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Day: 12 March 2021

"No indication" vaccine causes blood clots

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/03/2021

The French Minister of Health says the country will continue to administer the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab, which is also arriving in Monaco at the end of the month, in spite of blood clot worries.
Olivier Veran revealed that his government will continue to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine after discussing with medical authorities the possible risks involved with the jab. Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Norway and Thailand have suspended use of the vaccine after worries arose about an increased risk of blood-clotting.
The EU’s medical regulators have reiterated there is no indication the jab is linked to a higher risk of clots than in the general population, with a mere 30 cases of “thromboembolic events” evolving out of five million doses given.
“There is currently no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions, which are not listed as side effects with this vaccine,” the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced Thursday, adding that, “The vaccine’s benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing.”
France’s health authorities have agreed with the EMA and will continue to use the vaccine in their arsenal to fight against the pandemic, which is raging in the country at the moment in hotspots like Paris and Nice, as well as to try to prevent a third lockdown.
Veran has described France’s position as “tense and worrying” during a press conference on Thursday and stated that the country must remain vigilant in the face of high infection rates and overwhelming hospitalisations.
As previously reported in Monaco Life, the Principality will be receiving their first 7,200 doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine in late March, adding to shipments from BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna.
Monaco has inoculated 22% of the population so far, primarily the elderly, vulnerable and front line health care workers, and has decided to give these high-risk groups both jabs before moving on to the general population.

Restrictions eased for some international travel

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/03/2021

France is now easing some travel restrictions on travellers from outside Europe including those coming from the UK, Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne announced the move on Thursday, saying that passengers coming to or from these seven nations will no longer need to prove a “compelling reason” for travel, such as urgent family matters or medical emergencies. He cited improving health conditions as the reason to lift the requirement.
“The list includes Britain, because the UK variant now also circulates widely in France,” he said on Twitter.
Other rules, such as the requirement for a negative Covid test less than 72 hours before travel will remain.
The list of justifiable reasons for travel for other non-European travellers has also been expanded, primarily if they involve family situations. One example is if one person in a couple, either married or in a civil partnership, is living abroad for work.
It will also include families living outside France and whose children are being schooled in the country, as well as couples with children abroad, students who are taking exams in France, and those whose principal residence is in France.
The ministry reiterated that this does not mean people should run out and start booking tickets. International travel is still strongly discouraged until the health situation is under control.
The initial reason behind the international bans in January was an attempt to keep the new variants from circulating.
 
Photo by Chuttersnap on Unsplash
 
 

Monaco and Israel join forces to support innovation 

by: Cassandra Tanti
12/03/2021

MonacoTech and Israeli firm Capsula TAU are collaborating to support start-ups and accelerate their development, creating business opportunities between the two countries. 
Capsula TAU, an accelerator company that connects start-ups and key players in academia and business, has a focus on cleantech including green energy and emission-cutting mobility and has helped many companies make their mark, including Vayavision Sensing, Moodify and Upstream Security.
Principality-based business incubator MonacoTech and Israeli accelerator Capsula TAU, based at the Tel Aviv University, have now agreed to work together for the support of innovative start ups.
“Our collaboration is clearly business oriented to support our respective start-ups in their development,” MonacoTech Director Lionel Galfré told Monaco Life. “We are convinced at MonacoTech that innovations that matter have to be shared to be useful, and they can only be shared if they are economically viable. This collaboration with Capsula pursues that goal.”
Prince Albert, whose government funds the MonacoTech business incubator, had an online Zoom meeting last October with Tel Aviv University’s Professor Collin Price, Capsula TAU’s curator, to discuss environmental matters as well as sustainable development ideas.
“In order for us to envision a brighter future for the next generation, we have to work on climate issues together,” Prince Albert said during the meeting.
The Prince and the university have a long-standing relationship due to both entities being champions of ecological issues, with the Prince even being awarded an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University in 2018 for his contributions.
“Since Capsula TAU is a dominant player in the smart mobility start-up ecosystem in Israel, it will become a bridge to the Monaco ecosystem – and together we are aiming for a fruitful collaboration,” said Julia Shteingart, Managing Director of Capsula. “We are sure that the ability to share knowledge and host MonacoTech’s start-ups in Capsula and vice versa will expose both the Israeli and the Monegasque start-ups to valuable opportunities in terms of market reach and fundraising.”
 
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Covid latest: New group callout, saliva test rollout

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/03/2021

All residents aged 55 to 64 are now invited to make appointments for their Covid vaccinations after the delivery of nearly 6,000 new doses from BioNTech-Pfizer. Meanwhile, saliva tests will be available at the Grimaldi Forum from Monday.

After briefly announcing the government’s latest Covid health measures after Wednesday night’s National Council extraordinary meeting, the government revealed further details on Thursday.

Minister of State Pierre Dartout said in a statement that the Principality’s vaccination programme is now being opened to a new age group, those between 55 and 64 years of age, after the delivery of some 5,850 doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine.

The government says that with the additional doses, they will be able to inoculate a total of 30%, or 11,503, people living in Monaco.

The jabs will be available at the National Vaccination Centre set up at the Grimaldi Forum and will be administered by appointment.

Meanwhile, the minister also announced that new Covid screening tests will be available from Monday 15th March. After weeks of clinical trials involving the use of a less invasive saliva test, the National Screening Centre at the Espace Leó Ferré will begin administering them to the general public. These new tests will particularly benefit school children as they are easier to administer and well-suited to repetitive screening.

The saliva tests are based on the same technique as the standard PCR tests, just without the discomfort many have found to be associated with the current method, which requires swabbing deep into the nasal cavity and into the back of the throat.

The new tests have been found to be satisfactorily sensitive, albeit slightly less so than the nasopharyngal, which continues to be the gold standard testing method.

Finally, on the economic front, the government’s Reinforced Total Temporary Unemployment (CTTR) scheme has been extended until 30th June 2021. The objective is to give “visibility to our entrepreneurs and traders” by helping those who are in financial straits due to the crisis by bridging the gap until recovery occurs.

The partial exemption from employer contributions has also been extended until June.