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Australia disappointed with vaccine delivery stop from EU
03.45 a.m.:
Australia has sharply criticized the delivery stop of corona vaccine from the European Union.
"We are of course disappointed and frustrated with this decision, but that is also the reason why we have double coverage," said Treasury Secretary Simon Birmingham the channel Sky News.
"We have commissioned up to 150 million doses of vaccine, including 50 million doses to be produced here in Australia," he said.
The world is currently in a fairly unexplored area, so it is not surprising that "some countries will tear the rule book apart."
According to EU circles, Italy had prevented the delivery of 250,000 doses of vaccine from the British-Swedish manufacturer AstraZeneca to Australia - and thus for the first time stopped the export of corona vaccine from the European Union to a third country.
At the end of January, the European Union started export controls for corona vaccines.
The focus is on manufacturers who do not meet their EU delivery obligations.
Now it's AstraZeneca.
The basis is an export control system introduced at the end of January due to the shortage of vaccines.
Accordingly, pharmaceutical companies with EU delivery obligations must apply for export permits for vaccines produced in the EU.
If manufacturers unlawfully disadvantage the EU in terms of delivery quantities, permits can be refused.
AstraZeneca does not meet the originally promised delivery volume to the EU in the first quarter, which has caused great resentment.
The EU member state in which the vaccines intended for export were produced is responsible for the export permits.
The Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio wrote on Facebook: »Australia is now regarded as a country that is 'not at risk' according to EU rules«.
The lock was "not a hostile act against Australia."
Australia has recorded around 29,000 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began - a significantly lower per capita rate than most developed countries.
The number of deaths is currently 909. Around 25 million people live in the country.
»Economy« defends Corona course - criticism from associations
03.45 a.m.:
Monika Schnitzer has warned against a prejudice by the federal government for the latest decisions in the fight against the corona crisis.
"We can hold out for a while," she told the Rheinische Post, referring to the burdens on the economy from the effects of the lockdown.
The closed retail trade and companies from the leisure sector are particularly affected.
“In the entire economic structure, however, these areas only make up a small part of the added value.” If Corona aid were now used sensibly, she was “very confident that we will have outgrown the crisis in a few years without any deep social cuts that will give people or tax hikes. "
Schnitzer also praised the fact that the federal and state governments had drawn up a multi-week plan for the first time.
"A lot of people have wanted that for a long time, because then you can plan better."
The so-called economic modes are an advisory body for the federal government.
The official name of the committee, which consists of top economists, is »Advisory Council for the Assessment of Overall Economic Development«.
Many industry associations, especially in the retail sector, had reacted indignantly to the resolutions of the federal and state governments late on Wednesday evening, and the criticism of the industries affected continued.
"Numerous toy retailers go to the dogs," warned the Federal Association of Toy Retailers (BVS).
"The drama is that our forced closure doesn't even save lives," they say.
Shopping in stores has never been dangerous.
"If the lockdown - as planned - is extended until after Easter, the dying will spread in the inner cities."
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) rates the infection risk in retail and its contribution to the infection process as "low" - this is what it says in a strategy paper published by the RKI ("ControlCovid") in mid-February 2021.
For this reason, however, the paper does not recommend a general opening of the retail sector beyond shops for everyday needs.
The Federal Association of the Concert and Event Industry (BDKV) also complains about the resolutions as "completely unacceptable".
Association President Jens Michow told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe that the federal and state governments had once again failed to give their industry a perspective on the conditions under which events could take place again.
"The industry's nerves are on edge."
The fitness studios have had an opening perspective since Wednesday evening.
"But this is linked to conditions that are difficult to implement or influence for the company," said the Employers' Association of German Fitness and Health Systems (DSSV).
The required incidence value is difficult to achieve given the currently stagnating numbers and partial opening.
And: "Solutions through rapid tests sound promising at first, but many details about the implementation are not yet known, although these decisions are too long in coming."
WHO Europe rejects planned vaccination passports - pandemic over in early 2022
02.55 a.m.:
The World Health Organization (WHO) rejects the vaccination passports planned by the EU Commission.
The introduction announced for the summer is "probably inevitable," said the regional director of WHO / Europe, Hans Kluge, of "Welt".
"But it is not a recommendation from the WHO." There are serious concerns: It is uncertain how long an immunity will last.
Also, a vaccine "does not necessarily prevent the infection of other people."
The EU Commission wants to present the draft law for a "digital green passport" on March 17th, which will record corona vaccinations, Covid diseases and negative tests.
The aim is to find a safe way to lift restrictions and travel in Europe.
The heads of state and government of the European Union had previously agreed to press ahead with plans for a digital vaccination record.
The technical requirements should be in place within three months so that people vaccinated against corona can prove their immunization across Europe in a forgery-proof manner.
Kluge expects the corona pandemic to end in around ten months.
He assumes that 2021 will be another Covid year, 2020 will have been "Terra Incognita".
“A year later we know a lot more.
Therefore, I assume that the pandemic will be over by early 2022. «That does not mean that the virus is gone.
"But hopefully there will be no more disruptive interventions."
Kluge warned against not taking corona mutations seriously enough because some could spread very quickly and cause serious disease processes.
“If this coincides with a slow vaccination campaign, then we will lose the momentum.
Then the virus can gain the upper hand again. «Now is not the time for the people in Europe to lean back.
The WHO European Office announced on Thursday that the number of new infections in Europe had increased by nine percent.
This stopped the promising decline of the last six weeks.
Virus variant B.1.1.7, which first appeared in Great Britain, has now appeared in 43 of the 53 European countries.
General practitioner association: federal-state resolutions incomprehensible
02.25 a.m.:
The German Association of
General
Practitioners has criticized the federal-state resolutions on possible opening
steps
after months of corona lockdown as difficult to understand.
The step-by-step plan presented was "partly incomprehensible and poorly thought out," said Federal Chairman Ulrich Weigeldt of the "Rheinische Post".
After a long period of lack of prospects, citizens expected strategies and practical measures that could be implemented to get out of the pandemic.
The fact that entire districts should continue to be subject to restrictions in the event of locally limited virus outbreaks, for example, is "neither explainable nor suitable."
With regard to the rapid tests, Weigeldt complained that the order had been placed far too late and too little.
And no one currently knows when these tests will be delivered to what extent and to which locations.
A rush to the general practitioners' practices is to be feared, "which then ends in disappointment because no tests are available."
University of Oxford developer honored for AstraZeneca vaccine
1:20 a.m.:
The lead developer of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Sarah Gilbert, receives an important award for her contribution to the common good.
The Royal Society of Arts awards the immunologist the Albert Medal, who before Gilbert already received historical greats such as Stephen Hawking, Marie Curie and Winston Churchill.
"The Albert Medal celebrates the most innovative, and the Oxford vaccine is a great triumph for British creativity, research and development," said the head of the Royal Society of Arts, Matthew Taylor, according to a statement.
Oxford University and AstraZeneca had developed the vaccine together.
Gilbert, who has been doing research at Oxford University since 1994 and headed the development team behind the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, described the medal as a "great honor".
From the beginning, it was her goal to develop a "vaccine for the world" - one that can be used inexpensively and robustly in poorer countries.
Unlike the vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer, for example, the AstraZeneca agent only needs to be stored at refrigerator temperatures.
The Biontech founders have also been honored for their research: Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will present the couple Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin with the Great Cross of Merit with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Japan plans to extend the Covid state of emergency for Tokyo
12:50 a.m.:
The Japanese government wants to
extend
the current state of emergency due to Covid-19 in Tokyo and three neighboring districts until March 21.
According to Minister of Economic Affairs Yasutoshi Nishimura, this is two weeks longer than originally planned.
The districts of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama have requested the extension beyond the planned end date of March 7, as the numbers have not yet fallen sufficiently, the minister said.
Tokyo reported 279 cases on Thursday, up from a record high of 2,520 on Jan. 7.
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cop / dpa / AFP / Reuters / sid / AP
