New death record in India, Moderna ramps up vaccine production

France Press agencyPosted on Thursday April 29, 2021 at 10:46 am.

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated in India on Thursday, with a new death record exceeding 200,000 the previous day, while Moderna, along with vaccine manufacturers, plans to produce three billion doses in 2022 and will apply BioNTech to obtain a permit in the European Union for those of their ages. Between 12 and 15 years old.

In Europe, where the threshold of 50 million infections was crossed on Wednesday, the epidemic appears to be slowing down in the majority of countries, according to AFP tally from official reports. The ancient continent has recorded more than 1,060,900 deaths due to the virus, out of more than 3.13 million recorded in the world.

In the United States, the country where the virus has claimed the most casualties (574,297 deaths), the expected growth figure should explain the economic recovery and President Joe Biden estimated that the vaccination plan was “one of the biggest logistical successes” in the country’s history.

India, the fourth-worst-hit country by death toll after the United States, Brazil and Mexico, has had a total of 204,832 deaths from the coronavirus, including 3,645 in the past 24 hours. But many experts believe the actual losses are much higher.

The country of 1.3 billion is breaking global pollution records, with nearly 380,000 new cases in the past 24 hours. In April alone, India counted more than six million new cases, which is a third of the total cases recorded since the start of the epidemic, partly due to the new variant known as the Indian.

Overstretched hospitals are running out of beds, medicines and oxygen as declared international aid begins to arrive. On Thursday, the first US military aircraft loaded with a portion of the more than $ 100 million in emergency aid announced by Washington will land in New Delhi.

In Europe, most countries are cautiously easing their restrictions. The daily number of new cases decreased two weeks ago.

The Netherlands reopened its terraces on Wednesday and lifted the curfew, the introduction of which in January sparked the country’s worst riots in decades. In the United Kingdom, the poorest country on the continent, only 2,300 new cases are currently reported on an average per day.

In France, the European country most affected by the total number of infections (5,565,852), it appears that a timid decline in new infections has begun. The country is mulling the opening in phases in May and June, with President Emmanuel Macron to introduce the main lines in the regional press on Friday.

– Vaccines by the billions –

On the Covid vaccine front, American lab Moderna wants to produce 3 billion doses in 2022 of its vaccine based on messenger RNA technology and hopes to be able to provide between 800 million and 1 billion doses this year.

“We see that the virus is spreading rapidly, we see that the virus is mutating, and we are witnessing the emergence of new variants. (…) We have to take the initiative to be ready if necessary for a third dose. Reminder,” this was confirmed Thursday by the European Director of Moderna, Dan Stanner, on the Swiss General RTS 1.

Manufacturers are working on new versions of their vaccine, specifically designed for variants. On Wednesday, Ugur Shaheen, head of the German BioNTech laboratory associated with US company Pfizer, said he was “confident” of the efficacy of his vaccine, which also uses messenger RNA, against the Indian variant, called B.1.617, which has been detected in “at least 17 countries.” According to the World Health Organization.

BioNTech is about to file an application in the European Union for a permit to be vaccinated for children between the ages of 12 and 15, making approval possible in June.

The mark of one billion doses of Covid vaccines administered in 207 countries or territories has passed this weekend, according to an AFP tally.

In the United States, Joe Biden said, “More than half of adults have received at least one injection” and “Older deaths have decreased by 80% since January,” but “there is still work to be done to beat viruses, we cannot let our guard down.” .

In the vaccination race, a report released Wednesday by the Anti-Disinformation Unit of European Diplomacy believes that Russia and China have engaged in “smear” campaigns to undermine confidence in vaccines approved by the European Union. . The official Russian vaccine account on Twitter, Sputnik V, denounced a “disinformation campaign”.

On Thursday, Uruguay received 50,000 doses of vaccine provided by the Chinese Sinovac Biotech laboratory to immunize players, coaches and referees for the Copa America (June 13-July 10).

In Venezuela, José Gregorio Hernandez (1864-1919), the “doctor of the poor” who himself spent part of his life fighting the Spanish flu epidemic, will be beatified on Friday in a small committee. Cause a pandemic. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, has abandoned his trip.