The European Union backs down on threat to restrict exports of "Covid-19" vaccines

The WHO team visits the first hospital that received Corona patients in Wuhan

WHO investigation team leaves Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan after a field visit.

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Yesterday, WHO experts investigating the origins of the Coronavirus met with members of a hospital in Wuhan that received the first confirmed cases of "Covid-19" before a scheduled visit to a propaganda exhibition celebrating China's recovery from the epidemic.

While the European Union has retreated from its threat to restrict exports of the emerging virus vaccines, the World Health Organization has warned of "nationalism" with regard to vaccines.

In detail, a group of WHO experts went in a motorcade to Jinentan Hospital, the first hospital that received patients diagnosed with Covid-19 in late 2019, while chaos and horrific news about the virus were spreading in the city in central China.

Details of the experts ’mission are still few, and the tweets they release, and those issued by the World Health Organization, remain the main source of information, as China is almost silent about this politically sensitive visit to it.

In a tweet on «Twitter», a member of the team, Peter Dazak, welcomed the visit to the hospital as «an important opportunity to speak directly with medical staff who were on the ground at this critical period in the fight against Covid».

After the hospital, the team visited an exhibition celebrating the measures taken by the health authorities in Wuhan during the horrific early stages of the virus, and the Chinese leadership's move to control an unprecedented crisis.

The World Health Organization confirms that the task of its team will be limited to scientific facts of how the virus was transmitted from animals believed to be bats to humans.

The team is expected to visit Huanan Market, which is believed to be the first major focus of infections, as well as the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other laboratories.

On the other hand, the European Union has retreated from its threat to restrict exports of the emerging coronavirus vaccines to Northern Ireland, as part of its escalating dispute with Britain.

The European Union had threatened to restrict exports of vaccines to Northern Ireland by suspending a clause of the Brexit agreement with Britain that allows the free flow of goods across the Irish border, but it backed off its position after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his "grave concern."

The president of the European Commission said in a statement late yesterday that the Commission "will work to ensure that the Ireland - Northern Ireland Protocol is not affected."

This came after the European Union published a revised version of its contract with AstraZeneca, in parallel with announcing a mechanism that would prevent the export of vaccines manufactured on its soil.

"I expect that the company (AstraZeneca) will deliver the 400 million doses according to the agreement," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a tweet upon announcing the license.

The supply problem deals a major blow to already stalled vaccine deployments in Europe.

The dispute between the European Union and Britain highlighted the repercussions of the lack of supplies on widespread vaccination programs, even in rich countries, and fears are mounting that the developed world is taking in vaccines at the expense of the poorest countries.

The director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned Friday of "nationalism in vaccines", saying that there is "a real danger that the same tools that would help eliminate the epidemic - vaccines - may exacerbate" inequality worldwide.

Only now are parts of Africa and Asia beginning to secure and deploy vaccines.

The global rush to doses coincides with disturbing data on mutated versions of the emerging corona virus, which has infected more than 101 million people around the world.

Copies that first appeared in Britain, Brazil and South Africa are believed to be more contagious.

Scientists are concerned that the South African version may not respond to some vaccines, which represents a major obstacle in international efforts to defeat Covid-19 through mass vaccination campaigns.

New data showed an 89% and 66% effectiveness of the Novavax and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

In Britain, the total confirmed cases of the emerging coronavirus reached 3.78 million cases yesterday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News.

According to the data, the total number of deaths due to infection with the virus reached 104,572 deaths.

• Corona injuries in Britain amount to 3.78 million cases and 104,572 deaths.

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