The stalled Corona virus vaccination campaign in Europe faced more obstacles, while it was witnessing progress in the United States.

In several regions of the world, the epidemic is spreading at a rapid rate, with record numbers of deaths or injuries recorded in countries including Brazil, India and Iran.

The anti-Corona vaccination campaign in Europe faced new problems after the European Medicines Regulatory Authority announced that it is studying the side effects of the "Johnson & Johnson" vaccine, and France put an end to the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, and the latter's announcement of delaying the delivery of doses scheduled for this week to countries in the Union European.

The European Medicines Agency announced yesterday that it is studying blood clotting infections after taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, after recording 4 cases, including one death.

She said that 3 cases were recorded in the United States and the fourth during clinical trials at an unspecified location, and on the other hand, the US Food and Drug Administration stated that it had not yet found a link between the use of this vaccine and the reported cases of blood clots.

The European Commission approved the "Johnson & Johnson vaccine", and it is scheduled to start administering it in European Union countries this April.

Yesterday, AstraZeneca announced that it will delay the delivery of half of the doses expected this week to the European Union, according to Agence France-Presse, citing a spokesperson for the group.

The AstraZeneca vaccine itself had recently faced problems after reports showed that it caused dozens of cases of blood clots in European countries, including Britain and France, which necessitated suspending its use for some time.

And the Supreme Health Authority in France announced that people who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine and did not exceed the age of 55 years will receive their second dose of either the Pfizer vaccine or Moderna.

Vaccination in America

In the United States, the vaccination campaign appeared to be progressing rapidly, with President Joe Biden's administration seeking to vaccinate all adults against the virus by the end of May.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that about 179 million Americans had received, as of Friday morning local time, a single dose of anti-corona vaccines, while more than 233 million doses had been distributed.

The disclosure of these numbers comes at a time when the authorities of Detroit, Michigan, intend to communicate directly with residents in their homes to urge them to have vaccinations, according to the Associated Press.

A deceased person with Corona virus is buried in a cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil (Reuters)

The epidemic is spreading rapidly

In terms of the global spread of the epidemic, the number of deaths due to the Corona virus in Brazil for the first time exceeded 4000 deaths yesterday, Friday, which raised the total to about 340 thousand, and more than 93 thousand new cases of the virus were counted.

Only 3% of the 210 million Brazilians received two doses of the Corona vaccine, and hospitals in most states face severe pressure, with the occupancy rate of beds in intensive care rooms reaching 90%.

On Friday, the Senate said that it would open an investigation into the government's handling of the Corona epidemic, and this comes at a time when President Jair Bolsonaro continues to resist lockdown measures.

In turn, Iran recorded, on Friday, about 22,600 new infections with the Corona virus, in a new record, and the previous two days had recorded close numbers, which prompted the authorities to place dozens of cities within the high-risk level.

Yesterday, India also counted a record number of infections with 132,000 new infections, and this development comes while the authorities imposed tight restrictions, including curfews, on areas including the capital, New Delhi and Maharashtra, which were most affected by the second wave of the virus.

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the spread of the third wave of the epidemic in his country as worrying, calling for tougher measures.

Globally, the number of injuries increased this Saturday morning to 135 million and 333 thousand, and deaths to two million and 929 thousand, while the number of people recovering from the disease increased to 108 million and 893, according to the latest data published by the "World Meter" website.

Lebanon's hospitals face pressure as injuries rise (Getty Images)

Arab countries

In the Arab world, large numbers of infections continue to be recorded in a number of Arab countries, and in contrast, the numbers stabilize in other countries at relatively low levels.

Yesterday, Tunisia recorded more than two thousand new cases of the virus, and 43 deaths, and this comes amid warnings that the country is on the verge of a more serious epidemic situation.

In turn, Lebanon recorded 2,500 new cases of the virus yesterday and 43 deaths.

The injuries remained below a thousand in countries such as Egypt and Morocco.