Egypt, Poland discuss Agri-tech cooperation    EGP stable vs USD in Monday's early trade    Egypt's PM urges BRICS to prioritise peace    Deadly Israeli airstrikes pound Gaza as Doha talks raise hopes for ceasefire    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Egypt's PM calls Israeli war on Gaza 'most dangerous crisis' at BRICS summit    Egypt's FinMin urges BRICS to support debt sustainability    Venezuela vows to uphold sovereignty on 214th independence anniversary    Over 215,000 projects funded under Mashrouak, exceeding EGP 33bn in May: Minister    ADIB Egypt publishes second sustainability report for 2024    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    UN conference cites Egypt's 'NWFE' programme as model for development finance    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    Philip Morris Misr announces new price list effective 1 July    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger        Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Grand Egyptian Museum opening delayed to Q4    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Africa not 'walking away' from AstraZeneca vaccine, CDC says
Published in Ahram Online on 11 - 02 - 2021

The African Union (AU) will not be "walking away" from AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine but will target its use in countries that have not reported cases of the variant dominant in South Africa, the head of its disease control body said on Thursday.
The comments come after South Africa paused the rollout of the vaccine because of preliminary trial data showing it offered minimal protection against mild to moderate disease caused by the 501Y.V2 variant dominant in the country.
South Africa said on Wednesday it could seek to sell or swap its AstraZeneca shots, and will use an alternative from Johnson & Johnson to start protecting healthcare workers later this month.
African countries are due to receive 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this year under an AU vaccine plan.
John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told a virtual news conference that more work was needed to understand how the AstraZeneca vaccine worked against the fast-spreading 501Y.V2 variant first identified late last year.
"For now our strategy is not to throw away our 100 million doses, but rather target countries that as we indicated have not reported cases of that specific variant," Nkengasong said, adding that only six countries other than South Africa had reported that the variant was circulating.
"You still have an extensive number of countries that can benefit from those vaccines, so we will not be walking away from AstraZeneca vaccines at all."
Kenya said on Thursday that it would move ahead with plans to use the AstraZeneca shot.
Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization Africa director, said the WHO was briefing African countries on a recommendation by its SAGE panel of experts to use the AstraZeneca vaccine, even in countries where the 501Y.V2 variant may reduce its efficacy.
She said interactions with countries neighbouring South Africa were "particularly intense" after eSwatini said on Tuesday that it would not use the AstraZeneca shots.
"While a vaccine that prevents against all forms of COVID-19 illness is our biggest hope, preventing severe cases and hospitalisations which overwhelm ... health systems is crucial," Moeti told another news conference.
ALARMING VARIANT
The 501Y.V2 variant partly worries health experts because of its ability to potentially evade the immune response generated by prior exposure to the coronavirus or vaccines.
African countries that have confirmed cases of the variant include Botswana, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique and Zambia, although there are concerns it has spread to other places like eSwatini and Tanzania.
The Africa CDC recommended that countries that had not detected the variant proceed with the AstraZeneca rollout.
For those where it is present, "we recommend the acceleration of their preparedness to introduce all vaccines that have received emergency use authorisation or approval by regulatory authorities," Nkengasong said, adding that "consideration should be given to the effectiveness of the (AstraZeneca) vaccine against the 501Y.V2 variant."
Nkengasong said the Africa CDC would be doing its own evaluations of the AstraZeneca vaccine across multiple countries.
He added that talks were ongoing with Johnson & Johnson to access more doses than the 120 million that feature in the AU's vaccine plan.
Nkengasong said the rollout of 7 million AstraZeneca doses funded by telecoms firm MTN would continue. "That plan will still move forward, this is a good vaccine without the variant," he said.
AstraZeneca says it has started adapting its vaccine against the 501Y.V2 variant.
On Wednesday, South Africa said it wanted to see whether it could swap AstraZeneca doses it had ordered from the Serum Institute of India with shots of a different vaccine available via the COVAX vaccine distribution scheme.
Asked about that idea, AstraZeneca's chief executive said on Thursday that the drugmaker would support anything agreed between the Serum Institute and the South African government.


Clic here to read the story from its source.