This May 8, 2014 photo shows British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca's manufacturing site in Macclesfield, northwest England. (ANDREW YATES / AFP)
TORONTO / HAVANA / BUENOS AIRES / HARARE – AstraZeneca said on Monday its antibody-based cocktail to prevent and treat COVID-19 retained neutralizing activity against Omicron coronavirus variants, including the highly contagious BA.2 sub-variant, in an independent lab study.
This is the first data looking at the impact of AstraZeneca's Evusheld treatment on "cousins" of the Omicron variant following a recent global spike in cases. The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said in December that another lab study found that Evusheld retained neutralizing activity against Omicron.
Data from the latest study by Washington University in the United States showed the therapy reduced the amount of virus detected in samples – viral load – of all tested Omicron sub-variants in mice lungs, AstraZeneca said
Data from the latest study by Washington University in the United States showed the therapy reduced the amount of virus detected in samples – viral load – of all tested Omicron sub-variants in mice lungs, AstraZeneca said. The study has yet to be peer reviewed.
Evusheld was tested against the BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2 sub-variants of Omicron and it was also shown in the study to limit inflammation in the lungs – a critical symptom in severe COVID-19 infections.
"The findings further support Evusheld as a potential important option to help protect vulnerable patients such as the immunocompromised who could face poor outcomes if they were to become infected with COVID-19," John Perez, head of Late Development, Vaccines & Immune Therapies at AstraZeneca, said.
Last week the World Health Organization said figures showing a global rise in COVID-19 cases could herald a much bigger problem, as the Omicron and BA.2 variants spread amid the easing of restrictions and testing.
Evusheld was found to cut the risk of developing symptomatic COVID-19 by 77 percent in trials, Britain's drug regulator said last week, after approving the therapy for preventing infections in adults with poor immune response.
Evusheld has also been shown to save lives and prevent disease progression when given within a week of first symptoms.
While vaccines rely on an intact immune system to develop targeted antibodies and infection-fighting cells, Evusheld contains lab-made antibodies designed to linger in the body for months to contain the virus in case of an infection.
The therapy is currently under a European review. It has already been authorized in the United States.
Aegentina
The Argentine Ministry of Health on Sunday reported 1,227 new COVID-19 cases and 11 related deaths, raising its total caseload to 9,007,753 and national death toll to 127,494.
The national positivity rate in the last 24 hours reached 8 percent, after 15,328 more tests were administered, the ministry said in its daily report.
According to the Public Vaccination Monitor, a total of 36,811,696 people have been fully vaccinated against the disease and 15,368,918 have received a booster dose.
Police detain a protestor as they work to remove demonstrators against COVID-19 mandates on Feb 19, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. (ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP)
Canada
As students in Canada's most populous province return to mask-free classes after two years on Monday, one Ontario school board is facing backlash for defying the province's decision to drop masks, potentially setting the stage for a clash on a contentious pandemic issue.
The mask mandate and other pandemic measures have become a lightning rod in Canada for an anti-government movement, sparking a three-week protest in capital Ottawa last month.
Ontario's remaining 30 public school boards are planning to follow the government order after Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Kieran Moore turned down requests from several other school boards to keep mask mandates
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) voted against removing the mask mandate and proposed keeping students and teachers masked until April 1 to protect the medically vulnerable.
Ontario's remaining 30 public school boards are planning to follow the government order after Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health Kieran Moore turned down requests from several other school boards to keep mask mandates.
Some Hamilton parents have criticized the board's decision, saying the policy is "pointless" and "potentially unlawful." HWDSB is home to some 50,000 students.
"My kids will not be wearing masks and they will be told to have the school call me if the school tries to force them to wear a mask," said Alyssa Vankleek, a Hamilton parent.
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"My child was told by the provincial government it was safe to no longer wear a mask in most settings. The school board has no right to tell us otherwise," she added.
However, Dr Armand Keating, clinician scientist and staff hematologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, pointed out that "the increasing frequency of cases of the more transmissible BA2 variant lends further support for a more cautious approach."
HWDSB will find it challenging to enforce masking requirements once the mandate is lifted as Ontario schools do not have their own mask policies. Prohibiting a maskless student from attending school could be deemed a breach of the child's rights, according to the Ontario Education Act and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
COVID-19 Study
People who have been bedridden for seven days or more with COVID-19 are at increased risk of anxiety and depression, an international study found.
Researchers analyzed data from Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the UK collected between March 2020 and August 2021 on more than 247,000 people, including 9,979 who were diagnosed with COVID-19. Those who had COVID-19 and were bedridden for at least a week had a 61 percent higher risk for symptoms of depression and a 43 percent higher risk for anxiety, for up to 16 months after their diagnosis compared to those who were never infected.
Children attend a ceremony to mark the resuming of the 2020-2021 school year at the educational centre Ciudad Escolar Libertad in Havana, on Nov 15, 2021. (Yamil LAGE / AFP)
Cuba
Cuba reported two deaths and 833 cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the national death toll to 8,506 and the total number of infections to 1,080,686, the Ministry of Public Health reported Saturday.
About 9.9 million of Cuba's 11.2 million people have been fully vaccinated against the disease so far, while 6.1 million have received booster doses
The central province of Sancti Spiritus reported the highest number of new cases, with 141, followed by Ciego de Avila, with 120, and Holguin, with 90.
The ministry said that the number of active cases reached 3,000 for the first time in the past several weeks and added that the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud has not reported any new infections in the last four days.
About 9.9 million of Cuba's 11.2 million people have been fully vaccinated against the disease so far, while 6.1 million have received booster doses.
The national immunization program is being carried out with the Cuban-made Abdala, Soberana-02, and Soberana Plus vaccines.
A couple holds each other at a COVID-19 intensive care unit of the la Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France on Dec 23, 2021. (DANIEL COLE / AP)
France
France reported an average of close to 90,000 new coronavirus infections over the last seven days, marking a 36 percent rise from one week ago when most COVID-19 health protocol measures were lifted by the government just ahead of the country's elections.
New cases over the previous 24 hours published on Sunday stood at 81,283, pushing a 7-day moving average to 89,002, compared with just over 60,000 average new cases one week earlier. The number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants also reached their highest value level since Feb 18.
The government of French President Emmanuel Macron, who will stand for re-election in less than three weeks time followed by legislative elections later this year, decided to lift most COVID-19 restrictions on March 14, citing a positive trend.
This means people in France no longer have to wear COVID-19 face masks indoors, except for public transport, hospitals and other medical facilities. The government also lifted its COVID vaccine pass requirement in places such as bars and cinemas.
In this photo Moderna vials sit on a table before they are loaded into syringes at a mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic, run by Hartford Healthcare at Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church's McGivney community center, in Bridgeport, Connecticut on April 20, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP)
Moderna
Moderna Inc said on Monday it has signed a new agreement with Switzerland for the supply of another seven million doses of its COVID-19 booster vaccine for delivery in 2023.
The agreement also includes an option of seven million doses for delivery in 2023 and 2024, the US biotechnology company said in a statement.
These doses are in addition to the seven million doses of booster vaccine that Switzerland previously secured.
In this file photo taken on Jan 19, 2022, a nurse administers a pediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a girl at a LA Care Health Plan vaccination clinic at Los Angeles Mission College in the Sylmar neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. (ROBYN BECK / AFP)
US
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 966,575 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday after it corrected the data earlier this week, which reduced the death tallies in all age-groups, including children.
The adjustment resulted in removal of 72,277 deaths previously reported across 26 states, including 416 pediatric deaths, CDC said.The health agency, in a statement to Reuters, said it made adjustments to its COVID-19 Data Tracker's mortality data on March 14 because its algorithm was accidentally counting deaths that were not COVID-19-related.
The reduction cut the CDC's estimate of deaths in children by 24 percent to 1,341 as of March 18.
Children accounted for about 19 percent of all COVID-19 cases, but less than 0.26 percent of cases resulted in death, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which summarizes state-based data.
Americans have been polarized over the mitigation measures the CDC recommended for schools during the pandemic from urging schools to be remote, require masks and set up social distancing measures. It now advises that for most of the country, children should be in school and can be without masks.
The number of US children with COVID-19 rose sharply during the Omicron variant wave due to its increased transmissibility and low vaccination rates among children 5-11 who are eligible for the vaccine. Children ages 0-4 are not eligible for the vaccine in the United States.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is strengthening its nationwide COVID-19 vaccination efforts amid a slowdown in vaccine uptake.
Speaking at a press briefing in Harare on Sunday, Vice President and Health Minister Constantino Chiwenga said the southern African country was facing vaccine uptake challenges that needed urgent attention.
"To address these challenges, the government in collaboration with all stakeholders plans to conduct a mass vaccination campaign blitz" aiming to vaccinate all those from age 12 and above, Chiwenga said.
Last month, cabinet approved the administration of vaccines to children aged 12 years and above in a bid to ramp up inoculations and reach herd immunity to mitigate severe COVID-19 cases or deaths.
Chiwenga said the vaccination blitz will be conducted in two phases in the months of March, April and May.
In addition, he said those eligible will get their first, second and third doses in both private and public health facilities, schools, workplaces, markets as well as outreach points across the country.
Zimbabwe had set a goal to inoculate 60 percent of the eligible population by Dec 2021.
Second dose vaccine coverage currently stands at 35 percent of the target population, one of the highest in Africa.
The country kick-started its national vaccination program in February last year after receiving a batch of Sinopharm vaccines from China.
To date, a total of 244,452 COVID-19 cases and 5,426 deaths have been recorded in the country.
