suspension of AstraZeneca vaccine in several countries, tribute to New York

New measures, new reports and highlights: an update on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.

AstraZeneca

The Netherlands suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 on Sunday as a precaution until March 28 inclusive, after “possible side effects” were reported in Denmark and Norway, without a proven link at this stage .

Ireland has also been added to the list of European countries that have suspended injections of AstraZeneca’s anti-Covid-19 vaccine as a precaution after serious cases of blood clots in vaccinated adults.

Norway, which like Iceland, Denmark or Bulgaria, had announced the suspension of injections of the AstraZeneca vaccine, was also concerned on Saturday about cases of skin hemorrhages in relatively young people who received a dose of vaccine.

Investigation into a death in Sicily

Inspectors from the Italian Ministry of Health went to Sicily on Sunday to investigate the death of a 43-year-old soldier who died on March 9 in the southern island of Italy after an injection of a dose of AstraZeneca vaccine. An autopsy of the body was performed on Saturday at the hospital in Catania (eastern Sicily).

Italy: improvement hoped for in spring

Italy, three quarters confined from Monday to halt the progression of the coronavirus, hopes for an improvement “in the second half of spring,” said its health minister, Roberto Speranza, on Sunday.

“The implementation of more rigorous measures and the gradual increase in the number of people vaccinated lead us to think that we will have improving figures already in the second half of the spring,” according to the minister.

EU: a “green passport” for the summer

European authorities are targeting entry into service of a health certificate, called a “green passport”, to facilitate travel within the EU, before the summer holidays, announced Sunday Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.

This draft certificate, which would be “either in electronic or paper form”, will be presented on Wednesday. It will contain information “which will indicate that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, or that she has recovered, or that she has received a negative result in the test,” he said.

Tribute to New York

In the United States, authorities are considering reducing the recommended social distance to limit the spread of Covid-19 from two to one meter, which would make it easier to reopen schools, immunologist Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.

New York paid a moving tribute to its 30,258 dead, a year after the start of the pandemic.

The pandemic has killed nearly 2.65 million people worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to an AFP report.

The United States is the country with the most deaths with 534,877 deaths, followed by Brazil (278,229), Mexico (194,490), India (158,607), and the United Kingdom (125,464) .

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