Virus

Just completed the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial. I’ll do anything to get theatres large and small open again and actors and musicians back to work. - ALW #SaveOurStages @nivassoc pic.twitter.com/pIcYZJPLps

— Andrew Lloyd Webber (@OfficialALW) August 13, 2020

EU agrees first Oxford Covid-19 vaccine deal with AstraZeneca in WHO blow

14 Aug 2020


- The deal included an option to purchase 100 million additional doses from the British drugmaker should its vaccine prove safe and effective
- The EU said over the past two weeks it was in advanced talks with Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi for their vaccines under development

Brussels: The European Union has agreed to buy at least 300 million doses of AstraZeneca's potential COVID-19 vaccine in its first such advance purchase deal, which could weaken plans led by the World Health Organisation for a global approach.

The European Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of all 27 EU member states, said the deal included an option to purchase 100 million additional doses from the British drugmaker should its vaccine prove safe and effective.

The EU's bilateral deal mirrors moves by the United States and other wealthy states, some of which are critical of the WHO's initiative, and further reduces the potentially available stock in the race to secure effective COVID-19 vaccines.

The EU agreement follows an initial deal with AstraZeneca reached in June by Europe's Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA), a group formed by France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands to secure vaccine doses for all member states.

The Commission did not disclose the terms of the new deal and declined to say whether it had replaced the IVA's.

"This new agreement will give all EU member states the option to access the vaccine in an equitable manner at no profit during the pandemic," AstraZeneca said in a statement.

The EU executive said its deals are aimed at financing part of the upfront costs to develop vaccines. The funding would be partial down-payments to secure the shots, but actual purchases would be decided at a later stage by each EU state.

The EU said over the past two weeks it was in advanced talks with Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi for their vaccines under development.

It is also in talks with Pfizer , Moderna and CureVac to buy upfront their potential COVID-19 vaccines, EU officials told Reuters in July.

BLOW TO WHO?

The EU move could make more difficult efforts led by the WHO and GAVI, a global alliance for vaccines, to buy shots on behalf of rich and developing countries with a separate scheme.

The Commission has urged EU states to shun the WHO-led initiative because it sees it as too expensive and slow, EU officials told Reuters in July.

Now the Commission is openly saying that vaccines bought from AstraZeneca, and from other vaccine makers, could be donated to poorer states, effectively taking on the very task that the WHO is pursuing with the so-called ACT-Accelerator Hub.

Brussels has publicly said that its purchasing scheme is complementary to the WHO's, but in private told EU states that there may be legal issues if they joined the WHO programme.

Brazil’s Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said Thursday (Aug. 13) that the best vaccine option thus far is Oxford. “I can tell you that AstraZeneca, with Oxford, is still our best option. We’re included in it,” he told representatives and senators during a public hearing of the bicameral commission inspecting government efforts to tackle COVID-19.

Brazil inked a $100 million agreement with AstraZeneca-Oxford, which also includes the transfer of technology for the production of vaccine in Brazil. Other Brazilian institutions are collaborating with major international pharmaceutical firms in researching into and developing a vaccine for COVID-19. “The contract will be finalized by Friday, I believe, with the use of resources for AstraZeneca, with Fiocruz. This is the most promising one, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have our eyes on the other ones as well,” Pezuello said.

On the Russian vaccine, the minister said its effectiveness is not clear yet. “It’s very incipient. Views are still shallow, answers are still not in-depth, and we don’t have figures being tracked.” The conclusion, he added, was drawn after a meeting held Wednesday (12), attended by Paraná Governor Ratinho Júnior, representatives from Brazilian national sanitary watchdog Anvisa, and representatives from the Russian firm and the embassy of the country.

The Russian vaccine may be viable, Pazuello argued, but, until then, the matter should hinge on much negotiation before it is considered by Anvisa and has its purchase debated.

Oxford COVID-19 vaccine: Human trials expected to end by November, production from early 2021

13 Aug 2020

Written By Anulekha Ray

- The phase III trial has already started in United States and Brazil
- The COVID-19 vaccine has shown promising results in the first phase of clinical human trial

The phase III clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford will be completed by the end of November of early December, an official said. University of Oxford joined hands with British Swedish firm Astrazeneca to make a COVID 19 vaccine. The phase III trial has already started in United States and Brazil. The vaccine has shown promising results in the first phase of clinical human trial. The researchers said that they found their experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced a dual immune response in people aged 18 to 55. “We are seeing good immune response in almost everybody," said Dr Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University.

Under an agreement between Mexican and Argentine governments and drugmaker, AstraZeneca may start production of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine in the first quarter of 2021. Sylvia Varela, head of AstraZeneca Mexico, said that Phase III trials were expected to conclude by November or December. If the results are successful, the mass production may start early next year in Mexico.

India's apex drug regulatory body also granted approval to Serum Institute of India (SII) to conduct phase II and III human trial for the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine in India. "As per the study design, each subject will be administered two doses four weeks apart (first dose on day one and second dose on day 29) following which the safety and immunogenicity will be assessed at predefined intervals," the official told PTI.

SII said the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide at-risk funding of $150 million to manufacture 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and low-and-middle income countries. Under this agreement, Pune-based firm can charge a maximum of $3 per dose for the two COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine maker will get the funding from the Gates Foundation through international vaccine alliance GAVI.

"Keeping in mind the pandemic situation, we have two dedicated facilities to produce millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while withholding vast production of other products," Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer, SII.

Downing Street has been advised that while there is a 50 per cent chance that an effective vaccine will be administered in the UK next year, it is unlikely to give complete protection against the virus.

Instead, the Oxford University team expect the jab to ‘mitigate’ its worst effects by lessening the severity of the symptoms. 

Sources say trials of the vaccine – codenamed ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 – found two-thirds of recipients developed headaches and a fifth became feverish.

The potential limitations are likely to concern No 10.
...
A source said: ‘It is important to manage expectations about the vaccine. 

'It’s not ready yet and when it is, it will not be a complete magic bullet or be without mild, but irritating side effects which could put some people off.

‘But it looks as if it will mitigate the worst effects for the most vulnerable and is a vital part of the jigsaw to combat this.’

An AZD1222 shot would cost about 2.5 euros ($2.8) per dose in Europe, according to Italy’s health ministry. AstraZeneca does not expect to profit from it during the pandemic. The costs in other regions have not been disclosed.

https://www.b92.net/putovanja/letovanje.php?yyyy=2020&mm=08&dd=15&nav_id=1719660

Crnogorci vratili srpskog državljanina sa granice iako je imao negativan brzi test

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Prvi putnici prošli su granični prelaz Gostun i ušli u Crnu Goru. Međutim, neki ipak nisu bili te sreće i pored negativnog testa na koronu vraćeni su sa Dobrakova. Đorđe Vučković noćas je krenuo iz Beograda, izašao iz Srbije a na ulazu u Crnu Goru dočekalo ga je neprijatno iznenađenje.

"Vratili su me rekavši da taj test ne važi. Ne znam šta je sporno jer taj brzi test upisan kao jedan od kruterijuma za prelazak. Celu noć sam putovao iz Beograda, da bi me sada umesto mora dočekao ovaj hladan tuš", kaže za RINU Đorđe.
...
Kao uslov za ulazak u Crnu Goru prema prvim informacijama pristiglim iz Crne Gore srpskim državljanima neophodan je negativan PCR ili ELISA test na koronavirus, ne stariji od 72 sata, kao i da građani nisu bili poslednjih 15 dana u zemljama kojima je su granice sa Crnom Gorom i dalje zatvorene.

https://www.ijzcg.me/me/novosti/covid-19-popustanje-mjera-u-medunarodnom-saobracaju

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Države iz kojih je moguć dolazak uz negativan rezultat PCR testa na novi koronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) ili pozitivan rezultat antitijela na novi koronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) klase IgG dobijen ELISA serološkim testom:
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   Srbija

Marius Lăcătuș wrote:naravno sloboda kretanja, uz određene mere.
ograničenje slobode kretanja neće zaustaviti pandemiju kada ona ojača, trenutni primer grčke.

Margit Savović wrote:Sad gledam neku mapu gde smo mi jedna od šačice zemalja koja prima Amerikance bez ikakve rezerve u doba epidemije. 

Ako kopate po dnu mog srca, meni je to mnogo milo. Ipak prioritizujem slobodu kretanja.

Daï Djakman Faré wrote:

Margit Savović wrote:Sad gledam neku mapu gde smo mi jedna od šačice zemalja koja prima Amerikance bez ikakve rezerve u doba epidemije. 

Ako kopate po dnu mog srca, meni je to mnogo milo. Ipak prioritizujem slobodu kretanja.

ja sam razumeo ovaj margitin sentiment i meni je to isto bilo mnogo milo sto kada se lista zemalja gde amerikanci mogu da putuju svela na fazon 7 zemalja - smo mi bili medju tih 7. samo ga bih ga ostavio na nivou vaguely amerkanofilskog sentimenta i ne bi dedukovao nikakvu politiku iz njega - pogotovu sto oni koji bi dosli bi u najvecem % bila alienated upper middle classes koji su nesposobni za bilo kakvo drustveno razmisljanje.

Margit Savović wrote:Ti kao da si svedok ili veštak na mom suđenju, a ja ne želim takvu atmosferu u bilo kakvoj pričaonici. 

beatakeshi wrote:Zločinačkom američkom režimu uvesti sve moguće sankcije (Disi je zauzet, pa moram ja). 
Pogotovo za filmske ekipe koje šire zlo i glupost širom sveta.