The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) safety committee on Friday issued two new advisories urging individuals with a history of capillary leak syndrome to avoid receiving Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, and also warning that Guillain-Barre syndrome could be an adverse side effect of AstraZeneca’s two-shot vaccine.
“The PRAC [Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee] has recommended that people who have previously had capillary leak syndrome must not be vaccinated with COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen. The Committee also recommended that capillary leak syndrome should be added to the product information as a new side effect of the vaccine, together with a warning to raise awareness among healthcare professionals and patients of this risk,” a press release read.
The EMA said that the PRAC reviewed three cases of capillary leak syndrome in individuals who received J&J’s one-shot vaccine, adding that two of them died.
The same advisory message has previously been issued to cover the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, and on Friday, the EMA also recommended that a warning label be added detailing that vaccination with this vaccine could cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disease that causes the body’s immune system to attack the nervous system.
“The PRAC has recommended a change to the product information for Vaxzevria (formerly COVID-19 Vaccine Astrazeneca) to include a warning to raise awareness among healthcare professionals and people taking the vaccine of cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) reported following vaccination,” the EMA said.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Friday urged citizens to get vaccinated against the coronavirus as Austria is having a new spike in cases but promised no compulsion.
Speaking to reporters, Kurz pointed to the growing number of COVID-19 cases, especially among young people, and said that the new spike was anticipated.
"We are not forcing anyone, we live in a free country, where everyone is free to choose for themselves. This is a free choice, but, as the federal chancellor, I would be happy if as many people as possible are protected, that is why I welcome everyone who decided to get vaccinated," Kurz said, adding that the virus will likely not be gone for many years, and, therefore, only those who are vaccinated will be safe.
According to the Austrian chancellor, the available vaccines are effective against the so-called Delta variant and the country has more doses than there are people who want to get inoculated, which is why the authorities will focus on expanding the opportunities for getting vaccinated without preliminary registration.
According to the Austrian health ministry, almost 4 million people have been fully vaccinated to date, which is 45,5% of those who are eligible for vaccination, and nearly 5 million people have had at least one dose.
Australia's New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday announced the tightening of the COVID-19 restrictions across Greater Sydney, including the extension of the lockdown by another week due to the rising cases of infection.
"From 5pm today [07:00 GMT] (Friday, 9 July) the following additional restrictions will be in place: Outdoor public gatherings limited to two people (excluding members of the same household); People must stay in their Local Government Area or within 10kms [six miles] of home for exercise and outdoor recreation, with no carpooling between non-household members; Browsing in shops is prohibited, plus only one person per household, per day may leave the home for shopping," Berejiklian said in a statement.
Sydney has logged 44 new COVID-19 cases over the past day, the highest daily increase since 16 June.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Australia has registered over 30,900 COVID-19 cases and 910 related fatalities.
Russia registered 25,766 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, down from 24,818 the day before, taking the tally to over 5,730,000, the federal response centre said on Friday.
According to the centre, this is the largest daily increase since January 2, when it was 26,301 cases.
"Over the past day, 25,766 coronavirus cases were confirmed across 85 Russian regions, including 3,341 cases (13%) without clinical symptoms," the centre said, adding that the cumulative case count has now reached 5,733,218 with the rate of increase at 0.45%.
Moscow confirmed 6,643 daily infections. The Russian capital was followed by the Moscow Region with 2,545 cases and St. Petersburg with 1,951 cases.
The response centre reported 726 new deaths linked to the coronavirus, raising the country's total death toll to 141,501.
In the same 24 hours, 21,832 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals across the country, bringing the total to 5,165,087.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has called a special meeting to discuss and review the preparation of the yatra.
The Yogi-led state government has said that it would coordinate with all the neighbouring states in this regard and will try to find a way to facilitate pilgrims during the yatra (procession).
The pilgrimage that starts on 25 July will go on for a period of around 15 days; during this time, large numbers of devotees throng the banks of the holy river Ganga in Haridwar Uttarakhand.
According to Health Minister Olivier Veran, the Delta variant of the coronavirus will likely account for most of the fresh cases in France from this weekend.
Currently, the Delta variant, which is believed to be more contagious than other COVID-19 mutations, represents nearly half of new coronavirus infections in the country.
Britain seeks to axe quarantine for fully-vaccinated arrivals from other countries in the coming weeks, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News on Friday.
"We want to be able open that up for people. We're actively working on it. In the next couple of weeks I'll be able to come forward and say more about other locations in the world."
The announcement came a day after he said that fully vaccinated British residents landing in England from medium risk amber countries would no longer need to self-isolate upon arrival.
India has confirmed 43,393 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of those infected having reached 30,752,950, the country's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Friday.
The death toll from the disease has reached 405,939 people, with 911 new fatalities being recorded over the past day.
More than 29.88 million people have recovered in India since the start of the outbreak.
A day earlier, the country confirmed 45,892 new coronavirus cases, with 817 fatalities.
