Ruthless efficiency
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How do we know that the EU have learned a lot of lessons? There are a lot of lessons to be learned but that is not to say that the EU have learned them. Have there been any changes mooted at the EMA or have the lads who negotiated the vaccine contracts been stood down. I doubt it. There is an embedded bureaucracy and gravy train in Brussels who have had it nice and handy now for 50 years and I don’t see them turfing themselves out of a job any time soon.
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A trained chimp could give one. Sadly that rules out most of the civil service though.
I must say they have been very efficient on this front, thankfully.
My wife has been on the PUP three times now. The last time, I think she signed up on a Thursday and was paid by the Tuesday. A rare example of them getting it right.
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It is consistently the only Government Department that is fit for purpose.
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AZ has to go
The jig is up
The HPV vaccine is suspended while vaccinators get redeployed.
It’s always been viewed as high performing.
Yeah you’re not wrong there. The question is if we faced into the same thing again in two years time would you want the Commission to take the lead on it, and expect it to do a better job than last time, or would you want 27 EU states all acting individually and looking after their own interests? To be honest, I really don’t think Ireland would fare out that well in the latter scenario.
A report has been done on the ECDC by Emily O’Reilly recommending changes alright. On the EMA, what changes do you think are needed?
The EMA approval process, that was incredibly slow, mustn’t be that thorough if the vaccine they deemed safe is being pulled now.
A quick review of numbers there in relation to Israel and the UK.
Israel have been reopening their economy since 21st February, with a more broad reopening on the 7th March. Seven day average has gone down slightly since then which in a non vaccination world would be expected to go up as restrictions are eased. Some reports that current cases are now mainly in younger non vaccinated age groups.
Israel are dealing with the initial Wuhan strain as their dominant one. The UK have the more contagious UK strain as the dominant one and since reopening schools and other bits and pieces also haven’t seen an increase in the seven day average with it currently dropping slightly.
It would appear that the high levels of vaccinations are bucking the trend here. I haven’t gotten into the movements on serious Covid cases but some reports suggest that these are dropping in both countries.
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Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands have all suspended use of the AZ vaccine today.
President Macron says the EMA will be providing some guidance tomorrow.
EMA’s safety committee continues investigation of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and thromboembolic events – further update
Several authorities responsible for national vaccine campaigns in EU countries have temporarily paused vaccination with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca. This is a precaution taken in the light of their national situation while EMA investigates a number of events of blood clots in people who had received the vaccine, as previously reported.
Events involving blood clots, some with unusual features such as low numbers of platelets, have occurred in a very small number of people who received the vaccine. Many thousands of people develop blood clots annually in the EU for different reasons. The number of thromboembolic events overall in vaccinated people seems not to be higher than that seen in the general population.
EMA is working closely with the company, with experts in blood disorders, and with other health authorities including the UK’s MHRA based on its experience with around 11 million administered doses of the vaccine.
EMA’s investigation has been continuing over the weekend, and rigorous analysis of all the data related to thromboembolic events will be carried out in the coming days. Experts are looking in great detail at all the available data and clinical circumstances surrounding specific cases to determine whether the vaccine might have contributed or if the event is likely to have been due to other causes. EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) will further review the information tomorrow (Tuesday) and has called an extraordinary meeting on Thursday 18 March to conclude on the information gathered and any further actions that may need to be taken.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis, with devastating health, social and economic impact, and continues to be a major burden on EU health systems. Vaccines for COVID-19 help to protect individuals from becoming ill, especially healthcare professionals and vulnerable populations, such as older people or those with chronic diseases. While its investigation is ongoing, EMA currently remains of the view that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing COVID-19, with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death, outweigh the risks of side effects .
EMA will continue to communicate further as appropriate. In the meantime, anyone who has received the vaccine and has any concerns should contact an appropriate healthcare professional. It is important that people who suspect they may have a side effect after vaccination report this to the national medicines regulator, or to a healthcare professional who can help them do so.
More about the medicine
COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is a vaccine for preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people aged 18 years and older. COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is made up of another virus (of the adenovirus family) that has been modified to contain the gene for making a protein from SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca does not contain the virus itself and cannot cause COVID-19.
The most common side effects with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca are usually mild or moderate and improve within a few days after vaccination.
More about the procedure
The review of thromboembolic events with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is being carried out in the context of a safety signal, under an accelerated timetable. A safety signal is information on a new or incompletely documented adverse event that is potentially caused by a medicine such as a vaccine and that warrants further investigation.
The review is being carried out by EMA’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), the Committee responsible for the evaluation of safety issues for human medicines. Once the review is completed, PRAC will make any recommendations necessary to minimise risks and protect patients’ health.
Anyone over 50 can book their vaccine appointment in the North now.
UK variant is the dominant strain in Israel. Has been for at least a month I believe.
Anyone?
Sigh
Can I send me uncle up?