Coronavirus world: Canada approves first ‘plant-based’ vaccine as Europe boosts kids
Canada approved the first ever “plant-based” Covid vaccine as European health regulators back Pfizer and Moderna booster shots for children.
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Canadian health authorities approved the country’s first domestic Covid-19 vaccine as Europe backed Pfizer and Moderna booster shots in children as young as six-years old.
Health Canada announced approval of the “plant-based” Covifenz vaccine from Quebec City-based biopharmaceutical firm Medicago and partner GlaxoSmithKline.
“This is the first authorised Covid-19 vaccine developed by a Canadian-based company, and the first that uses a plant-based protein technology,” said a government statement.
Calling approval of its Covifenz vaccine “a significant milestone for Canada in the fight against the pandemic,” Medicago chief executive Takashi Nagao said the company was already “manufacturing doses to start fulfilling its order.”
Ottawa had pre-ordered up to 76 million doses of Covifenz.
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the development of the vaccine also marked a reversal of a decades-long decline in Canada’s biomanufacturing capabilities, which the pandemic had exposed.
Ottawa had previously approved six other Covid vaccines, including AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer.
EUROPE BACKS PFIZER, MODERNA BOOSTERS IN KIDS
The European Union’s medicines watchdog, meanwhile, recommended that Pfizer/BioNTech’s anti-Covid booster vaccine be approved for children aged 12 while Moderna’s be approved for children as young as six-years-old.
“The committee considered that the available evidence was sufficient to conclude that the immune response to a booster dose in adolescents would be at least equal to that in adults”, The EMA’s human medicines committee said of the Pfizer shot.
The EMA’s opinion will now be sent to the European Commission “to issue a final decision shortly”, it said.
On Thursday it also announced that it has recommended the approval of the Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine for children aged between six and 11.
The jab, developed by US-based pharmaceutical company Moderna, has already been approved for adults and children aged 12 and above.
“As in the older age group, the vaccine is given as two injections in the muscles of the upper arm, four weeks apart,” the EMA said.
The regulator has so far approved five vaccines for use in the EU: Pfizer and Moderna, which use messenger RNA technology, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, which use viral vector technology, and Novavax, which is based on a spike protein produced in a laboratory.
HONG KONG INVOKES EMERGENCY POWERS
Hong Kong’s government invoked emergency powers to allow doctors, nurses and other personnel from the Chinese mainland to help combat a spiralling coronavirus outbreak.
The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of its worst-ever Covid wave, registering thousands of cases every day, which are overwhelming hospitals and government efforts to isolate all infected people in dedicated units.
Hong Kong authorities have followed a zero-Covid strategy similar to mainland China’s, which has kept infections mostly at bay throughout the pandemic.
But they were caught flat-footed when the highly infectious Omicron variant broke through those defences, and have since increasingly called on the mainland for help.
“Hong Kong is now facing a very dire epidemic situation which continues to deteriorate rapidly,” the government said in its statement announcing the use of emergency powers.
Mainland medics are not currently allowed to operate in Hong Kong without passing local exams and meeting licensing regulations.
The emergency powers “exempt certain persons or projects from all relevant statutory requirements... so as to increase Hong Kong’s epidemic control capacity for containing the fifth wave within a short period of time,” the statement said.
The move came after Chinese President Xi Jinping last week ordered Hong Kong to take “all necessary measures” to bring the outbreak under control, signalling the city would not be allowed to move towards living with the virus like much of the rest of the world.
Allowing mainland medics to work in Hong Kong has been a source of debate for years.
Even before the pandemic, supporters argued it could alleviate shortages in the city’s stretched healthcare system.
Local medical practitioners in the past have objected, citing issues such as language and cultural barriers — though critics have dismissed such talk as protectionism.
Hong Kong was supposed to operate as a semi-autonomous region from China, after the territory returned from British colonial rule in 1997.
But that autonomy was eroded in recent years as China crushed a democracy movement.
Hong Kong has recorded more than 62,000 Covid cases in the current wave, compared with just 12,000 during the two years before.
Health experts fear the real number is far higher because of a testing backlog and people avoiding testing for fear of being forced into isolation units if they are positive.
Over the last fortnight, stories have emerged of parents being separated from children and babies who test positive, as well as elderly patients lying on gurneys outside hospitals.
British Consul General Brian Davidson said Thursday his team had “robustly challenged” the Hong Kong government over the practice of separating infants from parents, while the Australian consulate said it had also spoken to local authorities about the issue.
Around 1,200 healthcare workers have been infected as of Wednesday, according to the Hospital Authority.
The authority’s chairman Henry Fan told state media Monday he hoped the mainland government would send over doctors and nurses, because local manpower had been “exhausted”.
Hong Kong has ordered all 7.4 million residents to go through three rounds of mandatory coronavirus testing next month.
China is helping to build a series of isolation units and temporary hospital wards but it is unclear whether enough can be constructed in time.
Local modelling predicts the city might see as many as 180,000 infections and 100 deaths daily by mid-March.
Local authorities have increasingly resorted to emergency orders in recent years.
During the 2019 protests, authorities used such powers to ban mask-wearing. The following year, emergency orders were used to make mask-wearing mandatory during the pandemic.
The city’s disease prevention law has also been invoked, to forbid public gatherings and to bring in a host of strict social distancing measures and business closure orders that have been in place on and off for two years.
City leader Carrie Lam has defended her approach, citing the intensity of the virus crisis.
“In an environment as urgent as this, we cannot let existing laws stop us from doing what we should do,” she said Tuesday.
“This is not the mentality for fighting a war.”
ICELAND LIFTS RESTRICTIONS
Iceland will this week join the list of countries that have lifted all their restrictions against Covid-19, despite still recording high numbers of cases, the government announced Wednesday.
The decision will come into effect on Thursday night.
It follows the government’s timetable for the gradual lifting of measures against the virus – including a 200-person indoor gathering limit and restricted opening hours for bars – and covers both domestic measures and border controls.
“We are returning to normal life but the virus is still with us,” Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir told reporters after a government meeting.
Jakobsdottir did not rule out the need to impose new measures in future if the situation requires it – for instance if a new variant appears.
Iceland expects 80 per cent of the population to have immunity by the second half of March, its chief epidemiologist said in a statement.
In the past 24 hours, the country of 370,000 people recorded 2,885 additional cases, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to more than 115,000.
The country has lifted its domestic restrictions twice before – first in the early summer of 2020 and then again in the summer 2021 – but the lifting of border restrictions is a first.
Meanwhile, Poland has announced it will be lifting most of its coronavirus restrictions from March 1, but will continue with mandatory face coverings indoors and isolation rules.
Adam Niedzielski, the Polish health minister, said the lifting of most of the restrictions was possible because the number of new daily infections and hospitalisations was falling significantly, and herd immunity was above 90 per cent as a result of both vaccinations and infections.
Discos and clubs can reopen on Tuesday, and the 50 per cent capacity limit on the number of people on public transport and in malls, restaurants, theatres and sports venues will also be lifted.
State and regional administration workers can return to work in the office.
Niedzielski said mask-wearing in indoor public places will still be required, and those infected will still need to isolate for seven days to prevent transmission of Covid-19. The government will decide whether to lift the mandatory wearing of masks in coming weeks.
Poland reported almost 20,500 new infections and 360 Covid-19 related deaths today. At the peak of the most recent infection rise in mid-January, almost 60,000 new daily infections were reported in this nation of 38 million. More than 22 million people have been fully immunised with vaccines.
Slovakia will also lift most of its coronavirus restrictions over the next month, according to plans approved by the government on Wednesday.
The first phase of the new rules will start with loosening measures for the unvaccinated on February 26, and cancelling crowd limits at a later date.
A second phase will follow on 26 March to end limits on crowds and opening hours.
HONG KONG’S STRICT NEW COVID RULE
Hong Kong’s population must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing, the city’s leader said as she confirmed mainland Chinese officials were stepping up oversight of the financial hub’s response to its worst outbreak yet.
The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of a record virus surge with thousands of confirmed cases every day threatening to overwhelm hospitals and the city’s strict isolation system.
On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam revealed a doubling down of the city government’s zero-Covid approach to bring the response much closer to mainland China’s as she admitted local authorities had failed to stamp out the current surge.
“This quickly worsening epidemic has far exceeded the Hong Kong government’s ability to tackle it, so there is great need for the central government’s support in fighting the virus,” she told reporters.
Xia Baolong, Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau affairs chief, was co-ordinating the mainland’s response from the border city of Shenzhen, she added.
Under the new rules, all 7.4 million residents will have to go through three rounds of compulsory testing in March, although Lam did not give a start date.
The tests will be spread out over a number of days with residents also having to take multiple rapid antigen tests every day at home in between.
“Those who do not take the universal test will be held liable,” Lam warned, adding that there was no guarantee the steps would fully stamp out the current outbreak.
Schools and multiple businesses such as gyms, bars and beauty salons will remain closed into late April with education facilities turned into local testing centres.
Flights from nine countries including Britain and the United States will remain banned.
City leader Carrie Lam admitted the pandemic’s fifth wave had “dealt a heavy blow”, and announced a postponement to the planned March selection of Hong Kong’s next chief executive.
The government is now scrambling to find a place to build a makeshift mega-hospital while seeking the mainland’s help with testing capacity and the speedy construction of quarantine facilities.
“I don’t think (the government) was ever really prepared for an outbreak of this scale,” Karen Grepin from the University of Hong Kong’s School of Public Health said.
“Our strategy to fight Covid really never evolved despite the fact that the virus … has become much more transmissible.”
Hong Kong’s policy under previous outbreaks was to hospitalise all Covid-19 patients — even those with mild symptoms.
Bleak scenes this week showed overrun hospital staff placing elderly patients on gurneys outdoors under dropping temperatures.
Worried patients also waited in long queues outside hospitals — potentially exposing them to the public.
The government’s recent pivot to telling people with mild symptoms to remain home, however, has not stemmed the flow, with 12,000 waiting for beds Wednesday.
THE ‘WAR’ ON COVID OVER IN THE UK
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that all pandemic legal restrictions would be lifted, bringing an end to more than two years of mandates and rolling lockdowns.
Mr Johnson outlined his plans in a speech to parliament, saying the legal requirements for self-isolation, along with contact tracing, when infected with Covid-19 end on Thursday despite the certainty of new variants after Omicron.
“Covid will not suddenly disappear so those who would wait for a total end to this war before lifting the remaining regulations would be restricting the liberties of the British people for a long time to come”, Mr Johnson said.
“This government does not believe that this is right or necessary. Restrictions pose a heavy toll on our economy, our society, our mental wellbeing and on the life chances of our children, and we do not need to pay that heavy cost any longer.”
The government will also expire all temporary provisions of the Coronavirus Act, and the “living with Covid” plan places management of further outbreaks into the hands of local authorities under pre-pandemic legal powers.
From today, they are removing the guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice weekly asymptomatic testing.
Mr Johnson said the plan would also phase out free Covid testing for the general public from April 1, as it had become “much less valuable” in restricting the spread of Covid.
“It’s time we got our confidence back — we can rely on that sense of responsibility to one another. Let us learn to live with this virus, and continue protecting ourselves and others, without restricting freedoms,” he said.
From April 1, the use of Covid status certification would no longer be recommended. The voluntary National Health Service app would remain for international travel.
Mr Johnson said the government could lift its restrictions earlier than other countries because of the UK’s vaccination program.
That is in contrast to his political opponents who say the Covid laws are being lifted due to distract public attention from “partygate”.
. He is also accused of wanting to appease his own Conservative MPs unhappy at what they see as curbs on public freedoms.
“Today will mark a moment of pride after one of the most difficult periods in our country’s history as we begin to learn to live with Covid,” he said Monday before a cabinet meeting to sign off on the plans.
“The pandemic is not over, but thanks to the incredible vaccine rollout we are now one step closer towards a return to normality and finally giving people back their freedoms while continuing to protect ourselves and others.”
JUSTIN BIEBER TESTS POSITIVE
Justin Bieber has been forced to postpone his scheduled show at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas after he tested positive to Covid-19.
The singer, 27, found out he contracted the coronavirus on Saturday but “thankfully is feeling OK,” his rep told TMZ.
Representatives for the singer said the Las Vegas show that would have taken place on Sunday local time will be rescheduled at a later date in summer. His The Justice World Tour began on Friday night local time in San Diego.
He also has a show scheduled for Glendale, Arizona on Tuesday local time, but it’s unclear as to whether that will move forward.
The singer’s postponement marks the second high-profile cancellation for a Las Vegas show this year. Earlier, Adele bowed out of a months-long residency, citing Covid-19 hitting her crew and making it impossible to stage her show.
However, some people weren’t buying that excuse citing a number of reported clashes among the production team with the British singer.
News of Bieber’s Covid-19 diagnosis comes one week after he performed to a packed crowd at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California, for the h.wood Group and Revolve’s Homecoming Weekend pre-Super Bowl party.
The singer performed hits like Yummy, Peaches and As I Am at the bash, which was attended by stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Eli Manning, Chrishell Stause, Jason Oppenheim and Bieber’s wife, Hailey.
Bieber later headed to celebrity hotspot The Nice Guy, where a shooting involving Kodak Black occurred. The rapper was shot in the leg outside of the venue and taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
ISRAEL TO ADMIT UNJABBED TOURISTS AS CASES FALL
Israel will allow unvaccinated tourists entry for the first time since the pandemic began as infections and deaths caused by the coronavirus decline, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday.
“We are seeing a consistent decline in morbidity data,” Bennett said. Israel shut its borders to travellers in early 2020 as the coronavirus spread worldwide. “It is time to gradually open what we were the first in the world to close,” the prime minister said.
The Jewish state was also an early trailblazer of a national vaccine rollout and among the first countries to demand a vaccination certificate, which it called the green pass, to enter a range of facilities.
Under new rules taking effect on March 1, tourists will need to take a PCR test before boarding a flight to Israel and a second one upon landing.
Israeli citizens will only be required to take the test upon arrival. On Thursday Bennett cited a decline in infections when he announced an end to the green pass.
More than 10,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported Sunday in Israel, down from a high of more than 85,000 daily cases in late January. A total of 9,841 people have died from the illness, including seven reported Saturday.
An attempt to open the borders to vaccinated visitors last November foundered after just a few weeks because of the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant.
CANADIAN POLICE CLEAR TRUCKER PROTESTERS
Police in Canada have moved to dislodge the final truckers and protesters from downtown Ottawa, bringing an end to three weeks of demonstrations over Covid-19 health rules.
Ottawa police, who pledged the operation would push ahead “until residents and citizens have their city back,” worked to clear the capital’s streets, using pepper spray and stun grenades, The Guardian reported.
Deployed by the hundreds, police said they made more than 100 arrests and towed about 20 vehicles.
“We told you to leave. We gave you time to leave. We were slow and methodical, yet you were assaultive and aggressive with officers and the horses,” police said in a statement to the truckers posted on Twitter.
Some truckers, who had led the protests that kicked off three weeks ago and choked Ottawa’s streets with big rigs and demonstrators by the hundreds, chose to leave on their own, removing their 18-wheelers from the streets surrounding parliament.
Authorities continued to warn demonstrators to go.
“You must leave. You must cease further unlawful activity and immediately remove your vehicle and/or property from all unlawful protest sites,” Ottawa police tweeted repeatedly, warning of possible arrests.
Throughout the day, heavily armed officers — including on horseback — lined up against protesters who locked arms, advancing slowly and methodically to push back the spirited crowd.
An AFP journalist saw several demonstrators led away in handcuffs as police and tow trucks moved in, although most simply surrendered.
A few demonstrators were wrestled to the ground, and at least one who refused to exit his truck had his windows smashed and was dragged out by police.
The so-called “Freedom Convoy”, which inspired copycat protests in other countries, began with truckers demonstrating against mandatory Covid-19 vaccines to cross the US border. Its demands grew to include an end to all pandemic rules and, for many, a wider anti-Establishment agenda.
At its peak, the movement also included blockades of US-Canada border crossings, including a key trade route across a bridge between Ontario and Detroit, Michigan — all of which have been lifted after costing the economy billions of dollars, according to the government.
Most of the protest’s leaders have been arrested. Far-right activist Pat King was taken into custody early Friday afternoon as he left town, live-streaming his own apprehension on Facebook.
Two other leaders, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, were arrested Thursday evening. Lich, 49, was heard telling truckers as she was being led away by police to “hold the line.”
Criticised for failing to act decisively to end the protests, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week invoked the Emergencies Act, which gives the government sweeping powers to deal with a major crisis.
It’s only the second time such powers have been invoked in peacetime.
Mr Trudeau has said the act was not being used to call in the military against the protesters and denied restricting freedom of expression.
The objective was simply to “deal with the current threat and to get the situation fully under control,” he said. “Illegal blockades and occupations are not peaceful protests.” Police this week also arrested dozens of protesters at border crossings, including four people charged with conspiracy to murder police officers at a checkpoint between Coutts, Alberta and Sweet Grass, Montana.
They seized dozens of vehicles as well as a cache of weapons that included rifles, handguns, body armour and ammunition.
Authorities also froze the bank accounts of protesters and chocked off crowd-funding and cryptocurrency transactions supporting the truckers.
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