Thailand suspends AstraZeneca vaccine because of ‘adverse symptoms’ - Financial Times

Thailand has postponed the public vaccination of its prime minister with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine after three European countries paused their rollout of the jab owing to health concerns.

Prayuth Chan-ocha and members of his government had been scheduled to receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which is Thailand’s core immunisation response to Covid-19, in a Friday morning ceremony at the kingdom’s health ministry. Reporters who had gathered at the scene were informed of the delay only after they arrived.

Thailand is the first Asian country to temporary halt the vaccination drive. Health authorities said they had suspended the rollout after “side effects or adverse symptoms” were observed in some people who received it.

“To slow down or to pause vaccinations to investigate is common medical practice,” Anutin Charnvirakul, the deputy prime minister and health minister, said in a Facebook post. He added that the government’s vaccine management committee had taken action to ensure “the maximum safety of the public”. 

Thailand acted after Denmark, Norway and Iceland on Thursday suspended use of the vaccine after reports of blood clots in a small number of people who received it. However, the EU’s medicines regulator said there was “currently no indication” that the vaccine had caused the clots.

At least five other European countries have halted the use of a specific batch of the vaccine this week, and Italy’s drug regulator said it had stopped using another batch after it was linked to two deaths.

Thailand has acquired about 61m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, most of which will be produced by Siam Bioscience, a local company. The kingdom is also importing 2m doses of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine. 

Its vaccine policy is an unusually sensitive topic, as Siam Bioscience is owned by Thailand’s billionaire King Maha Vajiralongkorn, whose powers and wealth came under unprecedented criticism during democracy protests last year.

MPs from the opposition Move Forward party have criticised Prayuth’s government of relying too heavily on a single vaccine, made by a company that has never manufactured one before.

“I don’t mind the hiring of this company to supply the vaccine to Thai people, but by common sense the government should source the vaccine from other sources as well,” Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, an MP with the party, told the Financial Times. 

In one sign of the sensitivity surrounding the topic, Thailand in January charged Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the party’s former leader, with insulting the king under its harsh lese-majesty law after he accused Siam Bioscience of seeking to profit from distributing the vaccine. 

The law, which carries a maximum 15-year sentence, has been used to open cases against more than 60 protesters, some of whom are now in prison and have been denied bail as they await trial.

Thailand’s public health response to the pandemic has generally been regarded as successful. With a population of 69m, it has reported just 26,679 cases of the disease and 85 deaths.

Twitter: @JohnReedwrites

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2021-03-12 08:09:17Z
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John Kerry warns EU against carbon border tax - Financial Times

John Kerry, now Joe Biden’s envoy on climate, warned the EU that a carbon border tax adjustment should be a “last resort”, at the end of a four-day trip that aimed to build a transatlantic climate alliance ahead of the UN climate talks in November.

The former secretary of state told the Financial Times he was “concerned” about Brussels’ forthcoming plans for a carbon border adjustment mechanism and urged the EU to wait until after the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow to move forward.

“It [a carbon border tax] does have serious implications for economies, and for relationships, and trade,” he said. “I think it is something that’s more of a last resort, when you’ve exhausted the possibilities of getting emission reductions and joining in some kind of compact by which everybody is bearing the burden.”

Brussels has said the carbon border adjustment mechanism will be designed to “surgically” target imports from countries which have not signed up to climate neutrality by the middle of this century. It is expected to initially target imports such as steel and cement from neighbouring countries in eastern Europe, Turkey and north Africa.

The mechanism is the centrepiece of the EU’s green push, with a draft proposal expected in June.

Wild fires ablaze in the western US last year: John Kerry is working to put climate policy at the centre of the country’s diplomatic efforts © NOAA/GOES/AFP via Getty Images

While the EU has been urging the US to follow its lead in areas such as carbon pricing and the new green “taxonomy”, which creates green standards and definitions, Kerry suggested the US was more likely to forge its own path in these areas.

Kerry’s trip this week, which spanned London, Brussels and Paris, is one of the first international tours from a White House that has pledged to put climate policy at the centre of its diplomatic efforts.

The new Biden administration and the EU have been working to develop a shared strategy ahead of COP26, and are teaming up to ask China, the world’s largest emitter, to reduce emissions more quickly.

However some cracks have emerged in conversations around the taxonomy, which Brussels is working to finalise, and the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism.

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire told Kerry the US and EU should develop an “identical” taxonomy, which would ensure common green standards on both sides of the Atlantic. “It would be a shame if at the end of the day we had two sets of rules in Europe and the US,” Le Maire said at a press conference.

Kerry did not appear to accept the French suggestion.

“I suspect that [US Treasury] Secretary [Janet] Yellen and the new SEC chair Gary Gensler and others will have a lot to say about exactly where we’re heading with respect to financial disclosure, and the taxonomy, green bonds and other things,” he said.

“It's going to be imperative for the United States to weigh in, either with its own taxonomy, which we need to do, or obviously work with other countries,” he said, adding that no final decision has been made.

“Obviously, the United States has strong feelings about not having excessive regulation,” he said, while discussing the taxonomy. “I think we will safeguard that.”

On the carbon border adjustment, Kerry urged the EU to avoid putting a new tariff in place before COP26 in November.

“[Let’s] leave open the possibility here that you make Glasgow the moment where we come together with an agreement as to what we’re all going to do and it isn’t necessary to have a border adjustment,” he said.

The Glasgow meeting will be a success, in Kerry’s view, if all countries adopted net zero emissions targets, which involves cutting emissions close to zero.

The US will host the world’s 20 largest emitters at a climate meeting in April, and is expected to announce its own new climate targets at the summit.

Additional reporting by Mehreen Khan in Brussels

Follow @ftclimate on Instagram 

 

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2021-03-12 05:00:41Z
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Joe Biden signs $1.9tn stimulus bill into law - Financial Times

US President Joe Biden signed a $1.9tn stimulus package into law on Thursday afternoon, enacting his top legislative goal for his first months in office to deliver a fiscal jolt to the American economy.

Biden signed the legislation at just after 2pm on Thursday in the Oval Office, a day earlier than previously announced.

Biden’s signature, just a day after the House of Representatives voted to pass the final version of the legislation in Congress, allows the US administration to rapidly implement the bill over the coming weeks.

It also sets the stage for an effort by the president to tout the benefits of the plan across the country, with Biden already scheduling a visit to Atlanta, Georgia, next week to discuss its impact.

The legislation includes $1,400 direct payments to Americans earning $75,000 per year or less, which will have to be quickly disbursed by the US Treasury department. The cheques could result in a big increase in consumer spending from as early as April.

Biden’s signature also gives a green light to states to begin processing the extension of federal emergency unemployment benefits, worth $300 per week, until early September. Without the stimulus package, the aid was due to expire on March 14.

As he signed the stimulus bill, Biden cited polls showing strong support for the legislation among the US public.

“Their voices were heard. I believe this historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation — working people, middle class folks, people who built the country — a fighting chance. That’s what the essence of it is,” he said.

At a virtual event with business owners after the bill signing, Kamala Harris, vice-president, said that “the vast majority of Americans — regardless of who they voted for in the last election — support the American Rescue Plan”.

She added: “It will lift half of American children living in poverty, out of poverty.”

White House officials and Democratic lawmakers have touted the stimulus bill as a chance to reboot the US economic recovery and shield vulnerable households from the worst effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The plan did not receive any Republican support, however, as conservative lawmakers attacked it as a vehicle for excessive and unnecessary spending.

Biden will hold a ceremony with members of Congress on Friday to mark the passage of the plan.

The signing of the stimulus plan served as a prelude to Biden’s first primetime television address to Americans on Thursday evening, marking the anniversary of the initial coronavirus lockdowns in 2020.

According to a White House official, Biden was expected to speak for about 20 minutes about the “sacrifices made by the American people” due to the pandemic and the “greatest operational challenge the country has ever faced” in rolling out vaccinations.

“The president will lay out the next steps he will take to get the pandemic under control, level with the American people about what is still required to defeat the virus and provide a hopeful vision of what is possible if we all come together,” the White House official said.

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2021-03-11 19:55:38Z
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Oxford-AstraZeneca: EU regulator says 'no indication' vaccine linked to blood clots - BBC News

EPA

There is no indication that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is linked to an increased risk of blood clots, the EU's medicines regulator says.

It said the number of cases in vaccinated people was no higher than in the general population.

The statement came after a number of countries, including Denmark and Norway, suspended the use of the jab.

The suspension followed reports that a small number of people had developed clots after receiving the vaccine.

There were also reports that a 50-year-old man had died in Italy after developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following a dose of the jab.

"There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine," the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday.

"The vaccine's benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing," it added.

It said there had been 30 cases of "thromboembolic events" among the five million Europeans who have received the jab.

• What you need to know about vaccine safety
• Why is the EU having vaccine problems?
• Europe in vaccine race to save summer

AstraZeneca said the drug's safety had been studied extensively in clinical trials. "Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine," a spokesperson said.

In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there was no evidence the vaccine had caused problems, and people should still go and get vaccinated when asked to do so. "Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine have now been administered across the UK," said Phil Bryan of the MHRA.

The decision to temporarily suspend the use of AstraZeneca's jab has come as a setback for a European vaccination campaign that has stuttered into life, partly due to delays in delivery of the drug.

Which countries are not using the drug?

Denmark, Norway and Iceland have temporarily suspended the rollout of the vaccine. Italy and Austria, meanwhile, have stopped using certain batches of the drug as a precautionary measure.

The suspensions in Italy and Austria involve different batches of the vaccine.

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have also suspended the use of the same batch as Austria.

In an earlier statement, the EMA said Denmark's decision was a "precautionary measure [taken] while a full investigation is ongoing into reports of blood clots in people who received the vaccine, including one case in Denmark where a person died".

Italy's medicines body said its decision was "precautionary", adding that no link had been established between the vaccine and subsequent "serious adverse events".

Two Italians are reported to have died after receiving the vaccine, and an unnamed source told Reuters news agency that their deaths are what prompted the temporary suspension.

Austria, meanwhile, took its decision after a woman died 10 days after vaccination because of "severe blood coagulation problems". The Austrian doses were part of a batch of one million doses, identified as ABV5300, that was sent to 17 European countries.

• What Europeans have learned from a year of Covid

The EMA said its safety committee was reviewing the Austrian case but made clear that there was "no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions".

No details of the Danish death have been given, but health officials said they were pausing use of the vaccine for 14 days in what Health Minister Magnus Heunicke called a "precautionary measure". Although no link had been established, he said "we must respond in a timely and careful manner" until a conclusion was reached.

Norway's public health institute said it would follow the Danish move to halt all use of the vaccine until the Danish cases were investigated. "We are waiting for more information to see if there is a link between the vaccine and this blood clot case," said Geir Bukholm of the National Institute of Health.

Iceland was also suspending use of the vaccine, the chief epidemiologist told public broadcaster Ruv, to "err on the side of caution".

Later on Thursday, the French government said it would continue to use the AstraZeneca jab. "The benefits... are higher than the risks," Health Minister Olivier Véran said.

How significant are concerns about the Oxford-AstraZeneca drug?

Officials say they have received reports of fatal or life-threatening blood clots in a small number of people who had recently received a dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. That may sound worrying, but it is not yet known if there is any connection between the two things.

A full investigation into batch quality is ongoing, but a defect is considered unlikely.

Overall, 30 cases of thromboembolic events have been reported among the five million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the European Economic Area.

Any approved treatment, including vaccines, carries a risk of some side effects for some people, but most are usually mild and severe ones are rare.

It's also worth noting that blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. They are believed to cause symptoms in around one in every thousand people in the UK every year.

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2021-03-11 18:00:21Z
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Oxford-AstraZeneca: Denmark suspends vaccine 'as a precaution' - BBC News

EPA

Denmark and Norway have temporarily halted use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution, after Danish reports of some people having blood clots after vaccination and one death.

The EU medicines agency has emphasised there is no indication the vaccine had caused blood clots.

It said the number of cases in vaccinated people was no higher than in the general population.

Several European countries have now stopped using two batches of the drug.

AstraZeneca said the drug's safety had been studied extensively in clinical trials.

"Patient Safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca," a spokesperson said. "Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca." Peer-reviewed data confirmed it had been "generally well tolerated", the statement added.

The series of moves across Europe has come as a setback for a European vaccination campaign that has stuttered into life, partly due to delays in delivery of the AstraZeneca drug. In a separate move, the EU medicines agency has approved the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the fourth in the EU.

In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there was no evidence the vaccine had caused problems, and people should still go and get vaccinated when asked to do so. "Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine have now been administered across the UK," said Phil Bryan of the MHRA.

Which countries are not using the drug?

Austria suspended use of a particular batch of the drug this week when a woman died 10 days after vaccination because of "severe blood coagulation problems". The Austrian doses were part of a batch of one million doses, identified as ABV5300, sent to 17 European countries. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxemburg have also stopped using doses from that batch.

The EU medicines agency said its safety committee was reviewing the Austrian case, but made clear that "there is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine".

• Why is the EU having vaccine problems?
• Europe in vaccine race to save summer
• What Europeans have learned from a year of Covid

No details of the Danish death have been given, but health officials said they were pausing use of the vaccine for 14 days in what Health Minister Magnus Heunicke called a "precautionary measure". Although no link had been established, he said "we must respond in a timely and careful manner" until a conclusion was reached.

Norway's public health institute said it would follow the Danish move to halt all use of the vaccine until the Danish cases were investigated. "We are waiting for more information to see if there is a link between the vaccine and this blood clot case," said Geir Bukholm of the National Institute of Health. Iceland was also suspending use of the vaccine, the chief epidemiologist told public broadcaster Ruv, to "err on the side of caution".

Italy's Aifa medicines agency has now announced that it is banning the use of doses from a batch separate from the Austrian one, ABV2856, as a precaution in response to "some serious, adverse events". Italian reports say a 43-year-old soldier serving in Sicily died after going into cardiac arrest. No causal link had been established with the vaccine at present, Aifa has stressed.

How significant are concerns about the Oxford-AstraZeneca drug?

Officials say they have received reports of fatal or life-threatening blood clots in a small number of people who had recently received a dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. That may sound worrying, but it is not yet known if there is any connection between the two things.

It was on Sunday that a 49-year-old woman in Austria died from multiple blood clots. She had been vaccinated 10 days earlier. Another person who received a shot from the same vaccine batch was also hospitalised for a blood clot in the lung.

As of 9 March 2021, two other reports of thromboembolism have been received for this batch, ABV5300. It contained a million doses and was delivered to 17 EU countries, including Austria and Denmark.

A full investigation into batch quality is ongoing, but a defect is considered unlikely.

Overall, 22 cases of thromboembolic events have been reported among the three million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the European Economic Area.

Any approved treatment, including vaccines, carries a risk of some side effects for some people, but most are usually mild and severe ones are rare.

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2021-03-11 15:14:00Z
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MHRA response to Danish authorities' action to temporarily suspend the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine - GOV.UK

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2021-03-11 13:21:02Z
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Oxford-AstraZeneca: Denmark suspends vaccine 'as a precaution' - BBC News

EPA

Denmark and Norway have temporarily halted use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as a precaution, after Danish reports of some people having blood clots after vaccination and one death.

The EU medicines agency has emphasised there is no indication the vaccine had caused blood clots.

It said the number of cases in vaccinated people was no higher than in the general population.

Several European countries have now stopped using two batches of the drug.

AstraZeneca said the drug's safety had been studied extensively in clinical trials.

"Patient Safety is the highest priority for AstraZeneca," a spokesperson said. "Regulators have clear and stringent efficacy and safety standards for the approval of any new medicine, and that includes Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca." Peer-reviewed data confirmed it had been "generally well tolerated", the statement added.

The series of moves across Europe has come as a setback for a European vaccination campaign that has stuttered into life, partly due to delays in delivery of the AstraZeneca drug. In a separate move, the EU medicines agency has approved the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the fourth in the EU.

In the UK, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there was no evidence the vaccine had caused problems, and people should still go and get vaccinated when asked to do so. "Blood clots can occur naturally and are not uncommon. More than 11 million doses of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine have now been administered across the UK," said Phil Bryan of the MHRA.

Which countries are not using the drug?

Austria suspended use of a particular batch of the drug this week when a woman died 10 days after vaccination because of "severe blood coagulation problems". The Austrian doses were part of a batch of one million doses, identified as ABV5300, sent to 17 European countries. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxemburg have also stopped using doses from that batch.

The EU medicines agency said its safety committee was reviewing the Austrian case, but made clear that "there is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine".

• Why is the EU having vaccine problems?
• Europe in vaccine race to save summer
• What Europeans have learned from a year of Covid

No details of the Danish death have been given, but health officials said they were pausing use of the vaccine for 14 days in what Health Minister Magnus Heunicke called a "precautionary measure". Although no link had been established, he said "we must respond in a timely and careful manner" until a conclusion was reached.

Norway's public health institute said it would follow the Danish move to halt all use of the vaccine until the Danish cases were investigated. "We are waiting for more information to see if there is a link between the vaccine and this blood clot case," said Geir Bukholm of the National Institute of Health. Iceland was also suspending use of the vaccine, the chief epidemiologist told public broadcaster Ruv, to "err on the side of caution".

Italy's Aifa medicines agency has now announced that it is banning the use of doses from a batch separate from the Austrian one, ABV2856, as a precaution in response to "some serious, adverse events". Italian reports say a 43-year-old soldier serving in Sicily died after going into cardiac arrest. No causal link had been established with the vaccine at present, Aifa has stressed.

How significant are concerns about the Oxford-AstraZeneca drug?

Officials say they have received reports of fatal or life-threatening blood clots in a small number of people who had recently received a dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. That may sound worrying, but it is not yet known if there is any connection between the two things.

It was on Sunday that a 49-year-old woman in Austria died from multiple blood clots. She had been vaccinated 10 days earlier. Another person who received a shot from the same vaccine batch was also hospitalised for a blood clot in the lung.

As of 9 March 2021, two other reports of thromboembolism have been received for this batch, ABV5300. It contained a million doses and was delivered to 17 EU countries, including Austria and Denmark.

A full investigation into batch quality is ongoing, but a defect is considered unlikely.

Overall, 22 cases of thromboembolic events have been reported among the three million people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the European Economic Area.

Any approved treatment, including vaccines, carries a risk of some side effects for some people, but most are usually mild and severe ones are rare.

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2021-03-11 11:32:43Z
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