European Trust in AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Plunges, Poll Shows

LONDON (Reuters) – Confidence in the safety of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has taken a big hit in Spain, Germany, France and Italy as reports of rare blood clots have been linked to it and many countries briefly stopped using it, poll data showed on Monday. The polling firm YouGov said it had already found in […]

Denmark Reports Two Cases of Serious Illness, Including One Death, After AstraZeneca Shot

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Denmark said on Saturday that one person had died and another fell seriously ill with blood clots and cerebral haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination. The two, both hospital staff members, had both received the AstraZeneca vaccine less than 14 days before getting ill, the authority that runs public hospitals in […]

‘We Need Time’: Scandinavian Caution Keeps AstraZeneca Shots on Hold

COPENHAGEN/OSLO/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Denmark, Sweden and Norway said on Friday they needed more time to decide whether to use AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine even though the EU drug watchdog said the benefits outweighed the risks, prompting several countries to resume its use. “We need time to get to the bottom of this,” Soren Brostrom, head of […]

Vaccine Withheld From Hospital That Gave Trump Tower Shots

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. The city of Chicago on Thursday decided to withhold first doses of COVID-19 vaccines from a hospital that improperly administered vaccinations to Trump Tower workers. The withholding of vaccines comes as the city conducts a review of actions by Loretto Hospital, […]

AstraZeneca Vaccine Protection Level Just 10% Against South African COVID-19 Variant

(Reuters Health) – The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine developed with the University of Oxford has an efficacy of only 10.4% against the South African variant of the virus, according to data published online Wednesday by The New England Journal of Medicine. In the test on 2,026 HIV-negative volunteers, mild-to-moderate disease caused by any type of SARS-CoV-2 […]

Canada’s Medicago Begins Late-Stage Study of COVID-19 Vaccine

(Reuters) – Canadian drug developer Medicago said on Tuesday it had started a late-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine combined with an adjuvant from GlaxoSmithKline. The study plans to eventually enroll 30,000 participants and initially focus on healthy adults, followed by adults over the age of 65 and those with co-morbidities. Medicago, which has […]

Can over 50s book a Covid vaccine? Major announcement as vaccine rollout extended

Vaccine passports could be 'unnecessarily divisive' says expert When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters.Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer.Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights.You can unsubscribe at any time. The vaccine rollout […]

WHO Urges World Not to Halt Vaccinations as AstraZeneca Shot Divides Europe

GENEVA/COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The World Health Organization appealed to countries on Monday not to pause vaccination campaigns after two more European nations and one in Asia joined a handful which have suspended use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine over safety fears. Thailand announced plans on Monday to go ahead with the Anglo-Swedish firm’s shot but Indonesia […]

‘Reassuring’ Data on COVID-19 Vaccines in Pregnancy

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Pregnant women can safely get vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for COVID-19, surveillance data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest. More than 30,000 women who received these vaccines have reported pregnancies through the CDC’s […]

Women Report Worse Side Effects After COVID Vaccines

Editor’s note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center. Women are reporting more severe side effects after receiving COVID-19 vaccines, which could stem from a mix of factors, according to  The New York Times. Side effects tend to differ for men and women across a broad variety of vaccines, often […]