A version of this story appeared in the April 9 edition of CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.
Cheaper and more easily stored than other Covid-19 vaccines, AstraZeneca’s shot was hailed as the world’s way out of the pandemic. But on Wednesday the European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirmed a possible link between the vaccine and rare blood clots.
In late March Rutgers University became one of the first institutions to declare that having all students vaccinated will allow for an “expedited return to pre-pandemic normal.”
Cornell, Brown, Notre Dame, Northeastern, Syracuse, Ithaca and Fort Lewis have made similar announcements, though all will make exceptions for medical or religious reasons. Cornell has also created an online registration tool so students and staff can register their vaccination status.
Two colleges, St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, and Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Broward, Florida, have gone a step further, requiring students and all campus employees to be vaccinated.
NSU’s policy puts it on a collision course with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. After NSU’s announcement on April 1 DeSantis signed an executive order stating that vaccines are available but not mandated. Crucially the order prohibits any government entity or business from requiring a vaccine passport. NSU said Thursday that it is reviewing the executive order.
Vaccine passports are a divisive subject and DeSantis has plenty of company in opposing them. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has signed an executive order forbidding agencies in the state from requiring a vaccine for any service and Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a similar order on Wednesday. Critics of vaccine passports point to privacy concerns and fears of overreach by authorities. The White House has made clear that it will not create a federal “vaccine passport” or require shots for travelers or businesses.
China’s top disease control official made a rare public admission about the relatively low efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccines developed in the country, adding that authorities are weighing options to bolster protection, including mixing different shots and increasing the number of doses.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
Q. How do I get my Covid-19 vaccination added to my medical record?
A. The EMA has said that a particular combination of unusual blood clots with low blood platelet counts should be listed as a side effect of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) safety committee chair Sabine Straus said this week that, so far, most of the cases have occurred in women under age 60. But Straus cautioned that the agency did not have enough data based on age and sex to be sure about any particular risk profiles.
The EMA can’t be sure, for example, that women are not experiencing these clotting events in higher numbers simply because more women are being vaccinated. But it also means it hasn’t ruled out the possibility that women are at greater risk.
Women are more predisposed to certain clotting events, such as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, clotting in the sinuses that drain blood from the brain, than men. So a question for further analysis is whether women in particular are experiencing these clotting events at a higher incidence than usual.
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Bolsonaro shrugs off criticism he is ‘genocidal’ as Brazil spins further into crisis
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has shrugged off criticism that he is “genocidal” in his opposition to Covid-19 restrictions, as the country’s death toll continues to spiral.
A 30-strong medical team operated on the woman for 11 hours Wednesday to transplant lung tissue from her husband and son, according to Kyoto University Hospital.
The virus can cause severe lung damage in some patients, and people around the world – including the US – have received lung transplants as part of their recovery. But the Kyoto hospital said this case was the first in which lung tissue was transplanted from living donors to a patient.
The woman, who is from Japan’s western region of Kansai, contracted Covid-19 late last year, and spent months on a life support machine that worked as an artificial lung. She remains in intensive care and her husband and son are both in a stable condition.
The devastating death toll of US health workers
More than 3,600 US healthcare workers perished in the first year of the pandemic according to “Lost on the Frontline,” a 12-month investigation by The Guardian and KHN to track such deaths.
Multiple authorities have emphasized that the AstraZeneca vaccine’s benefits continue to outweigh the risks.
But Australia said Friday that it had secured an extra 20 million doses of the Pfizer shot, after declaring it preferable to the AstraZeneca vaccine for recipients under 50.
Spain also updated its guidance for the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday, announcing it will only be given to people aged between 60 and 69, while Portugal recommended the shot for those 60 and older.
In France, officials will offer an alternative second shot for those under 55 who have already received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the country’s health authority said Friday. Over 2.5 million people in France have received one dose of AstraZeneca.
The African Union is dropping plans to buy additional doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and will instead focus on securing further doses from Johnson & Johnson. The organization says the decision is unrelated to recent safety concerns over the shot.
UK variant is now the dominant Covid-19 strain in the US, says CDC chief
The coronavirus variant first identified in the UK is now the most common strain in the US, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday. “Based on our most recent estimates from CDC surveillance, the B.1.1.7 variant is now the most common lineage circulating in the United States,” Walensky said.
KFF researchers surveyed 1,001 adults living in rural America and reported that 54% said they have received a Covid-19 vaccine or plan to.
“There’s nothing inherently unique about living in a rural area that makes people balk at getting vaccinated,” KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said in a statement.
“It’s just that rural areas have a larger share of people in the most vaccine-resistant groups: Republicans and White Evangelical Christians.”
The report suggests that access to vaccines is not the major problem for rural communities but researchers did note a gap in access among Black rural residents.
Hair salons and beer gardens – England crawls out of lockdown
ON OUR RADAR
- More than 171 million doses of Covid-19 have been administered in the US, according to data published Wednesday by the CDC. That’s about 2.9 million more shots reported administered since Tuesday.
- India’s second wave of coronavirus infections is tearing through its Bollywood film industry, with multiple stars testing positive.
- Turkey reported at least 276 new deaths over the 24 hours, the highest number of fatalities in one day since the start of the pandemic, according to health ministry data released Wednesday.
- Millions of counterfeit masks have been seized by US Customers and Border Protection (CBP) officials since the start of the pandemic. The last few months have seen an “exponential increase” in counterfeit mask seizures, a CBP official says.
- A man in the Philippines has died after being forced to do 300 squats for breaching Covid curfew.
TODAY’S TOP TIPS
At this point during the pandemic, the idea of visiting family again may be a bright spot after a dark year.
Indoor dining and drinking at restaurants and bars is riskier than some other places for a few reasons, according to the CDC: Not only are people from different households gathering in the same space, but you have to remove your mask to eat and drink.
If you’re planning to eat out, first check whether the restaurant is complying with the CDC’s recommended prevention measures. Restaurants that reduce risks include those that have outdoor, distanced seating available; have both staff and guests wear masks when not eating or drinking; and have their menu available online.
As a pediatrician, Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez spends many of her days with nervous moms and dads listening to why they’re worried about their kids receiving vaccinations. “It often manifests as just complete disagreements on how to raise kids,” said Bracho-Sanchez.
TODAY’S PODCAST
“We paused in a way that also allowed us to enjoy what’s around us more.” – Elizabeth Derryberry, associate professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Spring is here again, and you might be hearing the birds sing once more. In this episode, scientists Jennifer Phillips and Derryberry take us on a listening tour to San Francisco to find out why some birds changed their tune during the pandemic. Listen now.