The European Union has been accused of ‘bullying’ and blasted as a ‘total disgrace’ after blocking a shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines to Australia. Authorities in Italy have drawn on controversial export laws for the first time, refusing to grant a licence for 250,000 doses manufactured in the country to be exported. Officials in Rome had … Read more
The EU has blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca vaccines from leaving Italy for Australia using controversial export laws for the first time. Authorities in Italy refused to grant a licence for 250,000 doses manufactured in the country to be exported, meaning the shipment could not leave Thursday as planned. Officials in Rome had informed the … Read more
Germany is set to open up the AstraZeneca vaccine to over-65s in a major U-turn to revive its faltering vaccine programme – as the EU today looked for another lifeline by beginning the approval process for Russia’s Sputnik V jab. Five weeks after blocking the AstraZeneca shot for older people, German regulators will submit their … Read more
Germany is extending its Covid lockdown by three weeks until March 28 but easing some restrictions to allow non-essential shops and businesses to reopen in areas with low infection rates. After about nine hours of talks on Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel and the governors of the country’s 16 states agreed to the measures amid a … Read more
First dose of Oxford University’s Covid vaccine causes twice as many side-effects as a single shot of the Pfizer jab, analysis of 700,000 Brits suggests More than three in ten of those getting the Oxford vaccine suffered side-effects But less than two in ten suffered symptoms in those getting the Pfizer jab Scientists say side-effects … Read more
One dose of the Covid jabs being deployed in Britain are up to 80 per cent effective at stopping already-ill elderly people from being hospitalised with the disease, fresh research shows. Earlier this week, the first real-world analysis of the Oxford and Pfizer jabs in England found a single injection prevented eight in 10 over-80s from … Read more
People in Germany, France and Sweden blame their own governments and the EU for their stuttering vaccine programmes while Britons are happy with the UK’s rapid progress, a new poll shows. The survey by Kekst CNC found 77 per cent of Britons saying their country has handled the vaccine roll-out well – compared to 23 … Read more
Austria and Denmark will produce new Covid vaccines without help from the EU after the bloc’s jab roll-out descended into a slow-paced shambles. Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s prime minister, and Danish leader Mette Frederiksen announced today that they will travel to Israel to discuss development of a second generation of coronavirus vaccines with health authorities there. Israel … Read more
France will start giving Britain’s AstraZeneca vaccine to over-65s in an humiliating U-turn for President Macron after he personally cast doubt on its effectiveness. Olivier Veran, the French health minister, said today that the jab will soon be made available to people over the age of 50 with underlying health issues that make them vulnerable … Read more
England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer today took a swipe at EU efforts to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and said a new study showing just one shot offers dramatic protection against severe disease in older people ‘vindicated’ Britain’s approach. Professor Jonathan Van Tam suggested that ‘non-adoption’ by ‘many countries’ in … Read more