Day: 6 April 2021

A top official in the European Medicines Agency said in an interview published Tuesday that there was a link between the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and blood clots. The EMA’s official stance has been that the AstraZeneca jab is safe and that the benefits vastly outweigh the risks.
“In my opinion, we can say it now, it is clear there is a link with the- vaccine. But we still do not know what causes this reaction,” EMA head of vaccines Marco Cavaleri told Italy’s Il Messaggero newspaper.
He said that “in the next few hours, we will say that there is a connection, but we still have to understand how this happens”.
Persistent questions on whether rare but serious blood clots among those getting the AstraZeneca jab against Covid-19 are more frequent than in the general population have undermined confidence in the beleaguered vaccine.
After several countries suspended the use of the jab — including Italy — the EMA declared that the benefits outweigh the risks and it should remain in use.
But it has said that a causal link between clots and the vaccine is possible, and is expected to provide an updated assessment this week.
“We are trying to get a precise picture of what is happening, to define in detail this syndrome due to the vaccine,” Cavaleri said.
He added: “Among the vaccinated, there are more cases of cerebral thrombosis… among young people than we would expect.”
The EMA has consistently said that “The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19, with its associated risk of hospitalisation and death, outweigh the risks of side effects.”
But in its statement on 31st March the agency added: “A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possible and further analysis is continuing.”

Related stories: France starts vaccine production

As of 31st March, the EMA had identified 62 cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) in the world – 44 of them in Europe – among 9.2 million doses of AstraZeneca administered.
Of those, 14 have resulted in death, though it is not possible to definitively attribute fatalities to this rare form of thrombosis, the head of the EMA, Emer Cook, said last week in a videoconference.
In Germany, there have been 31 suspected cases of CVST – 19 accompanied by a drop in blood platelets – with nine deaths, according to the Paul-Ehrlich Institute.
These cases were spread across 2.8 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses injected, or just over one case per 100,000 doses.
The comparable figures for France are 12 cases and four deaths out of 1.9 million doses, and for Norway, five cases and three deaths out of 120,000 doses.
Britain – where AstraZeneca has been administered more than in any other country – registered 30 cases as of Saturday, including seven fatalities, across a total of 18.1 million doses.
 
Monaco Life with AFP, photo by Mat Napo on Unsplash
 
 

SBM chefs are tantalising the tastebuds of those less fortunate, creating over 300 three-course lunches to be distributed by Monegasque charity Solidarpole.

Over four days this month, the chefs of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) are joining forces with volunteers to offer packed lunches to people in need. This charitable act is being carried out in conjunction with Solidarpole, a Monegaque association whose aim is to carry out solidarity activities paying particular attention to the poor and young people.

Twelve chefs in teams of three are packaging their gastronomic creations over four days until 10^th of April, to be distributed from the Forneaeu Economique in Nice. The idea is to offer a meal that includes a starter, a main and a dessert using only local, healthy products.

For example, Thierry Saez Manzanares, Chef of the Casino de Monte-Carlo, will make a tomato and mozzarella salad with tapenade and basil, whilst Chef Franck Lafon from the Café de Paris Monte-Carlo will offer pan-fried salmon and citrus quinoa. The Pastry Chef of Café de Paris Monte-Carlo, Cyril Natta, will round out the trio with a dessert based on vanilla cabbage and red berries.

The rest of the participating chefs are Jean-Philippe Borro and Nicolas Baygouri from the Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo, Richard Rubbini from Sporting Monte-Carlo, Marcel Ravin and Floriane Grand of Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort, Bertrand Duby from Mada One, Patrick Laine from the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Jean Laurent Basile of Thermes Marins Monte-Carlo, and Cedric Campanella from One Monte-Carlo.

Over the four-day period, these chefs will turn out at least 340 packed lunches bound for the less fortunate.

The idea was initiated by Chef Marcel Ravin from the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort in 2016 and has taken on a life of its own since, with all of SBM’s chefs participating this year.

“Today more than ever, our establishments must be committed and united in the face of economic and social challenges,” said Jean-Jacques Pergant, Director of Hotel Operations of the Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer Group. “We are proud of these initiatives put in place by our chefs who support the continued action of Monegasque charities such as Solidarpole.”

Several French manufacturing sites will begin to produce Covid-19 vaccinations from various labs this week to help boost the number available. It comes after the World Health Organisation condemned the EU for its “unacceptably slow” rollout.
As it currently stands, five sites will produce the Pzifer/BioNTech jab, including one in Saint-Remy-sur-Avre, west of Paris, which is expected to roll out tens of millions of doses. The Moderna vaccine is set to begin production in the Loire Valley at a facility owned by Recipharm. Finally, the Johnson & Johnson jab will be packaged by Sonofi’s labs near Lyon from 19^th April.
These facilities will not be making the vaccines themselves, but will be filling, finishing, checking and freezing the shots to be distributed.
A bit later down the line, Farva in the Pyrenees town of Pau will fill and finish the CurVac jab from Germany, but this is subject to authorisation. If it happens, they will churn out two million doses each month.
From here, the inoculations will be distributed throughout the European Union and Monaco.
“France is on the point of tipping over into massive vaccine production,” Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, told Le Parisien on Sunday, adding that he believed the EU would achieve herd immunity by mid-July. “800 million doses will be available in the second semester,” he said, “Europe will be the continent producing the most vaccines by the end of the year.”
This is good news for the EU which, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), has had an “unacceptably slow” vaccine rollout, despite rising infection rates on the continent.
EU leaders agreed to boost vaccine production after AstraZeneca declared that they would only be able to deliver a third of the promised 300 million doses. Meanwhile, the pharma giant’s jab continues to cause angst amongst the public following concerns over possible links to blood clotting.
There are reports of thousands of vaccination appointments being cancelled across the country due to AstraZeneca concerns.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said it is looking into the health matter, but for now it has deemed that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.
Vaccine campaign kicks into gear
France’s vaccination programme is finally ramping up with the latest figures showing over nine million people have received first doses and more than three million have had both. This is roughly 4.61% of the population.
1,700 vaccination centres have opened across the country and are administering Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to all those aged 70 and over.
250,000 health professionals are mobilised to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine, and soon the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
From 16th April, the programme will be open to people aged between 60 and 70. From 15th May, those aged between 50 and 60 will be eligable for vaccination, followed by all those under 50 from mid-June.
By the end of the summer, the French government anticipates that vaccination will have been possible for all adults who want to be vaccinated.
 
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