Global Health is studying the AstraZeneca vaccine after asking questions about its effectiveness

Vaccine experts at the World Health Organization are holding discussions Monday to decide on recommendations for the use of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine, including in the elderly, while South Africa suspended the launch of the vaccination program with this vaccine, in light of fears that it will not be effective against the mutated version of Corona.

This vaccine, which the UK was the first to use on a large scale in its own population in December, has gained approval from many countries as well as the European Union.

However, some governments have preferred to recommend it only to those under 65 or even 55 years due to a lack of sufficient data on its effectiveness in older adults.

And on Sunday, South Africa suspended the start of its campaign, which was scheduled to start in the next few days with a million doses of the "AstraZeneca" vaccine, as a test showed that it provides only "minimal" protection against mild to moderate infections with Covid-19 caused by the mutated version. Which was first discovered in South Africa.

"It seems that the first results confirm that the version discovered in South Africa can be transmitted to the vaccinated population," said a statement about this study conducted by the University of Vittersrand in Johannesburg.

"We believe that our vaccine can still prevent severe disease," AstraZeneca, which developed the vaccine jointly with the University of Oxford, told AFP.

On Monday, the WHO Strategic Expert Group, which includes 15 members, started an extraordinary virtual meeting to discuss this two-dose vaccine.

The World Health Organization of the United Nations stated that recommendations regarding groups that can receive the vaccine will be announced later this week.

The regulatory authorities in many European countries did not allow the vaccine to be used in people over the age of 65, which is the age group most at risk of developing serious symptoms from Covid-19.

During Monday's meeting, AstraZeneca was scheduled to give a 25-minute presentation on vaccine safety and efficacy data, as well as results from the three phases of human trials.

With an average effectiveness of 70 percent now, the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine is less convincing than the Pfizer / Bionic and Moderna vaccines, which are more than 90 percent effective.

But storing it does not require the extremely low temperatures needed for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The Corona virus has killed at least two million 316 thousand and 812 people in the world since it appeared in China in December 2019, according to a toll prepared by Agence France-Presse Monday until 11:00 GMT, according to official sources.

More than 106,080,500 cases of the virus have been recorded.

However, some countries see a ray of hope.

Some positive news has come from Israel, which has fortified more than 40 percent of its population and has begun to exit its third lockdown imposed on Sunday.

The vaccination program in Israel is the fastest in terms of population in the world.

"I told my clients that we are back to work. Customers will return soon and we hope that this will be the end of the chain of closures," said Eli Arwas, a 58-year-old barber in Jerusalem on Sunday morning.

In neighboring Jordan, hundreds of thousands of students returned to their classes on Sunday after nearly a year.

Austria also eased restrictions on Monday, with schools, museums and shops reopening.

Primary schools have also reopened in Denmark, where 300,000 students have returned to classrooms, and in the Netherlands, where snowfall and freezing temperatures have delayed the lifting of restrictions.

In Quebec, "non-essential" museums and businesses will be able to reopen.

On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on European Union countries to "give a portion" of their vaccines to Ukraine, after complaining that they had not received doses.

In Greece, a picture has surfaced showing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis enjoying lunch with about 30 people on the island of Ikaria, despite the ban on gatherings over the weekend.

In Seoul, cats and dogs suffering from fever and breathing difficulties will be subjected to a corona test if they are in contact with people with Covid-19.

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