The Evening Report - March 15th
More European countries suspend AstraZeneca use
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The Norwegian Medicines Agency (Legemiddelverket) says one of the three patients admitted to hospital on Saturday with low platelet counts post AstraZeneca vaccinations has died.
The agency says it has had over 1,000 reports of vaccine side effects “in recent days” and is now reviewing them beginning with the most serious first. It says most are the kinds of transient side effects common with COVID vaccination so far.
Legemiddelverket Medical Director Steinar Madsen
“So far we have not received reports of more serious cases with the very rare disease picture.”
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Germany has joined a growing list of European Union countries to suspend the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine pending results of investigations between the vaccine and reports of severe, and sometimes fatal, blood clots.
Spain and France also followed suit today.
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The European Medicines Agency says it is still investigating reports of serious post vaccination blood clots and any link to the AstraZeneca vaccine. It has scheduled an “extraordinary meeting” for Thursday “to conclude on the information gathered and any further actions that may need to be taken.”
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The Danish Medicines Agency has sent out an updated letter to everyone in Denmark who has been vaccinated with AstraZeneca, especially those vaccinated in the last 14 days. It warns them to be vigilant for symptoms that persist, particularly skin hemorrhages, and blue spots on the skin.
It also advises people to be on the lookout for symptoms associated with a low platelet count, including skin or mucous membrane bleeding that shows up as bruising, small punctate bleeding in the skin, or bleeding that does not stop as usual.
Other symptoms to be aware of include.
Severe headache
Severe abdominal pain
Leg or legs that get cold
Unexpectedly body pain
Difficulty breathing
Paralysis in one side of the body
Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek medical attention immediately.
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Denmark is reporting 612 COVID infections and two more coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours.
Yesterday there were 148,094 PCR tests and another 61,940 rapid tests done for a total of 210,034 COVID tests conducted. That equals a positivity percentage of 0.29%.
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Two new COVID hot spots have popped up in Høje-Taastrup on Sjælland and Esbjerg on Jutland.
The Danish Agency for Patient Safety says Præstegårdsskolen Urban has been closed in Esbjerg due to “outbreaks.” Students, staff, and their families should go get tested.
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COVID hospitalizations (211) are down (-6), ICU numbers (40) inched up (+1), while those on a ventilator (24) crept down (-1).
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On the vaccination front, 586,153 1st dose vaccinations (10% of the population) have been administered while 258,786 people (4.4%) are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The impact of vaccination efforts is is now reflected in the statistics as infection rates for those 70 years old and older continue to drop dramatically.
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Bavarian Nordic has begun clinical trials on humans with the first injection in Holland today. This brings the made-in-Denmark vaccine, Adaptvac, another step closer to possible approval and use.
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The Metro Copenhagen Health Authority (Region Hovedstaden) says it has enlisted SOS International and Copenhagen Medical to help administer COVID rapid tests to students in 10 efterskoler and five højskoler beginning today.
Students heading back to class today will have mobile COVID test sites at their schools twice a week to administer the new, less intrusive rapid tests. The tests produce a result in about 15 minutes. Should a student test positive they must immediately follow up with a standard PCR test.
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The Danish National Board of Health says interdisciplinary clinics are being set up at hospitals across the country to specifically deal with COVID long haulers - people who deal with corona symptoms over a period of many months.
Section Leader Line Riddersholm:
“…there is still a lot we don’t know about this, and there is a need for us to collect knowledge systematically into the future, so that we can adapt and further develop treatment options for patients with long-term symptoms.”
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The Danish Regions are launching a study to determine the public health impacts of the coronavirus lockdowns.
Chair Stephanie Lose says they want to better understand both the physical and mental consequences the lockdown has had on people.
“The Danes' mental well-being is worse. We have moved less and trained less than we usually do.”
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Since Friday’s update, Norway has added 2,163 infections and one more corona death.
COVID hospitalizations (221) are up (+21). Ventilator numbers (27) crept up (+2).
To date 447,635 1st dose (8.34% of the population) and 256,120 2nd dose (4.77%) vaccinations have been administered.
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Finland is seeing the most COVID infection activity of the entire pandemic, driven by the U.K. variant, as it added 2,019 infections since Friday’s update (691 on Saturday, 863 on Sunday, and 465 today).
It has also suffered another 14 virus deaths pushing total corona deaths in Finland to 800.
On the vaccination front, 597,471 1st dose vaccinations (10.7% of the population) have been admintered, and 86,311 people (1.5%) are now fully vaccinated.
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Sweden won’t update its COVID numbers until tomorrow.
Radio Sweden is reporting Pfizer vaccine doses are being thrown away due to a lack of specialized equipment. It says Swedish health authorities don’t have enough ‘dead space’ syringes to draw a sixth dose out of Pfizer vaccine vials. In at least one Swedish region it has been found that every tenth vaccine dose is lost.
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COVID numbers across Europe were, for the most part, lower today, as is usual for a Monday.
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That said, with 7,706 new infections and 131 more corona deaths today, Hungary remains a European COVID hot spot.
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The pandemic situation in Estonia didn’t take much of a break either with another 1,281 infections. It remains an area of concern.
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Yesterday, Canada registered 2,957 new infections and another 29 corona deaths. Infection numbers which have been stagnant for a while are now creeping upward.
On the vaccination effort to date, there have been 2,494,045 1st dose vaccinations (6.56% of the population). 598,804 people are now fully vaccinated.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vouched for the AstraZeneca vaccine calling it safe and effective. He says Canada did not receive the same batch that has caused European countries to suspend its use amid reports of severe blood clots.
“The best vaccine for you to take is the very first one that is offered to you. That's how we get through this as quickly as possible and as safely as possible."
The number of variant infections in Canada continues to grow. Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said today that the number of highly contagious U.K. variant infections has increased by 303 to 3,031 while another eight cases of the concerning Brazilian P1 variant have been reported for a total of 51.
Today, Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted “Ontario is reporting 1,268 cases of COVID19 and nearly 34,000 tests completed. Locally, there are 366 new cases in Toronto, 220 in Peel and 147 in York Region.As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 1,191,553 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.” There were nine more deaths.
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Quebec reported 594 new infections and 10 more virus deaths today. 553 are in hospital and 96 are in an ICU.
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In Atlantic Canada, no new infections were reported in Nova Scotia or Newfoundland and Labrador today. New Brunswick has yet to report.
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There were 50 new infections and no new deaths in Manitoba yesterday.
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Alberta reported 388 new infections and six additional deaths yesterday.
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In Saskatchewan, there were 98 new infections and two more deaths yesterday.
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B.C doesn’t report numbers on the weekend and will file three days worth of catch up data later today.
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Key agreements have been reached to produce Russia’s Sputnik V COVID vaccine in facilities in Italy, Spain, France, and Germany according to a statement from Russia's Direct Investment Fund.
The Sputnik V vaccine is not yet approved for use in the E.U. The European Medicines Agency has begun a rolling review, the first step towards possible approval. However, several countries including Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic are going ahead and using it anyway with or without EMA approval.
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Moderna announced today it is beginning a phase one study of its next generation COVID vaccine. The new formula is designed to be kept at refrigerator temperatures.
Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel says, if successful, it could be a game changer.
“We are pleased to begin this Phase 1 study of our next generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1283. Our investments in our mRNA platform have enabled us to develop this next generation vaccine candidate, which is a potential refrigerator-stable vaccine that could facilitate easier distribution and administration in a wider range of settings, including potentially for developing countries.”