yourself and those around you.

Best regards, Gianni