Britain on Tuesday became the first Westerncountry to start mass coronavirus vaccinations, as Joe Biden pledged his administration would inoculate 100 million people in the United States over the first 100 days of his presidency, reports AFP.
Kicking off Britain’s “V-Day,” Margaret Keenan said she felt “privileged”to be given the injection, the first of millions expected to be administeredin the hard-hit country over the coming months.
The Pfizer-BioNTech jab is one of several vaccines bringing hope for anend to the pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million people worldwideand ravaged economies.
Frontrunners Pfizer-BioNTech and US biotech firm Moderna have reportedefficacy of 95 percent and 94 percent respectively and have given data to regulators.
But Oxford University and AstraZeneca became the first Covid-19 vaccinemakers to publish final-stage clinical trial data in a scientific journal.
The study, published in the Lancet medical journal, confirmed that theirvaccine works in an average of 70 percent of cases.
But the focus remained on the launch of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
The second jab in Britain went to a man named William Shakespeare.
The over-80s, care home workers, and at-risk health and social care staffwill be at the front of the line for vaccination. Almost 40 percent of the new cases detected over the last seven daysworldwide have been in Europe, the region topping 20 million cases onTuesday. But the rate of infection appears to be stabilizing.
Russia, one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries in terms of cases, onSaturday began vaccinating high-risk workers with its own jab, Sputnik V, andBeijing has also begun an emergency inoculation campaign with a medicine madein China.
The United States is expected to grant emergency authorization for thePfizer-BioNTech vaccine later this week, announcing on Tuesday that noconcerns had been found in trial data. Despite the vaccination news, virusrestrictions continue to be reimposed — roughly 30 million people in the US state of California are now under stay-at-home orders.
And the World Health Organization has warned that successful vaccines ontheir own will not immediately end the crisis. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order “to ensure thatAmerican citizens have first priority to receive American vaccines.”
But he faces questions over whether the White House missed an opportunityto shore up sufficient doses in the months ahead. President-elect Biden warned, meanwhile, that coronavirus vaccinationefforts in the United States will “slow and stall” if Congress does noturgently come up with funding.
He stressed it was imperative for lawmakers to “finish the bipartisan workunderway now or millions of Americans may wait months longer to get the vaccine.”
Biden also pledged that his administration would carry out at least 100million vaccinations in his first 100 days in office, a more conservativeestimate than that offered by Trump officials. America’s floundering efforts to quell the pandemic have been widelycriticized — the nation is the world’s worst-hit, with 15,151,472 cases and286,117 deaths.
California ordered most offices to close and banned gatherings amongdifferent households. Bars and services such as hair salons were shut, andrestaurants were allowed to serve takeaway only. Non-essential travel wasalso temporarily restricted statewide as California experienced record newCovid-19 cases.
“The overwhelming majority of Californians are now in this new stay-at-home order protocol,” said Governor Gavin Newsom, who earlier warned that thestate hospital system risked being “overwhelmed.”
The US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said data from trials ofPfizer-BioNTech drug revealed “no specific safety concerns.”
The data “suggest a favourable safety profile, with no specific safetyconcerns identified” that would preclude issuing an authorization foremergency use, it said.
The FDA is also expected to green light the Moderna vaccine.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Pfizer and BioNTech willdeliver their first doses to his nation within weeks.
In India, two pharmaceutical firms — including Serum Institute, theworld’s biggest vaccine manufacturer — on Monday sought fast-track approvalfor coronavirus shots.
India is the world’s second-worst hit nation, with more than 140,000recorded deaths.
And in Brazil’s densely populated Sao Paulo state — Latin America’scoronavirus epicenter — authorities will launch a campaign from Januaryproviding the Chinese-developed vaccine CoronaVac to healthcare workers,older people and vulnerable groups first.
Even as hopes rise for vaccines and a resulting economic recovery,governments are being forced to tighten restrictions to contain surges ininfections.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged regions with high infection rates totighten curbs, while Denmark said it will close middle and high schools, bars, cafes and restaurants in half of the country.
But Austrians got a boost when the government lifted its measures earlierthis week.
Israel announced a nationwide night-time curfew from December 9 followinga steep increase in cases. And Hong Kong announced a ban on eveningrestaurant dining and the closure of fitness centers to contain a new viruscases.
