Russian expert: The new Corona strains are more capable of infecting children

The Red Cross warns of a wide gap in the deployment of vaccines

The "Pfizer-Biontech" project will provide the European Union with an additional four million doses over the next two weeks.

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Yesterday, the Red Cross warned of a wide gap in plans to spread the new Corona virus (Covid-19) vaccines in the world, stressing that remote communities face the risk of doses not reaching them, while a Russian expert said that the new Corona strains are more capable of Children injured.

In detail, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies seeks to help vaccinate 500 million people against the virus.

The International Federation, which says it is the largest humanitarian network in the world, plans to share its expertise in distributing and receiving vaccines among a number of hard-to-reach communities.

However, he said that while purchasing vaccines and delivering them to airports are two important issues, however, "little thought" has been given to the next step regarding how to distribute within countries, reaching the "last mile" in the most remote areas.

The Geneva-based association said it needs 100 million Swiss francs (111 million dollars, 92.5 million euros) to bridge the logistical gap between the arrival of vaccines at airports in major cities and remote residential communities.

But so far, the Federation of Humanitarian Associations has managed to collect only 3% of that amount.

"Without this funding, there will remain a gap between vaccines that ultimately put an end to the epidemic, and some of the most vulnerable and isolated people in the world," said Federation President Francisco Roca.

"Such a gap means that the virus will continue to spread and mutate, and that people will continue to get sick and die from it," he added.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent plans to strengthen the national vaccination campaigns, including logistical support and address misinformation about the effectiveness of the vaccine.

The global Kovacs Vaccine Sharing Mechanism shipped more than 20 million doses to 20 countries, with the launch of a program aimed at ensuring that vaccines reach the poorest countries.

The platform seeks to distribute 14.4 million doses of "Covid-19" vaccines to 31 additional countries this week.

Rocca said that "initiatives such as Kovacs ensure that the vaccine reaches airports in the capitals of the participating countries."

"But they must be complemented by initiatives aimed at transferring these vaccines from the airport grounds to the arms of everyone who needs them," he added.

The local teams of the Humanitarian Network seek to identify the most vulnerable people, who may not be seen by the authorities for cultural, linguistic or social reasons.

The Federation's National Societies are working to assist vaccination campaigns, and their efforts have contributed to the vaccination of about seven million people, the majority of them in the Asia-Pacific region.

This comes at a time when the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said yesterday that the German-American joint project, "Pfizer - Biontech", to produce a vaccine against "Covid-19", will provide the European Union with four million additional doses during the next two weeks to counter the spread of the strains. Mutated from the virus.

"Through their targeted use, which is especially needed in border areas, these doses will also help ensure or restore the free movement of goods and people," von der Leyen said in a written statement.

The German-American joint venture of the pharmaceutical companies "Biontech" and "Pfizer" has three vaccines for the deadly respiratory disease, one of which has been approved for use in the agglomeration so far.

The Commission expects to receive about 100 million doses of these three vaccines, by the end of this March.

The Pfizer-Biontech project was initially expected to provide 62 million doses in total, but now 66 million are expected to be delivered.

The European Commission stated that it had negotiated an increase, so that member states could use the doses in areas where mutated strains of the virus were feared.

The UNHCR statement stated that the "Pfizer - Biontech vaccine" has proven its effectiveness against all currently known strains of the Coronavirus.

In the same context, a Russian expert confirmed that the mutated strains of the Corona virus, which are currently spreading in Europe, are more capable of infecting children, but he explained that their infection is usually slight or even without symptoms on them.

Yesterday, Russian news agency TASS quoted the expert Yevgeny Timakov, a specialist in infectious diseases and vaccines, as saying: “These strains affect children to a greater degree than their predecessors.

The virus mutates, and changes in a way that makes it affect more people, bypasses various immune barriers, finds holes in our immune system, and covers all segments of the population.

This is its natural development, and this is what happened and happens with any virus.

New strains are more infectious. ”

He pointed out that although children are more susceptible to infection with new strains, their infection is usually slight or even without symptoms, that is, without serious repercussions.

In response to a question about the importance of children getting vaccinated, he said that it is unnecessary when it comes to children under the age of 12.

He said: “I am a supporter of vaccination, but when it comes to the Coronavirus, I take a thought about whether children under the age of 10-12 years, that is, before puberty, should receive a vaccine against Corona, because the infection is not dangerous for them. As it is for adults.

People at risk need the vaccine more ».

• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies seeks to help vaccinate 500 million people against the virus.

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