A man is vaccinated with AstraZeneca in Jakarta, Indonesia, June 15. Photo: AP The results showed that only 166 cases required hospitalization. Those who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were 92% effective without requiring hospitalization, while those who received the Pfizer vaccine, the figure was 94% after dose 1 and 96% after dose 2. “These findings suggest that the level of protection of people with Delta variant from hospitalization is very high. Understanding this is important in assessing the danger that Delta variant poses to the general population.” , the study authors concluded. “The effect of not requiring hospitalization because the Delta variant after one injection of AstraZeneca is 71% and after two injections is 92%. This metric really reassures India. To choose the direction, I think we should should use modeling approaches to devise different implementation strategies and compare the impact of vaccines at each stage of the epidemic,” commented Professor of Microbiology Gagandeep Kang of India. The Delta variant first appeared in India and has been classified as a “variant of concern” by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while the World Health Organization (WHO) has called it a “variant of concern”. it is a ‘disturbing variation’. The Delta variant is expected to become a common strain in the US next fall, increasing the risk of a new wave of disease in unvaccinated people later this year.

Developed by a small group of the most talented vaccine scientists on the planet and industrially produced by the leading pharmaceutical giant with many prestigious certifications, Vaxzevria (the official new name for the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine in Europe) has been making hot headlines for many months. But not the kind that manufacturers have high expectations for. Months later, the manufacturer was not only caught in the political conflict between the EU and the UK, but also by the increasingly complicated conflicts. As a result, many governments around the world have recovered parts of Vaxzevria (some countries call it Covishield). Even when the third wave of outbreaks broke out in Germany and the EU, followed by a number of people claiming they wanted to be injected with any vaccine except for AstraZeneca. What’s wrong with that? The following survey by reporters Der Spiegel has reorganized the stories surrounding AstraZeneca in recent weeks to envision the disaster facing not only the pharmaceutical company but also many other countries. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (center) in an AstraZeneca vaccine factory. The Story of AstraZeneca The story of Vaxzevria begins at the Faculty of Medicine Nuffield, a research center on the eastern edge of the University of Oxford city. On January 30, 2020, a group of prominent researchers gathered there, just one day before the Brexit event and one day before the first two COVID-19 infections were announced in the UK, to be exact. is in York, 300 km away. For weeks, researchers continuously watched news about an outbreak of a virus in Wuhan (China), in a restless mood. As Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s governmental capacities are fully focused on leaving the EU, scientists at Oxford discuss how they can do to save the world. Among those present that day was Sarah Gilbert (a mediocre professor at the Jenner Institute) who was experimenting with yeast in a brewing research laboratory before becoming a world-renowned vaccine expert. Ms. Gilbert has researched on vaccines against malaria, Ebola and MERS, and is also preparing vaccines for “Disease X” – the next major pandemic that scientists are working on. . Ms. Gilbert (who has been studying the SARS-CoV-2 genetic code for weeks) has surprised colleagues by asserting that a vaccine will soon be available. At the time, Ms. Gilbert was working on phase 2 of Phase 1 clinical trials of a vaccine against MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) caused by a virus in the coronavirus family. By March 2020, Oxford experts have completed the first batch of new vaccines used to destroy SARS-CoV-2. The swine clinical trials in Surrey County have shown promising results. But obviously a huge amount of vaccine is needed, as much as possible. So Oxford started looking for partners in the pharmaceutical industry, and the first choice was pharmaceutical giant Merck (USA). But because Mr. Donald Trump’s “America First” thought made the British hesitant when working with Americans and the deal with Merck broke down. Speaking later on LBC radio, UK Health Minister Matt Hancock posted on the forum explaining that he did not want to enter into a contract that would allow the first batch of Oxford vaccine to be given to other countries. In April 2020, AstraZeneca’s Anglo-Swedish joint idea was born. Mr. Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca. Pascal Soriot and AstraZeneca When Pascal Soriot took over AstraZeneca in 2012, the company was at a bottom: stock prices plummeted, and the risk of losing its drug patents. Soriot is deep into AstraZeneca: instead of reducing costs, he invested in product development, bought more companies, and resisted Pfizer’s American acquisitions. Today, AstraZeneca is the 2nd largest company in the UK. At the age of 61, Mr. Soriot soon learned to build himself. Raised up in the Paris suburbs and his father passed away when his son Soriot turned 20 years old. Soriot then enrolled in the Paris Business School (HEC) and entered the pharmaceutical industry. In 2020, AstraZeneca’s CEO Soriot announced that his company was planning to tackle a very difficult public health problem: producing vaccines against COVID-19. AstraZeneca initially announced a partnership with Sarah Gilbert and other Oxford scientists. AstraZeneca plans to export vaccines globally at prices ranging from $ 2 to $ 5, and aims that poor countries will have access to vaccines as quickly and equally as possible. At the same time, Soriot also assured Prime Minister Boris Johnson that would provide the first and exclusive large quantity of vaccine to the UK. However, the AstraZeneca staff said that Soriot was subjective in not considering the possible consequences of failure. Without hesitation, Soriot approaches the vaccine strategy as it does with all of its projects. AstraZeneca is committed to producing 300 million doses of the vaccine for the EU by mid-2021, as well as another 100 million doses for the UK. AstraZeneca is producing Vaxzevria in at least four plants in Europe; Two of them are Oxford Biomedica and Cobra Biologics (both located in the UK); The other two facilities are Thermo Fisher and Halix (located in Belgium and the Netherlands). The four factories are operated by subcontractors, not by AstraZeneca. And at least two of them have had problems right from the start. At first, Thermo Fisher produced fewer vaccines than expected. And Cobra Biologics does not work synchronously. The Dutch health expert, Wilbert Bannenberg, was not surprised by AstraZeneca’s vaccine production glitch when it came to the hundreds of ingredients used in vaccines like Vaxzevria, even with small deviations in the ingredients. The raw material also causes the finished product to be discarded. By the end of 2020, it was clear that AstraZeneca was having difficulty in the contracts it had to make. Soriot is wondering whether to leave the UK or leave the EU. And the owner of Downing Street began to form a specialized vaccine force consisting of famous experts and scientists. Led by biochemist and venture capitalist Kate Bingham, the force not only created multipurpose vaccines for the British, but also built the UK vaccine industry. In other words, the UK offered vaccine developers an offer they could hardly turn down. Gambling customers’ trust Vaxzevria is the third vaccine to be approved in Europe, after BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna. But by the fall of 2020 it appears that AstraZeneca’s pandemic studies have become inaccurate. For example, about 3,000 test subjects received half an injection for their first phase, and a full dose for the second injection. Both Oxford and AstraZeneca disagreed in the notion that half the dose was an attempt to act. good idea. AstraZeneca has been criticized because it basically ended up calculating the mean of the data for different groups of test subjects. An even bigger problem is the lack of seniors to include in the study. The Standing Committee on Immunization (STIKO) of the Robert Koch Institute (Germany’s center for disease control) initially recommended AstraZeneca only test 18 to 64 years old, and invisibly turned the island. Inoculation in Germany is wrong. With a feeling of discomfort from a congestion in the vaccine supply, and not yet on any scientific basis, but French President Emmanuel Macron has declared the AstraZeneca vaccine “does not budge at all for people over 65” . Since that time, the vaccine has been ranked 2 in every European country except the UK. In the US, the AstraZeneca vaccine has not even been approved even though President Trump ordered 300 million doses required by the end of May 2020. At first it seemed that AstraZeneca was not completely transparent with Americans when covering the truth about A test subject fell ill at an early stage of the trial. But that is not the last malfunction. In March 2021, AstraZeneca announced that its vaccine was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic infections. But US officials believe that the pharmaceutical company’s data is out of date and may falsify the results. In March 2021, news began to circulate threatening to destroy confidence in AstraZeneca. In some countries, people vaccinated with the Vaxzevria vaccine have developed an embolism caused by a blood clot in the brain, also known as sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT). On 29 March 2021, the Paul Ehrlich Institute (German institution of health management) recorded 31 cases of CSV out of 2.7 million vaccinated people in Germany. Most affected young women. 9 people died. Fearful, some countries have now ended contact with AstraZeneca. Until recently, the European Medicines Agency (EUMA) admitted for the first time that there is a link between thrombosis and Vaxzevria, but EUMA still recommends the Vaxzevria vaccine for all age groups. According to a survey, 23% of French people consider Vaxzevria safe, in Germany it is 32%. Norway and Denmark stopped using the vaccine Vaxzevria. Thrombosis and death were also seen in Britain for the first time. Oxford University has suspended a vaccine trial in children. Experts are on the verge of despair. Ms. Nina Gatter (a vaccinator from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) criticized AstraZeneca when saying that the company did not properly display concerns from the skeptical psychology of public opinion. In Europe, there has been growing skepticism and has delayed the vaccination campaign. Many were vaccinated later than planned, while others used different vaccines. Consequences affect the chain elsewhere. The Covax initiative is currently heavily dependent on the AstraZeneca vaccine. The consequences of this lack of trust can be seen in South Africa. The government stopped vaccinating people after it discovered a mutation. The slow results of the COVID-19 vaccinations in South Africa, meaning substances created with the hope of saving the world, are now piled up in stock.

The porter is sending the boxes of vaccines to Jumla (Nepal). Photo source: UNICEF The corona virus has spread to every continent, now infecting at least 128 million people worldwide. How widespread the epidemic was, devastating economies there. Many people in Africa, Asia and Latin America are waiting to be vaccinated. So far, nearly 600 million doses of the vaccine have been used around the world, but two-thirds of them are in just six countries. About 60% of Israelis have been vaccinated once, 50% of Britons have been vaccinated, and 1 out of 10 Germans get it. In Namibia, where a population of more than 2 million people, less than 1500 people are vaccinated. Aside from Namibia, no African country has received the vaccine. To prevent that, the COVAX project was born. WHO started COVAX a year ago, and the Vaccine Coalition (GAVI) and the Alliance for Epidemic Preparation Innovation (CEPI) are participating in nearly every country in the world. The goal is to have the 92 poorest members receive as many vaccines as the 98 richest members. It is expected that by the end of 2021, each country will receive the vaccine for 1/5 of the population. UNICEF wants vaccines to reach their destination, making them available to people regardless of race or wealth. So how can COVAX achieve its ambitious goals? Project 2 billion doses of vaccine to reach poor countries Mr. Benjamin Schreiber, COVAX Coordinator in Connecticut (USA) affirmed that the biggest challenge for countries is “preparing to vaccinate in a short time”. COVAX’s stated goal is to ship 2 billion doses of vaccine by the end of 2021, equivalent to 850 tons of vaccine / month and 1 billion syringes. Thousands of vaccine containers will reach the remotest corners of the earth by means of vehicles: Jeeps, boats, drones, and rickshaws. Countries receiving vaccine aid are diverse, some with developing economies, some with underdevelopment. Mr. Benjamin Schreiber, COVAX Coordinator in Connecticut (USA). Photo source: Katharina Poblotzki / Der Spiegel. Countries were required to send documents to UNICEF on how they plan to manage vaccine aid logistics: Which part of the population needs the vaccine most; Vaccine distribution plans from the airport to the rest of the country. On February 24, 2021, the first COVAX shipment landed in Ghana. By the end of March 2021, UNICEF had shipped 20 million doses of the vaccine to 47 countries. The strength of manufacturers The Indian Serum Institute (SII) is headquartered in Pune (West India), the world’s largest vaccine factory with 2.4 million doses of vaccine per day. SII is the creation of the vaccine that is being used to reach many parts of the world and its cost cannot be replicated right now. Of the more than 39 million doses of vaccine shipped by COVAX to date, 28 million have come from the Pune laboratories. India is a major supplier of COVAX. Currently, the country mainly produces vaccine AstraZeneca. But at the end of March 2021, the Indian government decided to stop the export of vaccines to a minimum when the number of new corona virus infections increased rapidly in this country. The New Delhi government’s decision to stockpile vaccines means COVAX will delay delivery of 90 million doses of vaccine to 63 receiving countries. There is currently no alternative manufacturing solution outside of India. The plane was carrying carton boxes containing COVID-19 vaccine at Mumbai airport in Maharashtra state (India) on 24 February 2021. Photo source: UNICEF / UN 0421823 / COVAX. Mr. Mounir Bouazar (head of the logistics division of COVAX in Copenhagen) has been preparing for 3-4 months for the first shipments of vaccines. By the end of 2020, Bouazar is certain that half a billion syringes will be distributed to four UNICEF warehouses in Copenhagen, Dubai, Panama and Shanghai. Now COVAX will deliver thousands of vaccines to their destination every day. But a pandemic makes it more difficult, with few or no flights due to limited travel. No flights to East Timor or the Pacific island nation have been requested by UNICEF. Vaccines and syringes moved to Yemen had to go to Nairobi, where Bouazar rented a small plane to carry vaccines and syringes. Bouazar hopes to ship more vaccines by mid-2021. There is an idea to make Bouazar’s work smoother right now: Suspend intellectual property rights to vaccines in a limited way during a pandemic. India and South Africa have filed requests to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to suspend the COVID-19 vaccine and drug patents, which are supported by 100 countries. Then other companies can also make vaccines. COVAX coordinator Benjamin Schreiber is deploying COVID-19 vaccine to the poorest and most isolated countries in the world. Connecting with him are 2 colleagues of UNICEF branches in Panama and Haiti – 2 countries with immunization delays. In Haiti, the vaccination team is ready, but problems are hampering vaccine shipments. Fuel in Haiti is quite expensive, roads are poor … Schreiber persistently connects with people in Haiti every day. Nguyen Thanh Hai ( (According to spiegel, April 24, 2021) )

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine. Photo: VNA broadcast Due to the complexity and urgency of the situation, the provision of vaccines individually to each organization is a challenge, the institute’s announcement noted. We urge all organizations and individuals to access vaccines through public agencies and the private health care system. ”| In addition, from July next, the country can increase production of vaccine AstraZeneca to 100 million doses / month, significantly increased from the current 60-70 million doses per month. However, this production growth milestone is two months later than originally intended. The same day, Prime Minister Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha said the country will seek to buy about 35 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine from two or three other manufacturers, in addition to the 65 million doses already ordered. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said this would complement the government’s purchase of 65 million doses of vaccine from two manufacturers, AstraZeneca and Sinovac Biotech, according to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Bangkok. Of the 35 million doses of the new vaccine, 10-15 million will be bought by the private sector to inject their employees and this will save the government money. Thailand started its vaccination campaign on February 28 with priority given to high-risk people who are health professionals and those in close contact with patients. The country’s vaccination campaign will initially rely on imported vaccines developed by China-based company Sinovac Biotech and will then use the vaccine AstraZeneca contracted by the company Siam Bioscience to make domestically for injection. vaccinated for about 35 million people. As of April 20, more than 2.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, arrived in Thailand. To date, Thailand has received a total of 712,610 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Lunana is a remote and isolated land in Bhutan. This place is twice the size of New York City, including glaciers, some of the highest peaks in the world and not reachable by car. Even so, almost everyone living here has been vaccinated against Covid-19. A monk is vaccinated at a school in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, on the first day of the vaccination campaign. Photo: AFP The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine batch arrived last month by helicopter and was given injections by medical staff across the ice and snow to each village. “I was given the first shot to prove to others in the village that the vaccine was not fatal and safe. Then everyone got it,” said Pema, the village chief in Lunana. The Lunana campaign is part of a silent vaccination story in one of Asia’s poorest countries. On April 17, Bhutan, a kingdom that cares more about the happiness of its people than the nation’s prosperity, injected the first vaccine to more than 478,000 people, accounting for about 60% of the population. The Health Department said this month that more than 93% of eligible adults received the first shot. Helicopters deliver the vaccine to the remote mountains of Bhutan. Photo: Ministry of Health of Bhutan Most of Bhutan’s first Covid-19 vaccinations were vaccinated to people during the last week of March and the first weeks of April. On April 17, the country’s vaccination rate was 63 shots per 100 people. , ranked 6th in the world in immunization rates. Immunization rates in Bhutan are even ahead of the UK and US, seven times higher than neighboring India and nearly six times higher than global vaccination rates. Bhutan is also ahead of other geographically isolated countries with small populations, such as Iceland and the Maldives. Dasho Dechen Wangmo, Bhutan’s Health Minister, has contributed to this success by effectively implementing “leadership and direction” from the king, erasing people’s hesitations to vaccinate and promoting a The health care system “enables people in the most remote parts of the country to also receive needed services”. “As a country with a population of just over 750,000, a two-week campaign to vaccinate its citizens is possible. Despite some minor logistical problems we were able to deal with. “, Mr. Dechen Wangmo said. Peace Guardians All of these vaccines have so far been funded by the Indian government, produced at the Indian Serum Institute – the world’s largest vaccine production center. The government of Bhutan plans to give the population a second dose of vaccine 8 to 12 weeks after the first vaccination, according to the instructions for the AstraZeneca vaccine. Will Parks, Bhutan’s representative at UNICEF, said the first vaccination series was “a success” with participation from “top authorities to the local community”. The campaign was successful in part based on a team of volunteers, also known as the Peace Guardians, who worked under the direct direction of King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. In Lunana, eight volunteers set up field tents and helped transport oxygen cylinders from village to village, said Karma Tashi, a member of the government’s four-man vaccination team there. These oxygen cylinders are prepared to prevent the vaccinated person from having a disturbing reaction after the vaccination. To save time, Tashi said, the team had vaccinated during the day and walked at night, usually working 10-14 hours a day. According to Mr. Tashi, some people do not want to get vaccinated because they are busy with the crop or are concerned about a response after the vaccination, but after being convinced by the volunteers about the benefits of vaccination, everyone agrees Italy. On April 12, 464 out of 800 people in Lunana received the first shot of the vaccine. The population here includes a small number that do not qualify for the vaccine. No exception Medical care in Bhutan, an isolated country slightly larger than the US state of Maryland and bordering Tibet, is completely free. From 1960 to 2014, the average life expectancy of Bhutanese people doubled to 69.5 years old. The immune rate in recent years in this country is above 95%. People in Thimphu wear masks when going out on the street. Photo: AP However, Bhutan’s health system is barely self-sufficient as patients in need of special care are often sent to India or Thailand for government-paid treatment, Yot Teerawattananon, said a medical economist at the National University of Singapore. The Bhutan Government Committee will meet once a week to decide which patients need to be sent abroad for treatment. “I don’t think they can cope with the increase in the number of severe Covid-19 cases if that happens. So prioritizing vaccination is important,” the expert said. Bhutan currently records less than 1,000 Covid-19 cases and only 1 death. The country’s borders, which have been tightened by global standards even before the pandemic, have been closed for a year with almost no exception, with anyone coming on quarantine for 21 days. Even the country’s Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, who received his first shot last month, was quarantined after returning from a visit to Bangladesh./.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine. (Photo: VNA broadcast) Regarding the issue of vaccine supplies of the European Union (EU), on April 18, the European Commissioner for the internal market Thierry Breton left open the possibility that the EU could decide not to continue ordering. vaccine of AstraZeneca due to a later than agreed upon delivery. The EU initially ordered 120 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for 27 member countries in the first quarter of 2021 and 180 million doses in the second quarter of 2021. However, so far AstraZeneca has only delivered 30 million doses and is expected to have only 70 million more doses in the next quarter. Mr. Breton affirmed that there is currently no certainty and the EU is still negotiating with AstraZeneca. However, he stressed that no matter what the decision is not due to medical or epidemiological reasons, and affirms that the AstraZeneca vaccine brings more benefits than risks. U] Previously, on April 16, French Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher also mentioned the possibility that the EU will not renew the contract with AstraZeneca and both. Johnson & Johnson in the year 2022. Some EU countries have stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns about the risk of side effects occurring thrombosis. However, most countries have resumed their AstraZeneca vaccination program after the European Drug Administration (EMA) confirmed the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.

CDC Can Tho receives vaccines. Photo: VNA broadcast Accordingly, the vaccine has been safely transported by the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City to the Center for Disease Control in Can Tho City. Immediately after receipt, all of these vaccines were stored in cold storage by the unit and stored in accordance with regulations, as well as recommendations of the manufacturer. The system of cold chain for storing vaccines of the Center for Disease Control in Can Tho city today, including: refrigerators, specialized cold boxes, vaccine thermos bottles, automatic temperature monitoring devices … meet the standards. about vaccine preservation. Recently, the unit also received 4 additional dedicated vaccine storage cabinets TCW 4000 AC, each with a storage capacity of about 60,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. The room COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine was researched and developed by Oxford University and the World Health Organization through approval for emergency vaccines on February 15. Updated to March 8, the vaccine has been used in 98 countries around the world. In Vietnam, the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine has been conditionally approved by the Ministry of Health as a vaccine for urgent needs in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Decision No. 983 / QD-BYT dated 1/2/2021. CDC Can Tho receives vaccines. Photo: VNA broadcast AstraZeneca vaccine is bottled in 10 doses / vial, 100 vials / box, stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius and not frozen. This vaccine is indicated for vaccination against people 18 years of age and older; Intramuscular injection, dose of 0.5ml. 2 doses of 2 doses are recommended, each 12 weeks apart. In 2 days, April 19-20, at the Center for Disease Control in Can Tho City (CDC Can Tho), the competent forces will pre-inject some people with the participation in monitoring and sharing experiences. of the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City. On the basis of learning from experience, the forces will deploy simultaneous injections at fixed injection points in the city on April 22-24, including: 7 hospitals, City Center for Disease Control Can Tho and 9 district health centers. Priority subjects who have not yet been vaccinated will receive additional injections from April 27-29. The Center for Disease Control in Can Tho city notes that vaccinated people strictly follow the instructions of the Ministry of Health to ensure safety in vaccination against COVID-19. CDC Can Tho receives vaccines. Photo: VNA broadcast * Tuyen Quang province has received 4,500 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 room from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. These vaccines were transferred to the Center for Disease Control of Tuyen Quang province and stored in a cold chain system, at a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius. It is expected that all 4,500 doses of vaccine will be given priority to vaccinate phase 1 for free for those who are frontline anti-epidemic forces: People working in health facilities; people involved in epidemic prevention; army and police force. Mr. La Dang Re, Deputy Director of the Department of Health of Tuyen Quang province, said that the Department organized a training course for medical units in the province on COVID-19 vaccination; plan to organize 2 injections. In particular, the first phase injected about 1,000 doses at 3 points, which are Tuyen Quang Provincial General Hospital, Provincial Public Security Hospital and Phuong Bac Hospital. In order to prepare well for the vaccination work in the area, the provincial health sector has prepared manpower and equipment, ensuring that all injection sites are strictly arranged according to one-way regulations. Those who are vaccinated will be screened before first vaccination, monitored 30 minutes after injection, followed by 7 days to ensure safety. The Department of Health of Tuyen Quang province has directed the units to urgently make a list of priority subjects; organizing training courses, guiding the reception, use, preservation of COVID-19 vaccines and monitoring of post-injection adverse events; prepare sufficient human resources and equipment to meet the situations before deploying vaccination. From April 19, the functional forces will deploy vaccination in Tuyen Quang city; early May 2021 will be vaccinated in the districts of the province.

COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. Photo: AFP / VNA On April 13, US federal health authorities recommended to suspend the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for “cautious” reasons, awaiting the results of investigating the possible link between the vaccination. this with thrombotic side effect. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reviewing six cases of thrombosis following the vaccination. Meanwhile, according to Reuters, on April 15, US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci hopes that US regulators will soon make a quick decision on resuming Johnson & Johnson’s vaccination, bringing the vaccine back. immunization program. The day before, the US CDC advisory committee postponed at least a week to vote on whether to resume use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to wait for more data on thrombotic risks. Mr. Fauci feared that the prolonged delay of the vaccine could affect people’s hesitancy. “I think we need to continue to emphasize that this is a very effective and usable vaccine that is very, very valuable in a global context,” he said. Following the US, some countries have made similar moves with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine
On April 13, the South African Ministry of Health announced it had suspended the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the country’s vaccination program, although South Africa has not received a report related to coagulation after 290,000 people in the country. has received the COVID-19 vaccine from the brands. Two weeks ago, South Africa licensed the use of vacicne Johnson & Johnson and so far only vaccinated this vaccine to health workers in the study framework. Before the above developments, Dutch Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said that the country has not decided whether to launch the Johnson & Johnson vaccine injection this week or not. He stated that the Netherlands will wait for information from the European Pharmaceutical Authority (EMA) before making a decision. In contrast, some countries continue to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Belgium has said it will not stop the vaccination at this stage. Poland started to vaccinate Johnson & Johnson when the government confirmed that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. Meanwhile, Spanish officials have not received the notice of stopping the Johnson & Johnson vaccination. For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) says it is monitoring global data of various reports to see if similar cases occur elsewhere, and it will take time. Time to evaluate vaccine data from Johnson & Johnson. Denmark completely discontinues the AstraZaneca vaccine; Thailand is still considered the mainstay Prime Minister of Thailand Prayut Chan-O-Cha (middle) was vaccinated against COVID-19 by AstraZeneca company in Bangkok, on March 16, 2021. Photo: AFP / VNA Before the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the AstraZeneca vaccine was also in the same situation. The AstraZeneca vaccine is suspected of causing thrombosis, causing a series of European countries to suspend use, despite WHO recommendations. Recently, on April 14, Denmark became the first European country to permanently stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine due to concerns about rare blood clotting side effects. Denmark thinks that AstraZeneca’s vaccine may not be needed because it has managed the COVID-19 pandemic and may just depend on the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Before that, from March 11, Denmark, along with Iceland and Norway, have suspended the use of this vaccine. Followed by a number of other European countries, including France, Germany and Italy. Federal Health Ministers and states in Germany unanimously recommend a second shot after getting the first shot with the AstraZeneca vaccine, under which one shot of the preparation is given to those under 60 years of age. This could be a second shot with another vaccine. In Bulgaria, Health Minister Kostadin Angelov also announced that the launch of AstraZeneca’s vaccine in the country could be stopped because people are not interested. The European Drug Administration – the European Union’s (EU) drug regulator – then recommended that countries continue to use vaccines as the benefits of vaccines far outweigh any potential risks. hidden from humans. Last week, the European pharmaceutical regulator listed clotting as an extremely rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Some countries have started to re-use the vaccine after the suspension, but limited in the number of people vaccinated. As is the case in the UK, the country says it will offer another vaccine for people under the age of 30. While some countries are vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Thailand Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be the mainstay of the Southeast Asian country’s COVID-19 vaccination program. Mr. Anutin confirmed that Thailand has the expertise to closely monitor vaccine information and the decision is based on science. Thailand’s vaccination campaign mainly relies on domestically produced AstraZeneca vaccine and 2 million doses of Chinese vaccine to vaccinate about 35 million people, equivalent to 50% of the population – Thailand’s goal. must be reached by the end of 2021. Along with Thailand, Korea has decided to continue to vaccinate AstraZeneca for those who qualify. People younger than 30 years of age have not yet received the vaccine because the risk of blood clots outweighs the benefit of the vaccination. Continued reassurance and investigation of coagulation phenomenon after vaccination Health care workers give COVID-19 vaccine to people in Llanelli, South Wales (UK), April 9, 2021. Photo: AFP / VNA While countries are moving differently with the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines, WHO continues to assert the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination. On April 15, WHO Director in Europe Hans Kluge reaffirmed that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks. “Make it clear that there is no doubt that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective in reducing hospital admissions for COVID-19 and preventing severe illness that leads to death. The WHO has recommended this vaccine as soon as possible,” he said. as possible for adults to increase resistance to the SARS-CoV-2 virus “. WHO officials also pointed out that out of the 200 million people who got the AstraZeneca vaccine, there are only a few rare cases of a blood clotting disorder. He emphasized that the risk of blood clots in patients with COVID-19 is much higher than in those receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. A study by scientists at the University of Oxford UK showed that COVID-19 patients have a higher risk of developing blood clots in the brain than those vaccinated against the disease. Data from over 500,000 patients with COVID-19 show that blood clotting occurs at an incidence of 39 out of 1,000,000 patients. Of the more than 480,000 people who received the COVID-19 vaccine made by BioNTech / Pfizer or Moderna, the incidence of coagulation was 4 / 1,000,000, while the rate was slightly higher for those receiving the vaccine. AstraZeneca – about 5 / 1,000,000 after the first injection. After the coagulation incident with the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines, the researchers found that this rare side effect only occurs with vaccines using adeno virus vector technology (the virus that causes the common cold). There has been no record of coagulation in people who received the vaccine using other technologies from Pfizer and Moderna. However, the link between the technology using adeno virus vectors and coagulation is only a simple guess, there is no evidence. Russian vaccine has not caused any blood clotting cases and is increasingly “expensive”. Vaccine Sputnik V in Moscow, Russia. Photo: AFP / VNA When Western countries investigated blood clotting side effects, the Gamaleya Research Institute – which develops the Russian vaccine Sputnik V – said the vaccine has not caused any adverse reactions related to blood clotting. According to the Gamaleya Institute, there is no reason to equate the safety of the Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca vaccines with Sputnik V. All three of these vaccines are vector-based, using the adeno virus to deliver the protein of SARS-CoV- 2 into human cells, helping to stimulate the immune system’s response. However, all three manufacturers use different structures and technologies in vaccine formulation. Iran is the latest country to order Russian vaccines. Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali confirmed that the contract to buy 60 million doses of Sputnik V has been signed and completed, enough to give 2 doses to 30 million people. Ambassador Kazem Jalali also announced that Iran will receive the vaccine by the end of 2021. Russia is also transferring technology to produce this vaccine to a number of countries. Most recently, the Korean company ISU Abxis on April 15 announced an agreement with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on the technology transfer and production of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for Korean companies. . It is expected that the production of vaccine trials will soon be deployed at a facility in Yongin, south of Seoul. The Russian Sputnik V vaccine is the second most popular vaccine in the world approved for use by national pharmaceutical regulators.

The Minister of Health directed at the online conference on strengthening COVID-19 epidemic prevention – Photo: VGP / Hien Minh

At the online conference to strengthen prevention of the COVID-19 epidemic held on April 16, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that this Immunization Safety Steering Committee is responsible for setting the safety of vaccinations. to the top, always ready and confident in handling cases with post-injection reactions with the view of “where the injection is safe to get there”.

Also according to the Minister, during the first injection of AstraZeneca vaccine in 19 provinces and cities across the country, the surveillance system of the National Expanded Immunization Program recorded nearly 33% of vaccinated people having mild reactions. usually after injection and go away on its own after 1-2 days without the need for treatment or medical attention; About 1 (one thousandth) of cases of hypersensitivity reactions after injection have been properly managed, their health has stabilized, returned to work after 1-2 days of follow-up. treatment at a medical facility. In particular, to date, Vietnam has not recorded any cases of blood clots occurring after vaccination.

“The rate of 33% of people injected with normal mild reactions after injection and going away after 1-2 days is an acceptable number. With many of the current vaccines and the 5-in-1 vaccines being deployed in the expanded vaccination program, this rate could reach 50%. These are the very common reactions after vaccination, ”said Minister Nguyen Thanh Long.

With more than 811,000 doses of vaccine supported by COVAX, which just arrived in Vietnam on April 1, the Minister of Health asked localities to quickly and safely deploy injections, before May 15 to complete more than 811,000 doses. this. In particular, no dose of vaccine can be canceled due to not deploying the injection.

Meeting points online Conference – Photo: VGP / Hien Minh

At present, the epidemic situation in the world and neighboring countries with our country is still complicated, so the Minister emphasized that the control of COVID-19 epidemic in 2021 is still a challenge and difficulty. countries, including Vietnam, need to work to deal with it. Therefore, localities and people are not subjective, indifferent, always actively implement drastic measures to prevent epidemics.

The Minister also said that at present, the most “hot” region is the southwest border and the southwestern provinces. Therefore, the Ministry of Health suggested that these localities direct the maintenance of the border area by preventing illegal entry, making an important contribution to the fight against epidemics in the coming time. It will be difficult to control epidemics in the community.

Localities also need to proactively strengthen regular screening of places with a large concentration of people to detect cases, because the earlier we are screened, the more proactive we are in fighting the epidemic. This is a lesson from Cambodia, Thailand …, the Minister suggested.