While more than 1.9 million people have died worldwide since the start of the pandemic, one year ago to the day, the WHO warns that, despite the development of vaccines, herd immunity will not be reached in 2021. For Europe, the race against time has started since the discovery of the new British strain, which is at least 50% more contagious and is spreading throughout the Old Continent.
Read also: Covid-19: why the English variant risks making the epidemic uncontrollable in France
No collective immunity in 2021, according to WHO
Collective immunity against Covid-19 will not be achieved "
in 2021
" although vaccines have started to be distributed, warned WHO scientific officer Soumya Swaminathan, recalling the importance of continuing to apply protective measures to control the pandemic.
The deployment of vaccines, when it comes to billions of doses, "
takes time
", she explained, urging "
to show a little patience
".
For his part, the director of health of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Emanuele Capobianco, warned of a "
potential false sense of security due to the deployment of vaccines
" .
Read also: Covid: with the vaccine, will we be able to achieve collective immunity in the coming months?
Half a million people confined in China
A year after the Chinese authorities announced a pneumonia raging in Wuhan which had already claimed the life of one person, a temporary containment of 500,000 inhabitants in the municipality of Beijing was declared to prevent the spread of a small epidemic focus.
Regularly confronted with the emergence of localized outbreaks, China treats them with confinements, massive screening and tracking of movements.
The authorities are vigilant as the Chinese New Year holidays approach (February 11-17) during which hundreds of millions of Chinese are on the move.
Read also: From a "funny virus" to a global pandemic: a year ago, the world discovered the Covid-19
Neighboring Malaysia has declared a national state of emergency until August 1 to deal with a rapid resurgence of the epidemic that threatens to overwhelm the Southeast Asian country's health system.
The Prime Minister announced new restrictions in more than half of the country for two weeks and travel between the various states of the country was notably prohibited.
Multiply vaccine doses
Faced with the virus which continues to spread, the whole world has its eyes riveted on vaccines, shown as the most effective solution to end the pandemic which has affected more than 90.19 million people around the globe.
To fight against a potential shortage of precious liquids, the German biotechnology company BioNTech estimated to be able to produce "
2 billion doses
" of the vaccine against Covid-19 by the end of 2021, significantly more than the previous target bearing out of 1.3 billion doses.
The German SME, associated with the American giant Pfizer, arrived at this new estimate by taking into account the “
new standard
” allowing the administration of 6 doses per vial instead of 5.
Read also: Vaccination: why the 6th dose of Pfizer bottles is not (yet) used in France
For its part, Russia is considering launching a “
light
”
version
of its Sputnik V vaccine which would have the advantage of requiring only one dose, but which would be less effective.
This vaccine could "
become an effective temporary solution for several countries having reached a peak of the disease
", according to Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Sovereign Fund (RDIF) which finances the development of the vaccine.
UK opens major vaccination centers
Again under cover since January 5 and flooded by the new strain, the United Kingdom is counting on a massive vaccination of its population.
For this, seven large vaccination centers opened Monday, January 12 to administer the two doses to 15 million people by mid-February and thus stem the current outbreak.
In total, 2,700 vaccination centers will be set up in the country with the objective of ultimately vaccinating two million people per week.
Read also: Nine ways to speed up the vaccine campaign
For its part, Portugal is preparing for a new strict confinement after new records reached with 122 dead in 24 hours and nearly 4,000 people hospitalized.
Two weeks before the January 24 presidential election, for which he is widely favored, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has tested positive and has canceled his entire public agenda.
