EU investigating Moderna vaccine contamination incident – latest updates

Thursday, August 26, 2021

EU investigating Moderna vaccine contamination incident

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said it was investigating a contamination incident in the manufacturing of Moderna vaccines to assess whether there was an impact on EU supply.

Earlier on Thursday Japan suspended the use of 1.63 million doses of Moderna vaccine, with the company saying contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue on one of the production lines at its contract manufacturing site in Spain.

Zimbabwe opens vaccines to those aged 14 and older

Zimbabwe has opened vaccinations to those aged 14 and older and is only permitting fully vaccinated people to eat in restaurants, to encourage more people to get shots, as a devastating wave of the disease recedes.

"On the advice of scientists,” Zimbabwe will start administering vaccines to children aged between 14 and 17, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced. The country is already offering shots to those 18 and older. This makes Zimbabwe one of the first countries in Africa to extend vaccinations to children.

The southern African country is beginning to see a reduction in numbers of infections and deaths following a deadly resurgence, driven mainly by the delta variant.

French health minister says wave recedes, but calls for caution

The fourth wave of infections has been receding in France but is not over yet, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said.

Veran also told a news conference that the fourth wave had stabilised in August, but urged caution ahead of the back-to-school period.

France reported 19,683 new cases and 110 additional deaths.

Turkey gives over 91.7M jabs so far

Turkey has administered more than 91.7 million doses of vaccines since launching a mass immunisation campaign in January, according to official figures.

Over 47.2 million people have received their first vaccine dose, while more than 36.1 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

The ministry also reported 19,616 new coronavirus cases, pushing the total to over 6.03 million. As many as 257 more people have died of the disease, bringing the death toll to 52,869.

Italy reports over 7,200 new cases

Italy has reported 43 deaths, compared with 59 the day before, the Health Ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections fell to 7,221 from 7,548.

Italy has registered 128,957 deaths since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the eighth-highest in the world. The country has reported 4.51 million cases to date.

UK reports over 38,200 new cases

Britain has reported 38,281 new cases, government data showed, while a further 140 people were recorded as having died within 28 days of a positive test.

The data compared with 35,847 cases reported on Wednesday and 149 deaths.

US ships more than 2M more vaccines to Africa

The United States has shipped more than two million doses of vaccines to Algeria, Ghana and Yemen, the White House said, boosting efforts to combat a third wave of the pandemic across Africa.

The shipments, which a White House official told AFP would land before the end of this week, will be the first donated by the United States to all three countries. They come on the heels of recent deliveries to other countries on the continent, including Nigeria and hard-hit South Africa last month.

Russia reports record 820 Covid-19 deaths

Russia has reported a record 820 coronavirus-related deaths amid a surge of cases blamed on the Delta variant and the slow rate of vaccinations.

The government's coronavirus task force also reported 19,630 new Covid19 cases in the last 24 hours.

Spain's Rovi says possible Moderna vaccine contamination under investigation

Spanish pharma company Rovi said the potential contamination of some doses of the virus vaccine which it manufactures for Moderna was under investigation and appeared limited to some batches for Japan.

A spokesperson for the Madrid-listed company, which handles the final fill-and-finish stage for customers outside of the United States, said production had not been halted at its plants. 

Malaysian sells vaccine mock-ups made of paper to honour dead

As the world scrambles to inoculate people against the virus, one store owner in Malaysia is finding his paper vaccines have become popular prayer offering items during a religious festival to honour the deceased.

The Hungry Ghost festival, celebrated by Buddhists and Taoists across Southeast Asia, centres on a belief that the spirits of the dead return to Earth during the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. 

During this time, people leave out food items for the dead and burn incense and intricate offerings made of paper resembling things the deceased may have wanted.

This year, a box set of a syringe and two vaccine vials made of paper are among the fastest-selling items for the festival at Raymond Shieh Siow Leong's religious goods store in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru.

"The Covid-19 situation in our country is quite serious and many people passed away before receiving the vaccine. I hope this product can help the deceased to fulfil their dying wish," Shieh said.

India reports 46,164 new cases in last 24 hours

India has reported 46,164 new infections in the last 24 hours, the government said in a statement.

Deaths soared by 607, according to the data released by the Health Ministry, taking death toll to 4,36,000. 

Statisticians and health experts, however, estimate India's Covid-19 death toll far exceeds the government's count. 

Japan says Moderna contamination to have limited impact on vaccination plan

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has said that he received a report that the country's inoculation plan would be little affected by a recent contamination incident involving Moderna vaccines.

But Suga said he instructed the Health Ministry to deal with the issue considering safety as a priority.

US VP Harris welcomes vaccine shipment to Vietnam

US Vice President Kamala Harris has welcomed a shipment vaccine while visiting Hanoi, Vietnam.

Harris said this donation of one million doses follows five million already donated, and that "it is a donation, no strings attached."

Harris also said about the coronavirus vaccine shipment, "this is on top of the 500 million doses of vaccines that President Biden has pledged that we will send around the world."

She said the vaccine shipments are the morally right thing to do, and that they speak to the importance of the relationships and partnerships that the US has around the world.

New infections hit record in epicentre Sydney

Australia's new daily cases of Covid-19 have topped 1,000 for the first time since the global pandemic began, as two major hospitals in Sydney set up emergency outdoor tents to help deal with a rise in patients.

Sydney, the country's largest city and the epicentre of the current outbreak, is struggling to stamp out a surge in the fast-spreading Delta variant, with daily infections hitting record levels even after two months under lockdown.

New South Wales state, where Sydney is the capital, reported 1,029 new locally acquired cases, exceeding the previous record of 919 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 969 were detected in greater Sydney, up from 838.

The rapid rise in patients has forced Sydney's Westmead and Blacktown hospitals, which service the city's sprawling western suburbs, to erect tents to screen and swab patients to help manage capacity.

New Zealand says lockdown working to limit Delta spread

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said the strict nationwide lockdown enforced to stamp out Covid-19 was helping limit the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant, even as the number of new cases rose on Thursday.

New Zealand reported 68 new cases on Thursday taking the total number of people infected in the latest outbreak to 277. Of the total cases, 263 are in Auckland and 14 are in the capital Wellington.

The entire country of 5 million is under stay at home orders, with schools and most workplaces closed until at least the end of the month.

"Lockdown is having an impact but Delta is very tricky," Ardern said at a news conference. "We do need to be incredibly vigilant."

South Korea reports highest daily deaths for 2021

South Korea reported 20 Covid-19 deaths for Wednesday, the highest daily count this year, as the number of severe cases more than doubled since the current and worst wave of infections began in July.

While total case mortality rates remain low at below 1percent and no major strains on its healthcare system is reported yet, South Korean authorities have been trying to secure more ICU beds for severe patients which are on the rise along with record new infections.

The number of critical or severe cases jumped to 425 as of Wednesday from 155 as of July 7, around when the fourth wave of infections began. 

The country has 833 intensive care beds for severe Covid-19 patients and 250 of them were available as of Tuesday, according to the Health Ministry.

On Thursday it kicked off vaccination for people aged 18 to 49, as it aims to give at least one dose to 70 percent of the population and fully vaccinate 50 percent by September.

1.6M Moderna doses withdrawn in Japan over contamination 

Around 1.6 million doses of Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine has been withdrawn from use in Japan due to contamination, the Nikkei said, citing a Health Ministry announcement.

Several vaccination centres reported vials contained "foreign matter,” the report said, adding that the ministry will look to minimise the impact of the withdrawal on Japan's vaccination drive.

Moderna said it was investigating reports of cases of particulate matter being seen in drug product vials of its Covid-19 vaccine in one lot distributed in the country. 

“No safety, or efficacy issues have been identified related to cases of particulate matter seen in drug product vials of Covid-19 vaccine in Japan,” the company said.

Takeda Pharmaceutical distributes the Moderna vaccine in Japan, Nikkei said.

Mexico's coronavirus death toll rises to 255,452

Mexico's Health Ministry reported 21,250 new cases of Covid-19 and 986 more deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country since the pandemic began to 3,271,128 and the death toll to 255,452

China criticises US 'scapegoating' over Covid origin report

China criticised the US "politicisation" of efforts to trace the origin of the coronavirus, demanding without any evidence that American labs be investigated, ahead of the release of a US intelligence report on the virus.

The US report is intended to resolve disputes among intelligence agencies considering different theories about how the coronavirus emerged, including a once-dismissed theory about a Chinese laboratory accident.

"Scapegoating China cannot whitewash the US," Fu Cong, director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  arms control department, told a briefing.

US President Joe Biden received a copy and was briefed on the classified report, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

Brazil reports 30,671 new cases, 903 deaths

Brazil registered 30,671 new coronavirus cases and 903 additional Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.

Pfizer seeks US approval for Covid vaccine booster

Pfizer Inc said a booster dose of its two-shot Covid-19 vaccine spurs a more than threefold increase in antibodies against the coronavirus, as the company seeks US regulatory approval for a third injection.

The drugmaker and its German partner BioNTech SE aim to complete the submission for use of booster shots in people aged 16 and over by the end of this week.

US plans Covid booster shots at six months instead of eight

US health regulators could approve a third Covid-19 shot for adults beginning at least six months after full vaccination, instead of the previously announced eight-month gap, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Approval of boosters for all three Covid-19 shots being administered in the United States — those manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson — is expected in mid-September, the report said, citing a person familiar with the plans.

New York governor reveals 12,000 more Covid deaths than previously counted

New York Governor Kathy Hochul revealed 12,000 more people died of Covid-19 than was reported under her disgraced predecessor, making good on her promise for greater transparency on just her second day leading the state.

The state is now reporting a total of 55,400 people died in New York from coronavirus, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hochul said in a statement.

That's an increase of 12,000 over the 43,400 reported by Andrew Cuomo as of his last day in office before resigning in disgrace amid a sexual harassment scandal.

"We're using CDC numbers, which will be consistent. And so there's no opportunity for us to mask those numbers," Hochul told National Public Radio.

WHO says no conclusive data yet on need for Covid booster shot

The World Health Organisation Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the data on the benefits and safety of a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot is inconclusive.

"When some countries afford to have the booster and others are not even vaccinating the first and second round, it's a moral issue," he said during a media briefing.

YouTube says it removed 1M 'dangerous' videos on Covid-19

YouTube said it has removed more than one million videos with "dangerous coronavirus misinformation" since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

YouTube said in a blog post it relies on "expert consensus from health organisations," including the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation, but noted that, in some cases, "misinformation is less clear-cut" as new facts emerge.

"Our policies center on the removal of any videos that can directly lead to egregious real world harm," chief product officer Neal Mohan wrote.

"Since February of 2020, we've removed over one million videos related to dangerous coronavirus information, like false cures or claims of a hoax," he said.