The Pigeon Express
AstraZeneca has said that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine “significantly” lifted antibody levels against the Omicron coronavirus variant, citing data from a new laboratory study. Findings from the study, yet to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, match those from rivals Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have also found a third dose of […]
Nigeria has destroyed more than a million doses of expired AstraZeneca vaccines in a bid to assure a wary public that they have been taken out of circulation. The destruction came on Wednesday, more than a week after health authorities said some Covid-19 doses donated by rich Western nations had a shelf life that left […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it has identified counterfeit versions of India’s version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Covishield. The doses were seized by authorities in India and Africa between July and August, a WHO statement said. It also said the vaccine’s maker, Serum Institute of India, confirmed that the doses were fake. The WHO […]
India’s Covishield jab is not eligible for a European Union travel pass for vaccinated tourists, reports say. Covishield is the Indian-made version of AstraZeneca, which is eligible for the EU-wide pass or digital green certificate, set to launch on 1 July. While the latter has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the former […]
German leader Angela Merkel has mixed and matched her Covid jabs. The 66-year-old Chancellor had the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in April, soon after Germany recommended it only for people aged 60 and over. On Tuesday her spokesman said she had the Moderna jab ‘a few days ago’. Germany now practises ‘vaccine crossing’ which allows people to […]
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines have been found to be highly effective against the coronavirus variant that was first identified in India. The Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective and the AstraZeneca jab was 60% effective against the so-called ‘Indian strain’ – B1617.2 – after the second dose. Both the vaccines were more effective against the […]
A Spanish study on mixing Covid vaccines has found that giving a dose of Pfizer’s drug to people who already received a first shot of AstraZeneca vaccine is highly safe and effective, , preliminary data showed on Tuesday. The Combivacs study, run by Spain’s state-backed Carlos III Health Institute, found the presence of IgG antibodies […]
The European Union said Monday it had launched legal action against the British-Swedish drug company AstraZeneca after it repeatedly under-delivered on its shipments of Covid-19 vaccines to the bloc. The 27 nations in the European Union have rolled out a relatively sluggish vaccination program as the company’s deliveries to the union have fallen tens of […]
European and British regulators said on Wednesday the unusual blood clots should be listed as a very rare side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine for Covid-19. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) received reports of 169 cases of the rare brain blood clot by early April, after 34 million doses had been administered in the European […]
A trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine on children has stopped giving out jabs while the UK’s medicines regulator investigates a possible link with rare blood clots in adults. The trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on children, which started in February, is assessing whether the jab produces a strong immune response in those aged between […]
The Netherlands has stopped administering Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations until April 7. On Friday, the Dutch health ministry said it would temporarily stop inoculations for people below the age of 60. But after talks on Saturday, health departments decided to suspend all AstraZeneca jabs to avoid waste. Some 700 people above the age of 60 were […]
Seven people have died from the unusual blood clots after getting the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the United Kingdom, the nation’s medical regulator said. In total, 30 people out of 18 million vaccinated by 24 March had these clots. It is still not clear if they are just a coincidence or a genuine side effect of the […]