The Evening Report - March 19th
More AstraZeneca developments today
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AstraZeneca vaccinations were suspended in Finland today. The Finnish Health Institute says it has two reports of cerebral venous thrombosis (blood clots in the brain). It says both had been vaccinated with AstraZeneca within the last ten days. It adds “both patients have medical risk factors associated with vascular thrombosis and patient studies are still ongoing.”
It advises anyone who has had an AstraZeneca vaccination to be vigilant for symptoms and get to a doctor immediately if they pop up.
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Sweden is still assessing the AstraZeneca situation and it remains suspended. The Swedish Public Health Agency says it has received some reports of post-vaccination severe blood clotting. Sweden’s Medical Products Agency (Läkemedelsverket) is also investigating the deaths of two people who had recently received an AstraZeneca vaccination. However, the agency stresses that a causal link between the vaccine and deaths has not been established.
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France has resumed AstraZeneca vaccinations but is recommending that it only be used to vaccinate people over the age of 55. To date, the reports of severe post-vaccination blood clotting have been among people under the age of 50.
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Denmark is standing by its decision to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine despite yesterday’s European Medicines Agency findings that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any risks.
National Health Board Director Søren Brostrøm said in a press conference today that no decision has yet been made on resuming AstraZeneca vaccinations.
“We just want to buy ourselves a little more time. And I think we can justify that we buy that time.”
The Board says it is set to receive 150,000 more doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine before the end of April, despite current suspension of its use. An update on its use is expected next Thursday.
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Denmark’s National Health Board also says it is going to receive an extra 50,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine over the next two weeks. It says this will allow it to step up the pace of vaccinations and begin vaccinating the next target group, people aged 80 to 84 years old.
The vaccine calendar has been updated accordingly.
The reopening of schools has the potential to drive infection cases way up according to reporting from Ekstra Bladet. It has possession of the assessment from the Expert Group for COVID Mathematical Modeling, led by the Staten Serum Institut.
The assessment estimates a return to class for students in grades 5 through 8 could increase infections by 2,019 per day by May 1st. For graduating students, it estimates a full return to class could mean 2,055 new infections per day.
The calculations are based on myriad of fluctuating conditions and forecasts that are changing all the time. One example is the weather. The modeling group factors in a ‘seasonal effect’ in this case warmer spring weather, which it estimates can cause a 30% reduction in its infection forecasts.
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The Sjælland Health Region (the island outside of Metro Copenhagen) has ramped up its testing capacity from 4,500 to 15,000. It says the demand has increased dramatically with mandated twice a week testing for students going back to school. It says Falck is working to further increase capacity as more head back to school on Monday.
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Denmark is reporting 843 COVID infections and no new coronavirus deaths in the last day.
Yesterday, 323,753 COVID tests were conducted,191,944 PCR and 131,809 rapid, for positivity percentage of 0.26%.
COVID hospitalizations (191) have declined (-4), the number of people in an ICU (38) is unchanged, while the number on a ventilator (22) also remains the same.
On the vaccination front to date, 621,011 1st dose vaccinations (10.6% of the population) have been administered while 294,013 people (5%) are now fully vaccinated.
The Southern Denmark Health Authority is putting new rules in place for people looking to receive residual vaccine doses. It says the demand for the left over doses has grown out of control. An an example, it says that on March 18th there were 8,200 people on the list for just 16 left over doses.
As of Saturday you can only get on the residual doses list if you are over 70 years old and have already received a vaccination invitation. People must also live near the vaccination centers in either Aabenraa, Sønderborg, or Esbjerg and must be able to get to the center for vaccination no more than 30 minutes after getting the call.
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The Southern Denmark Health Authority has also reached an agreement with the 22 municipalities to vaccinate particularly vulnerable groups within the homeless population.
The effort requires teamwork between local psychiatrists, non-government organizations, and street and social nurses. The health region will use a pop-up vaccination site that will not require an appointment. The sites will be set up near hostels and drop-in centers for easier access.
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For the first time in ten years there was not a record amount of new Danish beers on the shelves last year. The Danish Brewers Association says already this year beer sales have dropped by 17.7%.
Association Director Niels Hald says COVID has the industry on its knees.
“The number of new Easter and spring brews will be roughly halved this year. Unfortunately, this is a clear sign of the crisis for the brewing industry. Beer production is at a low level because the breweries have no idea when they might reopen. It has major economic consequences for the breweries and the communities of which many of them are a part.”
He says the lockdown closures of restaurants, cafes, and bars has sideswiped beer sales.
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Sweden has added another 5,735 infections and 26 more corona deaths since yesterday’s update.
To date 910,425 1st dose vaccinations (11.1% of the population) have been administered while 383,498 people (4.7%) are now fully vaccinated.
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The Swedish Public Health Agency said today it is now recommending the interval between the first and second vaccination dose be extended to six weeks. It is also tightening vaccination guidelines to prioritize seniors and people more at risk of COVID.
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Finland has registered 770 infections and no new virus deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (216) are down (-9) and ICU numbers (55) are up (+5).
To date, 70,1203 1st dose (12.6% of pop) and 87,333 2nd dose (1.6%) vaccinations have been done.
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Norway has added 1,073 infections and had no new coronavirus deaths since yesterday’s update.
COVID hospitalizations (236) inched up (+1), ICU numbers (70) increased (+11), and those on a ventilator (42) are down (-2).
On the vaccination front to date, 758,514 1st dose (9.22% of the population) and 181,759 2nd vaccine doses (4.85%) have been administered.
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Across Europe, variant driven COVID infections are on the offensive including in Poland, which saw another 25,998 infections today as its infections curve rises sharply.
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With 10,759 new infections and another 213 corona deaths today, Hungary has recorded both its highest to date number of new infections and its deadliest day of the pandemic.
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Greece is in the midst of another COVID wave as it saw another 2,762 infections today.
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Estonia continues to struggle with its infection curve as it logged another 1,751 infections today.
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Canada recorded 3,609 new infections and 36 more corona deaths yesterday. Infection numbers continue to edge up fueled by COVID variant spread.
On the vaccination effort to date 3,055,826 1st dose vaccinations (8.04% of the population have been administered while 620,599 people are now fully vaccinated.
According to Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott on Twitter the province saw a surge in corona infections today. “Ontario is reporting 1,745 cases of COVID19 and over 56,100 tests completed. Locally, there are 478 new cases in Toronto, 344 in Peel, 174 in York Region and 116 in Hamilton. As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 1,420,599 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.” There were also another ten deaths.
Today Quebec reported 764 infections and another 11 deaths. There are 504 people in hospital, 99 of whom are in an ICU.
In Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia recorded three infections. New Brunswick has two. Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new infections.
Yesterday, there were 93 infections and one more death in Manitoba.
Saskatchewan logged 115 infections and one more fatality yesterday. The province is entering phase two of its vaccination program a few weeks earlier than expected as it begins vaccinating those 67 and older.
Alberta registered 505 infections yesterday as variant infections spread rapidly and concerns over a third infection wave grow.
B.C. reported 622 infections and eight more deaths yesterday as its numbers continue to head upward. Variants continue to spread virtually unchecked. In the last month pandemic related hospital capacity increased by 32%.
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In South America, the situation in Brazil is deteriorating rapidly. Yesterday it recorded 87,169 more infections and another 2,659 virus deaths.
São Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas says the hospital system in his city, the largest in Brazil, is now collapsing.
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Also concerning is that a new COVID wave has clearly arrived in India as its infection numbers begin to climb again.
