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Europe

The use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Europe was postponed due to blood clots

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The company postponed the deployment of its vaccine in the EU due to information about thrombosis among those vaccinated with Janssen.

The American company Johnson & Johnson has postponed the start of use in Europe of its Janssen coronavirus vaccine – because of information about the formation of blood clots in people who took it.

This is stated in today’s statement by J&J.

“We have decided in advance to postpone the deployment of our vaccine in Europe,” the document says.

The company, together with European health authorities, is studying data on thrombosis among vaccinated people, as well as working with experts on this issue and advocating for ” open communication of this information to medical professionals and the public.”

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended suspending the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

According to their data, for 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered in the United States, six cases of “rare and complex” cases of thrombosis were detected.

That is, blood clots were formed in 0.0001% of patients. All the victims were women aged 18-48 years, and the side effect appeared in the 6-13 days after vaccination.

Against this background, a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will be convened on April 14 to assess the potential significance of such cases. The FDA also considers information about thrombosis in vaccinated patients.

“Until this process is complete, as a precautionary measure, we recommend pausing the use of this vaccine,” said CDC Deputy Director Anna Schuchat and director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Peter Marks.

Earlier, similar side effects were found in the AstraZeneca vaccine. This was officially confirmed by the European Medicines Agency, but the reason for this connection remains unclear.

For its part, the World Health Organization noted the high effectiveness of the J&J vaccine against new coronavirus mutations.

World

Sweden doesn’t want US missiles on its territory

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Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hulqvist, in an article published in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper, announced Stockholm’s intention to continue to adhere to military neutrality and not join the North Atlantic Alliance, despite the demands of center-right parties.

“I do not think that the solution to all defense issues in our part of Europe is solved only by membership in NATO,” the Swedish defense minister said.

Earlier in March, the Swedish research agency published data that assesses the military power of the North Atlantic Alliance and its partners. According to their data, compared to Russia, NATO members are poorly prepared for the emergence of a major conflict. Russia will be able to enter the Baltic states in a matter of days, as NATO will be too slow to respond. Russia will have an advantage, because the bloc’s forces are too dispersed, differ in their military capabilities, and their joint training is insufficient.

However, the report said that an armed attack on NATO members, partners, or EU countries by Russia is highly unlikely. However, a serious strategic threat from the West could exacerbate the situation in the region. In other words, Sweden believes that the growing military presence of the United States and NATO at the borders of Russia provokes Moscow to retaliate.

Thus, the US decision to deploy missile defense facilities in Poland and Romania was followed by a response in the form of the transfer of the Iskander missile defense system to the Kaliningrad region. In Sweden, this is well understood, and they do not want to have Russian missiles at their side. However, security in the Scandinavian region does not depend only on Sweden. According to the Swedish defense minister, the possible accession of Sweden to the alliance “will change the situation” for the non-aligned neighboring Finland, a key partner of Stockholm in defense issues. “And Finland has a very long border with Russia.”

Recall that Finland also adheres to the neutral status enshrined in the country’s military doctrine, and Sweden’s accession to NATO will certainly launch a similar process in the neighboring country, which has a long border with Russia.

The involvement of the two Scandinavian countries in NATO will be beneficial only to Washington. At the moment, Sweden and Finland have quite close economic ties and good neighborly relations. In the case of joining the alliance, it will not be limited to military exercises. For example, in same Norway, strategic bombers are already deployed, there is one missile defense facility and another is under construction. The Norwegian Navy is part of the global missile defense system and is equipped with the American Aegis system.

Instead of moving closer to NATO, Stockholm will take the path of modernizing and increasing the capabilities of its own armed forces.

Europe

The European Commissioner said that the “Satellite V” will come to the EU too late

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Commissioner for Internal Market Affairs Thierry Breton, who oversees vaccination policy in the European Commission (EC), said that even after the approval of the European regulator, the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V” will come to the EU “too late”.

“I am convinced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will study Sputnik V and give it a correct assessment. But a possible approval would not mean that the vaccine can be produced in sufficient quantities. It usually takes many months before the corresponding products can be established and expanded. For our goal — to vaccinate as many Europeans as possible in the summer — Sputnik V will simply come too late, “ Breton said in an interview with Spiegel.

At the same time, according to him, the European Union will have enough vaccines to achieve collective immunity in the summer.

Breton has previously said that Europe will not need Sputnik V, as the EU has already approved four other drugs, which will be enough to achieve collective immunity. Before that, he called the Russian vaccine good but said that it is necessary to establish its products in the European Union, and in this Russia may need help.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously noted that Moscow does not impose its vaccine on anyone, but when there are statements that it is not needed in Europe, the question arises who’s interests they support-citizens or pharmaceutical companies.

World

In the world, a record increase in coronavirus since January

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Over the past 24 hours, 718,659 people have been confirmed infected, and 12,639 people have died.

Over the past day, more than 718 thousand cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded in the world, which is a record figure since January 10. Such data was published by the World Health Organization.

As of the evening of Friday, April 9, in the last 24 hours, 718,659 inhabitants of the planet have been confirmed infected, 12,639 people have died. The total number of cases of the infection since the beginning of the pandemic is 132,730,691.

It is reported that more than 35% of the cases of infection reported to WHO over the past day are in Europe — 257,789. In second place in the region of North and South America — 247,444, in third-Southeast Asia (145,724).

The United States remains the leader in morbidity — 30.6 million cases. This is followed by Brazil with 13.2 million cases and India with 13.1 million. The top five are rounded out by France — 4.9 million cases and Russia — 4.6 million.

As reported, the US authorities have fully vaccinated a fifth of the population against the coronavirus, that is, about 66 million people. At the same time, the first dose of COVID-vaccines was received by 112 million residents of the country.

Europe

EU wants to buy additional 1.8 billion doses of Pfizer vaccines/Biotech

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The European Commission is seeking approval from EU governments to begin negotiations with Pfizer/BioNTech to purchase up to 1.8 billion doses of their COVID-19 vaccines, which could be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

This was reported to Reuters by an EU official on the condition of anonymity.

Earlier on Friday, the German daily Die Welt reported that the European Commission will soon sign a contract for the purchase of up to 1.8 billion doses, but did not say with which company.

An EU official, who asked not to be named, said the EU leadership had decided to approach Pfizer/BioNTech, and EU governments supported the plan, although a final “yes” had not yet been given.

Separately, a representative of the European Commission confirmed that the EU leadership has already identified one supplier, the manufacturer of mRNA vaccines, but declined to comment on which company will be contacted for the contract.

“If the opportunity presents itself, Pfizer and BioNTech are ready to deliver hundreds of millions of doses of COVID vaccines to Europe in 2022 and 2023, produced at our facilities in Europe,” a Pfizer spokesperson commented.

According to him, both companies can produce more than 3 billion doses of the vaccine in 2022.

Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are already supplying mRNA vaccines to the EU, while German biotech company CureVac is seeking EU approval for its mRNA vaccine.