With input from Dr Monica Vasudev

1562: Moderna says its coronavirus vaccine provides strong protection up to 6 months after a second dose. The company stated that updated cases point to continued strong efficacy of more than 90% against cases of COVID-19 and more than 95% against severe cases of COVID-19, with around 6 months median follow-up following the second dose. The results are in line with a report in the New England Journal of Medicine which noted that 33 individuals who received the Moderna vaccine had a strong antibody response after 6 months. (Mint; Business Today)

1563: Denmark has stopped the rollout of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine completely. Officials stated that 2.4 million doses of the vaccine would be withdrawn until further notice. The Health Authority mentioned that studies had shown that there was a greater than expected frequency of blood clots after vaccine doses, affecting about one in 40,000 people. It came after two cases of thrombosis were reported in the country that were linked to vaccinations. One of them, in a 60-year-old woman, was fatal.

Close to one million people in Denmark have been vaccinated, with about 150,000 of them having received the AstraZeneca shot. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are also being used.

Adenovirus vaccines - Adenoviruses enter the cells and make use of the cells machinery to produce a piece of the virus that causes COVID-19, a spike protein. The cell identifies that the spike protein does not belong there and the immune system is triggered to fight against the presumed infection. This trains the body to protect us against COVID-19. Regulators are now evaluating of an unusual immune response to the adenovirus vaccines is the reason behind the rare but severe events of blood clotting.

It seems obvious that the cases of blood clots tied to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were very similar to those associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. The US halted the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout after six women below 50 years of age developed rare blood clots after receiving the vaccine dose. In the UK, 30 people had developed unusual blood clots and seven of them died after the AstraZeneca jab, out of 18 million vaccinated people.

Some European countries have restricted the use of adenovirus vaccines to older people, who seem to have been less affected by the blood clotting condition. After the announcement from Denmark, France stated that it considered the AstraZeneca vaccine as an essential tool and that it was important that this vaccine is used. It is a safe vaccine and it works, stated French government spokesman. France will also give the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to those aged above 55. It has received 200,000 doses. Belgium will also give the doses it has received, while Greece and Italy won’t.

The Czech Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamacek had asked the Czech ambassador in Denmark to buy the 2.4 million AstraZeneca vaccines doses that the country would not be using anymore. He added that he would also travel to Moscow to arrange supplies of the Sputnik V vaccine, once its use is approved by the EMA.

The Gamaleya Center that has developed the Sputnik V vaccine stated that it had noted no cases of blood clots associated with its vaccine. It added that all vaccines based on adenoviruses were different and were not directly comparable. (BBC)

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA