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 AstraZeneca further cuts EU vaccine supply target
AstraZeneca cut its supply forecast of COVID-19 vaccine to the
European Union in the first quarter to about 30 million doses, a
third of its contractual obligations and a 25% drop from pledges
made last month, a document seen by Reuters shows.
The shortfall is a further blow to EU's vaccination plans already
being hampered by repeated delays in supply and a slow roll-out in
some nations.
Canada said on Thursday the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe after
Denmark and Norway temporarily suspended its use amid reports that
blood clots had formed in some people who had received the shot.
Novavax vaccine 96% effective against original coronavirus
Novavax's vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by
the original version of the coronavirus in a late-stage trial
conducted in the United Kingdom, the company said on Thursday,
moving it a step closer to regulatory approval.
There were no cases of severe illness or deaths among those who got
the vaccine, in a sign that it could stop the worse effects of new
variants that have cropped up.
The vaccine was 86% effective in protecting against the more
contagious virus variant first discovered and now prevalent in the
United Kingdom.
All U.S. adults to be eligible for vaccines by May
President Joe Biden told U.S. states on Thursday to make all adults
eligible for a vaccine by May 1 and urged Americans to stay vigilant
or face more restrictions.
In a speech on the first anniversary of the pandemic lockdown, Biden
said if Americans pulled together there could be a greater sense of
normalcy - and some backyard barbecue parties with small groups - on
the U.S. Independence Day holiday on July 4.
That date is a new goal for the president amid a pandemic that has
killed more than 530,000 people in the United States, the most of
any country.
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 South Korea extends social
distancing rules
South Korea will extend social distancing rules
with a ban on private gatherings of more than
four people in a bid to stamp out the
possibility of a fourth wave of infections,
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said on Friday.
The announcement comes as South Korea has been
ramping up its immunisation drive, authorising
use of AstraZeneca's vaccine for people aged 65
years and older in a bid to inoculate 70% of its
52 million residents by September.
The country has administered 546,277 doses of
vaccines as of Thursday midnight.
Gym outbreak sends shivers through Hong Kong
expat community
Hong Kong recorded 60 coronavirus cases on
Friday, the city's government said, as it
scrambled to contain transmissions mainly among
its expatriate community after a cluster at a
gym spilled into the financial sector and
international schools.
Hong Kong's health department told a briefing
that around 47 cases were related to the
outbreak at Ursus Fitness, a gym in the trendy
Sai Ying Pun district, which is popular with
expatriate lawyers, bankers and hedge fund
executives.
Over 240 people were sent to government
quarantine due to the gym cluster, authorities
said on Thursday. Many of the clients did not
wear masks during their workout.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Mark
Heinrich)
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