For the world's presidents, prime ministers and other leaders, there's a lot riding on their promises that the COVID-19 vaccines being approved in their countries are not just effective, but safe. A vaccine that winds up having major side effects threatens the health of not just their populations but that of the world as well, since viruses notoriously respect no borders.
That in part explains why, over the last few days, a growing number of countries from Denmark to Italy have paused use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine. As my colleague Alice Park reports, the stoppage comes after reports that a small handful of the millions of people who have received the shot later developed blood clots; some have died.
At the moment, there's no evidence that the blood clotting is actually linked to AstraZeneca's vaccine, and there have only been 37 reported cases among 17 million-plus vaccinated people. The company is defending its shot, pointing out that no serious side effects came up in its human trials. But as Dr. Anna Durbin, professor of international health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Alice: "Nobody wants to be the country that didn't stop [vaccinating] and then find out that the side effects are really related."
Some experts say that, unless more convincing data emerge, pausing use of the AstraZeneca shot may do more harm than good. COVID-19 cases are rising in many of the places where it's been in wide use, including much of Europe. For each day that the AstraZeneca shot sits on the sidelines, that's potentially hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who will have to wait even longer to get protected against a potentially fatal disease. Moreover, as Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's coronavirus vaccine advisory committee, told Alice, even if these countries later begin using the AstraZeneca shot, it may be tough to convince people it's actually safe to receive.
"When you scare people, it's hard to un-scare them," Offit says.
More than 135.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this morning, of which 109 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. Approximately 21% of the overall U.S. population has received at least one dose, and about 11.5% of Americans have gotten both doses.
Moderna has begun vaccinating children between 6 months and 12 years old in a new trial of its COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced today. The company plans to enroll 6,750 participants in the U.S. and Canada, and the study will be divided into two parts to test different dosing strategies.
Companies with big on-site workforces and enough space should consider distributing vaccines at the workplace, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today. The CDC also urged companies to offer employees flexible sick leave options to get the shot, and to give employees multiple opportunities to get vaccinated, as some skeptics may change their mind as they see colleagues get inoculated.
Thailand is pushing ahead with the AstraZeneca vaccine after briefly delaying the rollout amid safety concerns in Europe, CNN reports. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was the first person in Thailand to get the shot; the procedure was broadcast live on Facebook today. The 70-million-person country aims to distribute 64 million doses of AstraZeneca and Sinovac's vaccines this year.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
The Global Situation
More than 120.2 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 2.6 million people have died. On March 15, there were 341,972 new cases and 6,804 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here is every country with over 2 million confirmed cases:
In a press conference today, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said it was time to "sound the alarm" on the spread of COVID-19. While he warned of "widespread community transmission," he admitted that the country does not actually know how many people have the virus. Marape said that the country's public health system is "not adequate" to cope with the pandemic, and urged people to avoid crowds and unnecessary travel. Only 54,000 tests have been conducted in the country of 9 million people, the World Health Organization reported March 7.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. recorded nearly 29.5 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. Nearly 536,000 people have died. On March 15, there were 55,764 new cases and 740 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
Ohio will start offering coronavirus vaccines to everyone over the age of 16 starting March 29, governor Mike DeWine announced at today's opening of a Cleveland mass vaccination clinic. All Ohio residents over 40 and with certain medical conditions can get vaccinated on March 19, he added. DeWine said that the decision to open up vaccination to all adults this month was made after consulting with county health departments. About 20.5% of Ohioans are at least partially vaccinated, and 12.2% are fully vaccinated.
Several states, including Massachusetts and Illinois, will reduce the social distancing requirement between children in schools from six feet to three, the Associated Press reports, as they work to get kids back into classrooms. The move comes amid new evidence suggesting the change won't increase the risk to students or teachers. Oregon and other states may also follow suit.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of March 16, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
Enjoy in-depth analysis and editorial insight direct to your inbox from The Economist's science correspondent. Simply Science provides you the latest thinking on the most pressing scientific matters. Sign up for free now
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Cherokee Nation Runs Low on People to Vaccinate
Health officials in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, who are running out of willing vaccine recipients, are finding new ways to convince skeptics and overcome other obstacles, the New York Times reports. Read more here.
Vaccines for Zoo Animals
Zoos across the country are deciding whether to protect apes and other animals with special COVID-19 vaccines—with an eye towards stopping transmission between animals as well as between animals and humans, NPR reports. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here.
Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
沒有留言:
張貼留言