Geneva (AFP)

The WHO announced on Wednesday that the anti-Covid vaccine developed by AstraZeneca could be administered to people over 65 and used even in a country where variants circulate, the effectiveness of the product in these two cases having been put involved in recent weeks.

"People over 65 should get the vaccine," said World Health Organization expert group chair Alejandro Cravioto.

This viral vector vaccine, developed by the British laboratory AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, has experienced setbacks in recent weeks, its effectiveness not having been considered sufficiently convincing for people over 65 years of age and in countries where variants circulate.

The AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine, which the UK was the first to administer to its population in December, has already been approved by several other countries and the EU.

Faced with the concern raised by the spread of variants, the European Union for its part said on Wednesday that it wanted to beef up its vaccine production.

Deemed "too optimistic" on deliveries by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the EU has affirmed its willingness to strengthen its mass production to better prepare the 27 for the spread of variants of the virus, which turn out to be often more contagious.

"We underestimated the difficulties associated with mass production (...) We were too optimistic, and undoubtedly too confident about the timely delivery of the doses ordered", admitted the head of the European executive. .

After the rapid design of vaccines, "the industry must adapt to the unprecedented pace of science (...) We need increased coordination on key ingredients, we must improve the ramping up of capacities", she insisted.

In the process, AstraZeneca announced to partner with the German IDT Biologika in order to be able to produce more vaccines for Europe from the second quarter.

- EU recovery fund adopted -

The EU, which on Tuesday evening crossed the symbolic threshold of 500,000 deaths linked to Covid-19, has however seen the trend improve in recent days.

During the week of February 3 to 9, 103,250 new cases were recorded daily on average in the 27 countries of the block, or 16% less than over the previous seven days.

The number of deaths was 3,137 recorded each day on average (-7%).

To cope with the economic difficulties linked to the health crisis, MEPs on Wednesday approved the massive stimulus fund intended to help EU countries, the release of 672.5 billion euros should not, however, occur for several months .

After a month's mission in Wuhan, China, experts from the World Health Organization were unable to unravel the origins of the pandemic and several questions remain unresolved such as the animal origin of the virus or the thesis, advanced by Beijing, that it could have been imported to China via frozen food.

On the last day of his stay in Wuhan, an expert from the delegation on Wednesday questioned the reliability of US intelligence on the pandemic.

"Don't be overly reliant on US intelligence" which is "frankly wrong in many ways," Peter Daszak tweeted.

- "Variants are spreading" -

Since the first cases of Covid-19 identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, the world has barricaded itself wondering about the origin of a health crisis that has killed more than 2.3 million to date.

A year later, many countries tighten their restriction measures.

Germany, less affected by the first wave of Covid-19 in spring 2020, thus wishes to extend the partial confinement in force until March 14, according to a draft agreement consulted on Wednesday by AFP.

If the infections slow down in the country, "the variants of the coronavirus are spreading", which makes it necessary "that the restrictions remain in place in the coming weeks", notes the government in the text which was to be submitted to the heads of the regions when 'a meeting this Wednesday.

The German laboratory BioNTech also announced on Wednesday the start of production of its vaccine, designed with the American Pfizer, in a new plant in Marburg (Germany), intended to increase deliveries.

- Japan in search of syringes -

In Japan, host country for the Olympics next summer, the vaccine campaign will begin next week, its Prime Minister announced on Wednesday, but the authorities are working hard to obtain suitable syringes so as not to waste doses.

In Russia, some 1.7 million people have been vaccinated, the country having passed the milestone of four million infections on Wednesday, according to authorities who recently admitted that the epidemic was deadlier than announced.

Despite the closure of the borders due to the pandemic, the Russian authorities are considering a simplification of the entry of migrant workers from the former Soviet republics, in the face of a labor shortage in construction and agriculture.

More than 151 million doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been administered in at least 91 countries or territories, according to a count made by AFP on Wednesday.

burs-fio / sg

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