Thought of the Day - March 16 - Vaccine Wars

Of late the main vaccine controversy, primarily in Europe, has centred around AstraZeneca. While other vaccines have managed to stay ahead of media wars, AstraZeneca has been front and centre. As mentioned last month, the leaders of France and Germany stated that AstraZeneca's vaccine was ineffective against new variants, especially for those over 65. AstraZeneca's response, rather than refute the claims, was to announce they were working on a new and improved version.

At the time I was thinking that either this was a backlash from Brexit or part of AZs plan to sell its new and improved version. Two weeks on, I am not so sure. Was it instead related to AstraZeneca's announcement that it was working with the Russian scientist behind Sputnik V? Unlikely. A number of European countries, frustrated with Brussels' handling of vaccine approvals, have been turning to Sputnik. As reported earlier, Hungary, and now Slovakia, have approved its use. Italy has also announced it will be manufacturing the Russian vaccine.

The fact remains the rollout of AstraZeneca has been stopped in most of the European Union countries. These now include Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Latvia & Bulgaria (ironically Belgium is still continuing). This time the reason for the halt in Europe is due to fatalities caused by blood-clots (there was a side story about a bad batch also). There have been some deaths, but as the case with Pfizer, when you look at the scant data provided it seems to indicate no increase in deaths over that experienced by the general public for the same demographic - remember countries started with the elderly, and the vaccines are only designed to prevent death from COVID-19, not old age.

So at this point it comes down to either:

1. The EU has successfully undermined AstraZeneca. In which case AZ should fire their PR department, and get serious - this has never been about science, it is about marketing;

2. The AstraZeneca vaccine does cause more deaths than it prevents - the rollout should be stopped in Canada.

Looking for advice outside the EU is not easy. We cannot look to the USA for advice, they are not interested in AZ as they are not a US company. The UK is somewhat biased. South Africa stopped its rollout a month ago but for different reasons. Thailand stopped and has now restarted. As AstraZeneca is the mainstay of the COVAX program, the WHO is saying "the vaccines must flow".

Early Monday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vouched for the safety of Oxford University’s AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Meaning, the Canadian government's stance is: "This is totally political". This is good news for Canada, as it means an assured supply of safe and effective AZ vaccines. The AZ vaccines have just arrived in Canada. In BC they will be used to target workers at key "high-risk institutions" such as food processing plants and large work camps across the province.

Meanwhile in other stories:

Vaccine Deployment

• Canada has followed Québec's lead going for a single-dose-only strategy;

• Most Canadian provinces have launched their vaccine registration procedures and are now ramping up mass vaccination clinics. Montreal, for example, is now vaccinating anyone over 65.

Vaccine Approvals (& Politics):

Things are progressing globally with the approval of existing vaccines and the arrival of new options:

• Canada and the EU have now approved J&J/Janssen;

• The US intervened in Brazil's negotiations with Russia for Sputnik V and have convinced them to buy Pfizer;

• Two new vaccines have been added to the approved list, one from Russia, their third, and one from Uzbekistan & China.

Cheers

Cliff