The Evening Report - March 16th
Europe’s drug watchdog nears end of AstraZeneca investigation
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“While the investigation is ongoing, we are still firmly convinced that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID, with its associated risk of hospitalization and death outweigh the risk of the side effects.”
This came from the European Medicines Agency’s Executive Director Emer Cooke as she took questions from reporters today on her agency’s AstraZeneca investigation.
While she emphasized that the benefits outweigh the risks, she also said a proper fact based investigation is imperative because this is a “serious concern and it does need serious, detailed scientific evaluation."
“At present, there is no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions. They have not come up in the clinical trials, and they're not listed as known or expected side effects with this vaccine in clinical trials."
Cooke wouldn’t rule out a specific batch of AstraZeneca possibly being to blame but also added it was extremely unlikely. She says that is because the EMA is getting reports of suspected adverse reactions across a number of European countries who are using different batches of the vaccine.
The Agency will release its conclusions in the investigation and any next steps at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday.
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Germany’s Paul Erhlich Institute says the country has recorded seven cases of cerebral venous thromboses (blood clots in the brain) after AstraZeneca vaccinations. The Institute says three of the seven have died. They were all aged between 20 to 50 years old.
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There was good news on the infection front today in Denmark. Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke says the contact number (reinfection rate or R0) remains at 1 for a second week. Anything over one means degrees of infection spread while a contact number under one means infections are in retreat. Right now the R0 is on a knife’s edge.
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Denmark is reporting 771 new COVID infections and two more coronavirus deaths in the last day.
That is the first time since January 24th daily infections have exceeded 700 (minus March 10th when infection data was merged with the private rapid test providers causing a spike).
Yesterday there were 148,874 PCR corona tests and another 164,633 rapid tests administered across the country for a total of 307,507 coronavirus tests conducted. That equals a positivity percentage of 0.25%.
COVID hospitalizations (207) dropped slightly (- 4), ICU numbers (43) increased slightly (+3) and the number of those on a respirator (24) remains unchanged.
On the vaccination front 589,139 1st dose vaccinations (10.1% of the population) have been administered while 268,653 people (4.6%) are now fully vaccinated.
Yesterday there were 12,853 total vaccinations, still a far cry from the 100,000 per day goal.
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Denmark’s largest educators union is pressing for schools to prioritize the mental health and well being over school work for young students returning to class.
In an Epinion survey conducted by the union, two out of every three parents reported that the isolation of the COVID lockdown has negatively impacted their child’s well being.
BUPL President Elisa Rimpler stated,
“It is a vulnerable age where a lot happens with both body and mind. And we really have no idea what such long-term isolation means for their development. This is probably also what parents are anxious about. There is certainly a very serious well-being backlog that we have to take care of.”
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The pandemic has triggered a sea change in how Danes shop online according to an analysis by the Nets Group.
It found overall online spending in Denmark plummeted by 43-billion kroner last year. The biggest loser was the travel industry, which usually accounts for half of all online spending in Denmark. The global COVID pandemic decimated that.
However, Nets found physical goods benefitted, seeing a ten-billion kroner surge in online spending for things like groceries, take-away, clothes, building materials, gardening supplies, you name it.
The online spending spree had a patriotic theme. According to the Nets study, 68% of online consumers reported to have deliberately targeted their shopping to support Danish business and made in Denmark goods.
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Sweden has added 12,762 infections and another 26 corona deaths since its last update on Friday.
To date, 843,974 1st dose (10.3% of the population) and 358,014 2nd dose (4.4%) vaccinations have been administered.
As reported earlier today, Sweden has suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine pending results of the European Medicines Agency investigation.
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Norway has added 1,010 infections and one more corona death since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (54) are up (+5). Ventilator numbers (34) are also up (+4).
To date, 448,355 1st doses vaccinations (8.32% of the population) and 257,405 2nd doses (4.77%) have been administered
As infections continue to climb in Oslo, City Council has ordered schools closed for secondary and upper secondary students. Combined with existing restrictions, this means that students in Oslo from grade five and up are all now on distance learning.
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Finland has registered 517 infections and one more virus death since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (234) are up (+10) while ICU numbers (49) inched down (-1).
To date, 610,873 1st dose vaccinations (11% of the population) and 610,873 2nd doses (1.6%) have been administered.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare says it has received nine reports of suspected post vaccination blood clots.
However, Finland’s pharmaceutical watchdog FIMEA says there are no plans to suspend the use of AstraZeneca. Director of Pharmacovigilance Liisa Näveri says there is no reason to stop AstraZeneca vaccinations.
“They aren’t fatal cases. We’re still waiting for confirmations on whether blood clots have been diagnosed in these cases.”
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Infections continue to creep up in France as it recorded another 29,975 today along with 338 more corona deaths. Concerns are rising of a third COVID wave as numbers trend upward while the seven-day average of new infections rose above 25,000 for the first time since November 20th.
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Italy saw COVID deaths rise sharply today with 502, the first time since January 26th daily fatalities have exceeded 500, while registering another 20,396 new infections.
Preliminary autopsy results for a 57-year-old clarinet teacher who died less than 24 hours after receiving an AstraZeneca vaccination found a heart problem to be the cause of death, not the vaccine. Two other deaths in the country were reported to have occurred after receiving AstraZeneca vaccinations.
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With 10,511 new infections and 128 corona deaths today, numbers in the Czech Republic appear to be easing slightly. However, the COVID situation remains dire as the strained to the breaking point hospital system saw patient numbers increase to 8,939. Of those, 1,993 are in an ICU.
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Estonia reported 1,463 new infections and 11 more virus deaths today as its numbers remain very high. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has tested positive and is quarantining at home.
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The E.U. Commission has reached an agreement with Pfizer for an “accelerated delivery” of another ten-million vaccine doses for delivery in the 2nd quarter.
The agreement specifies that this will be drawn from 100-million doses already contracted to arrive in the 3rd and 4th quarter. In other words, they are not additional doses, they are just arriving sooner than expected.
E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
“This will bring the total deliveries of this vaccine to 200 million doses for that quarter. It will give Member States room to manoeuvre and possibly fill gaps in deliveries.”
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Eurostat, a European statistics organization, has taken a look at excess mortality in Europe since the COVID pandemic began in the spring of 2020. It found deaths increased by 580,000 across the E.U. between March and December of last year compared to the same time period in each of the four previous years.
It found excess mortality increased by eight-percent through to August and September and then rocketed up to 41% in November when the fall infection wave struck.
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Moderna has begun first doses in coronavirus vaccine trials for children aged six months to “less than 12 years old.” It expects to enroll 6,750 children for clinical trials in the United States and Canada. The ‘KidCOVE’ study will follow the children for 12 months.
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Yesterday Canada recorded 3,890 new infections and 32 corona deaths. However, only 2,847 of those infections and 25 virus deaths were in the previous 24 hour period due to B.C. reporting three days worth of numbers.
On the vaccination effort to date 2,633,219 1st dose vaccinations (6.93% of the population) have been administered, while 603,130 people are now fully vaccinated.
COVID variant numbers continue to increase with another 304 U.K. variant infections across Canada in the last 24 hours, pushing total to date infections to 3,335. Another seven cases of the Brazilian P1 variant have also been identified.
As for Ontario today per Health Minister Christine Elliott on Twitter “Ontario is reporting 1,074 cases of COVID19 and over 28,500 tests completed. Locally, there are 313 new cases in Toronto, 199 in Peel and 101 in York Region. As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 1,243,132 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.” There were another 11 deaths.
The Ontario Hospital Association is raising the alarm as it warns the province is now in a variant driven third infection wave.
In Quebec there were 561 new infections and eight more deaths. There are 533 people in hospital, with 91 in intensive care.
In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick reported five new infections. Nova Scotia had two. While Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador each reported one.
Infections surged up in Manitoba with 111 yesterday but there were no new deaths.
Saskatchewan logged 110 new infections.
In the province next door, Alberta recorded 364 infections and no new fatalities.
Yesterday B.C. reported numbers for the first time since Friday, logging 1,506 infections as provincial numbers continue to edge upward. There were ten more deaths.