The American laboratory Johnson & Johnson on Thursday asked the United States to authorize urgently its single-dose vaccine against Covid-19, while Denmark and Sweden announced the launch of “vaccine passports” to facilitate travel abroad and speed up the return to normal.
If it gets the green light from the American Medicines Agency (FDA), Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine would be the third authorized in the United States, after those of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna.
This vaccine is particularly expected because it has two significant advantages: it can be stored at refrigerator temperatures rather than freezer, and it is administered only in a single dose.
Johnson & Johnson has pledged to ship 100 million doses to the United States by the end of June. According to the first results of clinical trials he shared, his vaccine is 66% effective overall, and 85% in preventing severe forms of the disease.
But these results also raised a concern: the remedy was more effective in the United States (72%) than in South Africa (57%), where a variant appeared in this country became largely majority there.
Experts see it as an indication that future variants could end up completely bypassing the immune defenses developed by current vaccines. Another reason, according to them, to speed up immunization campaigns.
– Spoutnik V and Iran –
Around the world, vaccine orders and deliveries are accelerating.
Iran, where the coronavirus has killed more than 58,000 people, received its first doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on Thursday. The same Russian vaccine, ordered by the Palestinian Authority, arrived in the West Bank on Thursday. Peru, one of the most bereaved countries in Latin America (more than 41,500 dead) has ordered 20 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine.
Despite claiming to be virus-free, North Korea has applied for vaccines against Covid-19, of which it is expected to receive nearly two million doses. This is the first official confirmation that Pyongyang has requested international assistance.
The European Union, criticized for the slowness of its vaccination campaigns, aims to vaccinate 70% of its population by summer, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday.
However, “there will certainly be other obstacles, other problems in production, we must also prepare for possible shortages of raw materials or certain components of vaccines,” she warned.
– “Vaccine passports” –
Sweden and Denmark announced Thursday that they would develop electronic “vaccine passports” to facilitate travel abroad, but also to access sporting or cultural events, or even restaurants in the Danish case.
“With a digital vaccination certificate it will be quick and easy to prove a complete vaccination”, argued Swedish digital minister Anders Ygeman.
Sweden intends to launch its passport in June, and Denmark “within three or four months”, according to its government.
“It is absolutely crucial for us to be able to restart Danish society, for companies to get back on track,” Danish Tax Minister Morten Bødskov said.
Several countries on Thursday announced further tightening of their travel restrictions. The United Kingdom confirmed Thursday that its residents arriving from countries deemed at risk will have to observe ten days of quarantine at the hotel, starting February 15. And like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait has suspended the entry of foreigners into the country for two weeks.
While nearly 105 million doses of vaccine have so far been injected in at least 82 countries or territories, the Red Cross was alarmed Thursday at the lack of access of poor countries to vaccines.
According to an analysis by the organization, nearly 70% of the doses of vaccine administered so far have been in the 50 richest countries while 0.1% have been injected in the 50 poorest countries.
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