LONDON — The world awaits a decision from Europe’s top medical regulator into whether there is any evidence to show the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is linked to a small number of blood clots reported in people across the continent.
The European Medicines Agency’s expert committee is set to announce the results of its investigation later on Thursday.
Earlier this week, more than a dozen countries including Germany, France, Spain and Italy suspended immunization using the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after reports of unusual blood clots in several people among the 17 million who have received at least one dose in Europe. Both the EMA and the World Health Organization have said there is no current evidence to suggest the vaccine was responsible and that the benefits of immunization far outweighed the potentially small risk of getting vaccinated.
AstraZeneca said after a careful review of its COVID-19 immunization data, it found no evidence of any increased risk of blood clots in any age group or gender in any country.
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
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BERLIN — An IT security group says it was able to access sensitive personal data on tens of thousands of people in Germany and Austria after finding a gaping hole in a system used by coronavirus test centers in the countries.
The group Zerforschung said the names, addresses, dates of birth, ID card numbers and 136,000 virus test results of more than 80,000 people were exposed to anyone with an account on testing center websites made using a system provided by Vienna-based medicus.ai.
The system is used at over 100 sites in Berlin, Munich and Austria, including some linked to private companies and schools.
Zerforschung, which is affiliated to the Berlin-based hacker group Chaos Computer Club, said Thursday it informed the company and authorities about the security flaw.
Medicus.ai didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The company also has clients in France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Middle East.
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BUDAPEST — The daily COVID-19 death total in Hungary went above 200 for the first time on Thursday as a record number of patients are treated in hospitals, making the Central European country one of the hardest-hit in Europe.
The 207 new deaths broke the previous record of 195 set the previous day, bringing total deaths to 17,628 in the country of fewer than 10 million. Hungary has the world’s 7th highest COVID-19 death rate per 1 million inhabitants, coming in just behind the United Kingdom, according to John’s Hopkins University.
The number of patients being treated in hospitals continues to break records day by day, with 10,386 patients hospitalized on Thursday, 1,170 of which are on ventilators.
Health officials have attributed the powerful surge in Hungary to the spread of a variant of the coronavirus first discovered in the United Kingdom, which Chief Medical Officer Cecila Muller said is “practically raging” through the country.
Hungarian officials have been critical of the European Union’s vaccine rollout, and hope a large quantity of vaccines purchased from Russia and China will bring an end to the surge.
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ROME — Italy is marking the anniversary of one of the most haunting moments of its COVID-19 emergency, when Bergamo’s death toll reached such heights that an army convoy had to transport the dead out because its cemeteries and crematoria were full.
Italian Premier Mario Draghi is visiting the northern city of Bergamo on Thursday to commemorate the anniversary. He is laying a wreath at the cemetery and inaugurating a forest named in honor of the more than 100,000 people who have died in the pandemic in Italy, the first country in the West to be hit.
The anniversary comes as much of Italy is under new lockdown amid a new surge of infections and as its halting vaccination campaign slows down further thanks to the suspension of AstraZeneca shots.
Footage off the army convoy snaking its way through Bergamo’s valley roads on March 18, 2020 remains one of the most heart-wrenching and iconic images of the pandemic in Italy, in a year that has seen many: the exhausted nurse collapsed on her computer keyboard after a shift, and more recently, the Rome-area bistro owner sitting hunched over in her restaurant kitchen after the latest lockdown was imposed.
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KAMPALA, Uganda — The head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the suspension of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in some European Union nations hurts efforts to build public confidence and trust in vaccines on the continent of 1.3 billion people.
John Nkengasong said in a briefing Thursday that despite “unfortunate events” in Europe, African nations should continue rolling out the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only shot currently available in many countries that have accessed batches of it through the COVAX initiative.
Nkengasong said a recent meeting convened by his group concluded that vaccine-related decisions in Africa should not be “based on anything that is subjective.” He said instead there should be continuous monitoring and reporting of any adverse events following inoculations.
At least 22 of Africa’s 54 nations have received more than 14 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as of March 13, according to the World Health Organization.
The European Medicines Agency has said there is “no indication” the AstraZeneca shot is responsible for dangerous blood clots in a few recipients. The World Health Organization says the benefits of the vaccine outweigh any risks and recommends its continued use. Other European nations are proceeding with vaccinations despite safety worries in countries such as Germany.
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Britain’s ambassador to South Korea has criticized South Korean authorities for mandating coronavirus tests on all foreign workers in capital Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi Province in a mass testing campaign that has triggered complaints about discrimination.
In video message posted on Twitter Thursday, Amb. Simon Smith said his embassy has made it clear to South Korea’s national government that the measures in Seoul and Gyeonggi “are not fair, they’re not proportionate, nor are they likely to be effective.”
“However, my strong advice to all British workers in Seoul and the other areas affected is to follow the authorities’ requirements to take a test,” Smith said.
The Seoul metropolitan government on Wednesday began necessitating testing for all foreign nationals employed in the city, regardless of their visa status. They could face fines of up to 2 million won ($1,768) if they fail to be tested until the end of March.
Critics have questioned why South Korean authorities are mandating broad tests based on nationality instead of specifically targeting people with vulnerable working conditions.
The testing campaign targeting foreigners came in response to outbreaks among low-skilled foreign workers employed at Gyeonggi factories, who often face hash working and living conditions that expose them to higher infection risks.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan says Chinese business travelers can now apply to come to the island, ending a ban in place since Feb. 2020.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council announced that the travel ban has ended Thursday.
Chiu Tai-san, the head of the council, said those who want to visit relatives will also be allowed to apply. Applicants should ask for specifics from Taiwan’s Epidemic Control Center and the island’s immigration authorities. Chiu did not specify whether visitors would face shortened quarantine measures.
Taiwan has a mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival for those coming from abroad.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities are warning that strict lockdown measures may need to be implemented if the public continues to violate social-distancing measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Health authorities say a potential lockdown could include closing business and restrictions on economic and social activities. The warning was issued Thursday by the National Command and Control Center, which oversees Pakistan’s response to COVID-19.
Amid a third wave of the coronavirus that is gripping Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, and the northern part of the country, Pakistani health and administrative authorities have imposed a partial lockdown in affected areas since last week.
Pakistan has reported 615,810 virus cases among 13,717 deaths.