MADRID — Spain’s health minister says that the country will resume vaccinating with AstraZeneca doses next Wednesday but that officials will revise over the weekend which groups to exclude to minimize risks.
Carolina Darias said that authorities at the national and regional level will assess the jab’s updated technical sheet and give new guidelines to doctors.
The minister spoke after an urgent meeting with health officials from the country’s regions following the European Union’s drug regulatory announcement that the vaccine is safe.
María José Lamas, head of the country’s drug agency, said that resuming now after assessing a series of rare blood clots in a dozen patients who had received the AstraZeneca jab “should strengthen trust in the vaccines.”
“The bottom line is that the systems of pharmacovigilance are very robust and that they work in a setting of mass vaccination,” Lamas told reporters.
After weeks of falling contagion rates, Spain’s coronavirus pandemic incidence is on the rise again, prompting fears that the country could soon join the uptick that the rest of Europe is experiencing.
Health Ministry data released Thursday showed that the 14-day rollout of coronavirus infections slightly increased for the second consecutive day, from 127 to 128 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The key indicator reached a peak of 900 cases per 100,000 residents at the end of January and had dropped since then until it levelled recently.
With 6,216 new cases and 117 new deaths reported Thursday, Spain’s total pandemic tally stood at 3.2 million cases and nearly 73,000 confirmed deaths for COVID-19.
Vaccination efforts continue in the country focusing on people over 80 years-old. Spain has so far fully vaccinated 1.8 million people and 4 million are waiting to receive their second and final vaccine dose.
___
THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
The U.S. reported 58,480 new coronavirus cases and 1,173 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University. That’s second to Brazil, which reported 90,303 cases and 2,648 deaths.
VACCINES: More than 73.6 million people, or 22.2% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 39 million people, or 12% of the population, have completed their vaccination.
CASES: The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. decreased over the past two weeks from 63,846 on March 3 to 54,821 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
DEATHS: The seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths in the U.S. decreased over the past two weeks from 1,846 on March 3 to 1,230 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
— President Biden plans to send COVID shots to Mexico, Canada
— EU agency: AstraZeneca vaccine safe, will add clot warning
___
Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
___
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
HELENA, Mont. —Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced the state is dropping legal action filed last year against five businesses in northwestern Montana accused of violating public health orders.
As part of a settlement filed in the Flathead County district court Thursday, the businesses are also dropping counterclaims against the state.
The lawsuit was filed by the state health department under former Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, last October.
It accused the businesses of failing to adequately enforce the statewide mask mandate meant to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Gianforte, a Republican, promised to end the legal action soon after taking office in January.
___
PRAGUE — With infection and death rates remaining at high levels, the Czech government has extended the country’s tight lockdown till after Easter.
Health Minister Jan Blatny says his country is still not in a position to relax the measures.
Among the restrictions in one of the hardest-hit countries in the European Union, people have been banned from traveling to other counties unless they go to work or have to take care of relatives.
It’s part of a series of step as the Central European nation has been seeking to slow down the spread of a highly contagious virus variant first found in Britain and prevent the country’s hospitals from collapsing.
Of the 8,910 COVID-19 patients in Czech hospitals on Wednesday, 1,989 needed intensive care. Both the numbers are close to the records set earlier this week.
Blatny said the situation in should start to improve after by the end of this week and the number of hospitalized to drop to some 5,000 in April.
The nation of 10.7 million has over 1.4 million confirmed cases with more than almost 24,100 deaths.
___
PROVIDENCE, R.I — Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee pledged to bring back Newport’s jazz and folk festivals, as well as other large outdoor events, this summer after they were canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic.
“We are working closely with the Newport Folk and Jazz Festival on a plan that could allow them to host a safe event this summer that involves testing and other safety protocols,” he said. “The good news is there will be music in Newport this summer.”
He made the announcement now because he knows it takes several months to plan such large-scale events.
Folk festival organizers in a Facebook post welcomed the news.
“Governor McKee of Rhode Island has indicated that we will be able to have events this summer with modified capacities. Though Newport Folk won’t look exactly the same, we are thrilled to be bringing music and artists back to the Fort.”
___
BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. John Bel Edwards is further expanding eligibility to the coronavirus vaccine to a long list of healthy essential workers in Louisiana who don’t have one of the two dozen medical conditions that already provided access.
The new rules take effect Monday and include workers at grocery stores, bars, restaurants and colleges, among others.
Edwards widened access earlier this month to anyone 16 and older who has among two dozen health conditions, people who are overweight and smokers. Most adults are expected to meet one of the eligibility criteria.
Louisiana also kicked off an outreach campaign Thursday aimed at getting vaccines to people in underserved areas and persuading the skeptical.
___
LISBON, Portugal — Portugal says it will resume administering the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 from Monday, a week after it temporarily halted its use while continuing with other jabs.
The announcement Thursday came a few hours after European authorities said the AstraZeneca shot is safe and effective.
The head of Portugal’s COVID-19 vaccination task force, Rear Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, said around 120,000 people who were slated to have the jab during the stoppage will be at the front of the line when AstraZeneca inoculations resume.
Portugal followed Germany, France and Spain in temporarily halting use of the AstraZeneca jab. The governments said they would await a European Medicines Agency report on links between the vaccine and rare types of blood clots.
As in other European Union countries, Portugal’s vaccination program is running behind schedule due to a shortage of jabs.
___
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is finalizing plans to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki says the Biden administration is planning to send 2.5 million doses to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada as a “loan.”
The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been authorized for use in the U.S. but has been authorized by the World Health Organization. The premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, thanked Biden for his willingness to share the vaccines.
Canadian regulators have approved the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but acquiring them has proven difficult. Canada ranks about 20th in the number of doses administered, with about 8% of the adult population getting at least one shot. That compares with about 38% in the U.K. and 22% in the U.S.
Mexico has fully vaccinated more than 600,000 people and more than 4 million have received a single dose in a country of 126 million.
___
JOHANNESBURG — Africa’s ability to produce COVID-19 vaccines got a boost Thursday with the announcement that Biovac has signed a full manufacturing partnership with US-based ImmunityBio.
Biovac is a laboratory partly owned by the South African state. It has an agreement with ImmunityBio, which has a COVID-19 vaccine in clinical trials, to produce the vaccine sometime next year.
Biovac, based in Cape Town, has the capacity to produce between 20 million and 30 million vaccines in a year.
Africa’s 54 countries have limited capacity to make vaccines, with only two laboratories on the continent able to fully manufacture vaccines. Those are Biovac and the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal, which produces yellow fever vaccines. Three other African countries can partially manufacture vaccines.
South Africa’s Aspen Pharmacare is awaiting approval to assemble the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, a process of blending the ingredients sent in large batches and putting the vaccine into vials – the filling and finishing. Aspen said it has the capacity to produce 300 million doses annually of the J&J vaccine.
___
NEW YORK — It’s showtime! AMC Theatres says it will have 98% of its U.S. movie theaters open on Friday. Even more theaters are expected to open by March 26.
AMC says more than 40 of its locations in California are reopening on Friday and will open 52 of its 54 locations by Monday. The company is preparing to resume operations at the rest of its California locations once the proper local approvals are in place. AMC previously opened more than 500 of its theaters elsewhere around the country.
Some movie theaters have opened over the past few months with limited capacity and enhanced safety protocols.
___
LONDON — The European Union’s drug regulatory agency says experts have concluded the AstraZeneca vaccine is not linked to an overall increase in the risk of blood clots.
The finding from the European Medicines Agency could open the way for European countries that had suspended the use of the vaccine over the past week to resume dispensing the shots. The head of the EMA, Emer Cooke, says the vaccine is “safe and effective.” The agency says the benefits outweigh the risks.
EMA recommended adding a description of these cases to the vaccine leaflets so health workers and patients are aware of the rare blood clots.
Numerous European countries had suspended use of the vaccine in the past week amid concerns over blood clots. The clots have occurred in a few dozen people among the millions of vaccinated people across the continent.
___
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to highlight his administration’s push to dramatically expand distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, as the nation is on the cusp of meeting his goal of injecting 100 million doses in his first 100 days in office.
Biden is likely to mark the occasion Thursday on his 58th day in office. He has made a priority in his early days in office to set clear and achievable metrics for success, whether it be vaccinations or school re-openings.
The U.S. has three vaccines that received emergency use authorization – Pfizer, Moderna and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The U.S. is injecting an average of about 2.2 million doses each day. The pace of vaccination is likely to dramatically expand later this month with an expected surge in supply of the vaccines.
___
LONDON — British regulators say people should keep getting AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine following its review of data on patients who suffered from blood clots after getting the shot.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency says there is no evidence that the vaccine causes blood clots in veins. The agency says a further review of five reports in the UK of a rare type of clot in the brain is continuing, but the condition, which can occur naturally, has been reported in less than 1 in a million people vaccinated so far and no causal link has been established.
The agency says the benefits of the vaccines against COVID-19 continue to outweigh any risks. It says the public should continue to get the vaccine when invited to do so.
___
NEW YORK — The NBA is relaxing some of its health and safety protocols for individuals who are fully vaccinated.
The changes include fewer mandated coronavirus tests, no quarantine requirements following contact tracing issues and even the ability to visit restaurants again.
Only one team — the New Orleans Pelicans — has publicly acknowledged a team-wide vaccination effort so far, doing so this past weekend after state rules in Louisiana were amended and made it possible for the team to start the process for players, coaches and staff. No one in the NBA will be considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after receiving the final vaccine dose.
Once that happens, rules for some of those individuals will change, the NBA said in a memo sent early Thursday to teams and obtained by The Associated Press. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at the All-Star Game this month that changes would be in store for those who choose to get the vaccine among the 30 NBA teams.
___
TOKYO — Japan says it will end a state of emergency in the Tokyo area set up to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
That’s despite concerns of a resurgence ahead of spring and next week’s Olympic torch relay. Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says the emergency will end Sunday. The decision underscores the government’s eagerness keep the economy going. However, some experts warned that although Tokyo has managed to bring down the rate of new infections, the decline has leveled off and could rebound.
The emergency began in January and centered around asking restaurants, bars and other businesses to close at 8 p.m. Suga says he supports preparations for the Olympics, which is scheduled to begin in July after being postponed last year.
Japan has managed to keep virus cases and deaths relatively low in the nation of 126 million without enforcing a hard lockdown. The Health Ministry reports about 450,000 total cases and more than 8,700 confirmed deaths. The U.S. leads the world with 29.6 million confirmed cases and more than 538,000 dead.
___
Discover more from Today Headline
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.