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Coronavirus live news: China builds quarantine centre for 4,000 people; Germany extends lockdown Coronavirus live news: China builds quarantine centre for 4,000 people; Germany extends lockdown
(32 minutes later)
China builds Covid-19 quarantine centre for Shijiazhuang; Germany extending lockdown until mid-February, with new rules on masksChina builds Covid-19 quarantine centre for Shijiazhuang; Germany extending lockdown until mid-February, with new rules on masks
Emirates and Etihad, two of the middle east’s biggest airlines, said Tuesday they would be among the first companies to test an application that allows pre-travel verification of coronavirus tests and vaccinations.
The United Arab Emirates carriers have partnered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to be among “the first airlines” worldwide to trial the IATA Travel Pass, both airlines said in separate statements.
The IATA said the mobile app would enable passengers to “create a ‘digital passport’ to verify their pre-travel test or vaccination meets the requirements of the destination”.
“They will also be able to share the test and vaccination certificates with authorities and airlines to facilitate travel,” it said in a statement.
In November, the association warned that “the Covid-19 crisis threatens the survival of the air transport industry”, with 2020 likely to go down in history as its “worst” year ever.
Serbia launched on Tuesday a mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign and became the first European country to use the Chinese-made Sinopharm jab.
“It is the only way to return to normal life,” said Health Minister Zlatibor Loncar, the first who received the vaccine.
“These are all very safe vaccines,” Loncar said as the state-run RTS television carried his vaccination live at the virology institute in Belgrade.
There is no reason for concern regarding their safety, he stressed.
Serbia received on Saturday one million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.
It is the third coronavirus jab used by the Balkan nation, after Pfizer-BioNTech and Russia’s Sputnik V.
The Amazonian city of Manaus in Brazil began administering vaccines against the coronavirus, providing a ray of hope for the rainforest’s biggest city whose health system is collapsing amid an increase in infections and dwindling oxygen supplies.Amazonas state governor Wilson Lima led a ceremony that kicked off the vaccination campaign Monday night in Manaus, an isolated riverside city of 2.2 million people.
Vanda Ortega, 33, a member of the Witoto ethnicity and a nurse technician, received the first dose of CoronaVac, a vaccine developed by Beijing-based biopharmaceutical company Sinovac.
“I want to thank God and our ancestors,” said Ortega, who is also a volunteer nurse in her Indigenous community.
Brazil on Monday began rolling out its national immunization program with 6 million doses of CoronaVac in almost a dozen states and hopes to receive 46 million doses up to April to distribute among states. Amazonas received 256,000 doses.
The state government on Tuesday started distributing the doses to municipalities. The priority in the first vaccination phase will be health workers, elderly people above 80 years old, and Indigenous people in about 265 villages.
The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed how underfunded and powerless the World Health Organization is to carry out the tasks the world expects of it, an independent expert panel said Tuesday.
The heads of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response presented a report to the WHO’s executive board which said that the UN health body could have acted faster and more decisively at the start of the pandemic to avert catastrophe.
But they stressed that the delays and failures could largely be attributed to the weak position of the UN agency, and said more funding and reforms were desperately needed.
“The world is more reliant on an effective WHO than ever before,” said former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who co-chairs the panel with former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark.
Hello everyone. I am taking over the coronavirus live blog while my colleague takes a lunch break. Please get in touch to share your thoughts, comments and news tips with me.Hello everyone. I am taking over the coronavirus live blog while my colleague takes a lunch break. Please get in touch to share your thoughts, comments and news tips with me.
Twitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.comTwitter: @sloumarshInstagram: sarah_marsh_journalistEmail: sarah.marsh@theguardian.com
Germany is extending its national lockdown until 14 February, with new rules making it mandatory to wear medical masks in shops and on public transport.Germany is extending its national lockdown until 14 February, with new rules making it mandatory to wear medical masks in shops and on public transport.
In a digital summit this afternoon, Angela Merkel and the heads of Germany’s 16 federal states agreed to carry over current restrictions on social gatherings and closures of nurseries, schools, restaurants and non-essential shops into the middle of next month.A new rule will ban people from wearing homemade cloth masks or scarves as face-coverings in shops and on trains and busses, instead mandating the use of “clinical masks”. This includes single-use surgical masks as well as filtering facepiece respirators, known as FFP2 masks in Europe or N95 respirators in the US. In a digital summit this afternoon, Angela Merkel and the heads of Germany’s 16 federal states agreed to carry over current restrictions on social gatherings and closures of nurseries, schools, restaurants and non-essential shops into the middle of next month.
A new rule will ban people from wearing homemade cloth masks or scarves as face-coverings in shops and on trains and busses, instead mandating the use of “clinical masks”. This includes single-use surgical masks as well as filtering facepiece respirators, known as FFP2 masks in Europe or N95 respirators in the US.
The southern German state of Bavaria and Austria introduced mandatory FFP2 rules this week, though several virologists warn that respirator masks need to be professionally fitted to guarantee effective protection.The southern German state of Bavaria and Austria introduced mandatory FFP2 rules this week, though several virologists warn that respirator masks need to be professionally fitted to guarantee effective protection.
Merkel and the federal heads of state also agreed to aim to further reduce contacts on public transport, though without a complete halt to inner-city bus and metro traffic, as previously mooted.Merkel and the federal heads of state also agreed to aim to further reduce contacts on public transport, though without a complete halt to inner-city bus and metro traffic, as previously mooted.
Instead, public transport companies could offer additional carriages or buses to rush-hour crushes, and companies will be further encouraged to let their employees work from home.Instead, public transport companies could offer additional carriages or buses to rush-hour crushes, and companies will be further encouraged to let their employees work from home.
New York governor Andrew Cuomo has asked Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla if the state could buy Covid vaccine doses directly from the US drugmaker, a move that prompted the US health department to raise ethical questions.New York governor Andrew Cuomo has asked Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla if the state could buy Covid vaccine doses directly from the US drugmaker, a move that prompted the US health department to raise ethical questions.
Pfizer told Reuters that such a proposal would first require approval by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A HHS spokesman said that Cuomo was trying to circumvent the system in which the federal government, which has paid Pfizer for the US’ allotment of vaccines already, allocates doses to each state. Pfizer told Reuters that such a proposal would first require approval by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A HHS spokesman said that Cuomo was trying to circumvent the system in which the federal government, which has paid Pfizer for the US’s allotment of vaccines already, allocates doses to each state.
New York is asking to “cut to the front of the line at the expense of fellow jurisdictions,” the spokesman said via email.New York is asking to “cut to the front of the line at the expense of fellow jurisdictions,” the spokesman said via email.
“After myself and seven other governors called on the Trump Administration to release more doses, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said that relief was on the way. To date, however, the federal government has not acted on that promise,” Cuomo wrote.“After myself and seven other governors called on the Trump Administration to release more doses, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said that relief was on the way. To date, however, the federal government has not acted on that promise,” Cuomo wrote.
Cuomo said he was appealing to Pfizer directly as the company was “not bound by commitments” that Moderna made as part of Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s program to distribute vaccines. Cuomo said he was appealing to Pfizer directly as the company was “not bound by commitments” that Moderna made as part of Operation Warp Speed, the US government’s programme to distribute vaccines.
No state has purchased vaccines directly from the producer and Cuomo’s letter did not state how many doses he was seeking or how he would pay for it.Pfizer said it was open to collaborating with the US HSS in a way that would ensure quick vaccine distribution to as many Americans as possible, Reuters reports.No state has purchased vaccines directly from the producer and Cuomo’s letter did not state how many doses he was seeking or how he would pay for it.Pfizer said it was open to collaborating with the US HSS in a way that would ensure quick vaccine distribution to as many Americans as possible, Reuters reports.
The eastern Spanish region of Valencia is to shut down all bars and restaurants “for a limited time” in a bid to slow the third wave of the coronavirus.The eastern Spanish region of Valencia is to shut down all bars and restaurants “for a limited time” in a bid to slow the third wave of the coronavirus.
Like the rest of Spain, Valencia has been under a state of emergency since the end of October and subject to an overnight curfew. But a surge in new Covid cases - and the fact that 52.8% of the region’s intensive care unit beds are currently occupied by coronavirus patients - has prompted the regional government to take tougher action. Like the rest of Spain, Valencia has been under a state of emergency since the end of October and subject to an overnight curfew. But a surge in new Covid cases – and the fact that 52.8% of the region’s intensive care unit beds are currently occupied by coronavirus patients – has prompted the regional government to take tougher action.
The regional president, Ximo Puig, is due to outline the measures later this afternoon.Although the central government declared the national state of emergency, regional governments are responsible for responding to the virus in their own territories. The regional president, Ximo Puig, is due to outline the measures later this afternoon. Although the central government declared the national state of emergency, regional governments are responsible for responding to the virus in their own territories.
Last week, Galicia banned all non-essential travel in the seven largest cities, ordered bars and restaurants to close at 4pm, and brought forward a curfew to 10pm, while La Rioja closed non-essential businesses at 5pm and limited group meetings to four people. Shops in Cantabria were banned from opening at weekends.Last week, Galicia banned all non-essential travel in the seven largest cities, ordered bars and restaurants to close at 4pm, and brought forward a curfew to 10pm, while La Rioja closed non-essential businesses at 5pm and limited group meetings to four people. Shops in Cantabria were banned from opening at weekends.
Spain recorded a record rise in new infections over the weekend, logging 84,300 new infections and bringing the country’s total caseload to 2,336,451. The number of new cases over the past 14 days rose to 689 per 100,000 people on Monday, up from 575 last Friday.Spain recorded a record rise in new infections over the weekend, logging 84,300 new infections and bringing the country’s total caseload to 2,336,451. The number of new cases over the past 14 days rose to 689 per 100,000 people on Monday, up from 575 last Friday.
As of Monday, 1,143,300 doses of the vaccine had been distributed by the central government, of which 897,942 administered to Spain’s population of almost 47 million people.As of Monday, 1,143,300 doses of the vaccine had been distributed by the central government, of which 897,942 administered to Spain’s population of almost 47 million people.
The response to the virus has been complicated in Madrid and many other areas by Stom Filomena, which brought the heaviest snows in decades.The response to the virus has been complicated in Madrid and many other areas by Stom Filomena, which brought the heaviest snows in decades.
On Tuesday, the central government declared Madrid and seven other affected areas disaster zones, making them eligible for emergency funds and support.On Tuesday, the central government declared Madrid and seven other affected areas disaster zones, making them eligible for emergency funds and support.
Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has warned that his government would prosecute anyone who shares false information about coronavirus vaccines in social or mass media.Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has warned that his government would prosecute anyone who shares false information about coronavirus vaccines in social or mass media.
The government already has the power to impose punishments under a state of emergency that was declared last March to deal with the pandemic. Prayuth’s warning was an apparent reaction to charges that his government has done too little to acquire adequate supplies of vaccines, the Associated Press reports.The government already has the power to impose punishments under a state of emergency that was declared last March to deal with the pandemic. Prayuth’s warning was an apparent reaction to charges that his government has done too little to acquire adequate supplies of vaccines, the Associated Press reports.
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the banned Future Forward Party who has already been disqualified as an MP amid criticism of the state, last night accused the government of acting too slowly to inoculate the country’s population (see 11:59am) and criticised the country’s coronavirus vaccine strategy as being too reliant on a company owned by the Thai king.Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the banned Future Forward Party who has already been disqualified as an MP amid criticism of the state, last night accused the government of acting too slowly to inoculate the country’s population (see 11:59am) and criticised the country’s coronavirus vaccine strategy as being too reliant on a company owned by the Thai king.
“Do not blame me for threatening legal action,” Prayuth said. “I need to keep people’s confidence and trust in government.”“Do not blame me for threatening legal action,” Prayuth said. “I need to keep people’s confidence and trust in government.”
Health officials at a news conference today defended the effort to procure vaccines.Supakit Sirilak, director general of the Medical Science Department, said the health ministry has been working to obtain vaccine supplies since last February, but has taken time to evaluate which are appropriate.Health officials at a news conference today defended the effort to procure vaccines.Supakit Sirilak, director general of the Medical Science Department, said the health ministry has been working to obtain vaccine supplies since last February, but has taken time to evaluate which are appropriate.
A first batch of 200,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine from China is scheduled to arrive next month. After that, 26 million doses of a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company, to be manufactured in Thailand will start being distributed in May.A first batch of 200,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine from China is scheduled to arrive next month. After that, 26 million doses of a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company, to be manufactured in Thailand will start being distributed in May.
Thailand has suffered less than most countries its size from the pandemic, but a second wave of infections began in December. It has had 12,594 cases and 70 deaths.Thailand has suffered less than most countries its size from the pandemic, but a second wave of infections began in December. It has had 12,594 cases and 70 deaths.
A candidate Covid vaccine known as EpiVacCorona, Russia’s second to be registered, proved “100% effective” in early-stage Phase I and II trials, Russian consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has told local media.A candidate Covid vaccine known as EpiVacCorona, Russia’s second to be registered, proved “100% effective” in early-stage Phase I and II trials, Russian consumer health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has told local media.
“The effectiveness of the vaccine is made up of its immunological effectiveness and preventative effectiveness,” the TASS news agency reported, citing Rospotrebnadzor. “According to results of the first and second phases of clinical trials, the immunological effectiveness of the EpiVacCorona vaccine is 100%.”“The effectiveness of the vaccine is made up of its immunological effectiveness and preventative effectiveness,” the TASS news agency reported, citing Rospotrebnadzor. “According to results of the first and second phases of clinical trials, the immunological effectiveness of the EpiVacCorona vaccine is 100%.”
Russia began testing EpiVacCorona, which is being developed by Siberia’s Vector Institute, in November. Earlier that month, Moscow said its other approved vaccine, Sputnik V, was 92% effective at protecting people from Covid based on interim results, Reuters reports.Russia began testing EpiVacCorona, which is being developed by Siberia’s Vector Institute, in November. Earlier that month, Moscow said its other approved vaccine, Sputnik V, was 92% effective at protecting people from Covid based on interim results, Reuters reports.
Russia has said it can inoculate 60% of its population against Covid this year, but although the Sputnik V vaccine has been readily available in Moscow, the rollout across the country has been slow. Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered mass vaccinations to start this week.Russia has said it can inoculate 60% of its population against Covid this year, but although the Sputnik V vaccine has been readily available in Moscow, the rollout across the country has been slow. Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered mass vaccinations to start this week.
EpiVacCorona will be used in mass vaccinations from March, deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova told the Interfax news agency.EpiVacCorona will be used in mass vaccinations from March, deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova told the Interfax news agency.
Russia, a country of 144 million people, has reported 3,612,800 coronavirus cases, the world’s fourth-highest total. Its death toll from the virus stands at 66,623.Russia, a country of 144 million people, has reported 3,612,800 coronavirus cases, the world’s fourth-highest total. Its death toll from the virus stands at 66,623.
Sweden, whose unorthodox pandemic strategy has placed it in the global spotlight, registered 268 new Covid-linked deaths since Friday, taking the total to 10,591, health agency statistics showed on Tuesday.
The country of 10 million inhabitants also registered 9,779 new coronavirus cases, a significant fall compared to 17,395 cases during the corresponding period last week.
“It has started to come down in all age groups, although primarily among younger people,” chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell told a news conference. “We will see if it lasts.”
The deaths registered have occurred over several days and weeks with many from the Christmas period being registered with a significant delay.
Sweden’s death rate per capita is several times higher than that of its Nordic neighbours’ but lower than in several European countries that opted for lockdowns, Reuters reports.
Some 340 patients were being treated in intensive care on Tuesday, a decline of around 20 from last week, as hospitals continued to battle a second wave of the virus that has been of much the same magnitude as the deadly outbreak during spring.
The Health Agency also said 147,000 doses of vaccine had been used as of the end of last week, equal to one dose for around 1.5% of the population.
Denmark may extend its current lockdown measures beyond early February despite a fall in Covid infections because a more contagious variant first identified in the UK is still spreading, prime minister Mette Frederiksen has said.
Last week, Denmark extended its lockdown for three more weeks in a bid to curtail the spread of the new, more contagious variant, which authorities expect to be the dominant one by mid-February.
“The infection [rate] is decreasing, but the threat is clear. If we don’t contain the pressure, we may risk an exponential increase in infections,” Frederiksen told parliament.
Some restrictions may need to be extended, possibly as early as Tuesday, she added, without elaborating.
Under current lockdown measures, restaurants, bars and non-essential shops are closed and public gatherings are limited to five people. A two-metre distancing rule is in force in public areas, including shops.
Denmark’s reproduction rate, which indicates how many people one person infected with Covid on average transmits the virus to, has fallen to 0.6 from about 1.0 a month ago, health minister Magnus Heunicke said in a tweet yesterday, with hospitalisations falling.
The reproduction number specific to the new variant is estimated to be around 1.16, meaning those infections are rising, the State Serum Institute said.
Tackling the existential risk posed by the climate crisis will be made harder by the growing gap between rich and poor triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Economic Forum has said.
The body that organises the annual gathering of the global elite in the Swiss town of Davos said warning signs of the threat posed by infectious disease had been ignored for the past 15 years, with disastrous results.
Despite the loss of almost 2 million lives to Covid-19, the WEF’s global risks report found that environmental issues were considered to pose the biggest danger in the coming years, both in terms of impact and likelihood.
Klaus Schwab, the executive chairman of the WEF, said: “In 2020, the risk of a global pandemic became reality. As governments, businesses and societies survey the damage inflicted over the last year, strengthening strategic foresight is now more important than ever.”
Schwab added: “Growing societal fragmentation – manifested through persistent and emerging risks to human health, rising unemployment, widening digital divides, and youth disillusionment – can have severe consequences in an era of compounded economic, environmental, geopolitical and technological risks.”
The WEF report said the Covid-19 pandemic had widened longstanding health, economic and digital disparities, making it harder to secure the international cooperation needed to combat challenges such as environmental degradation.
Clark thanks Tedros Adhanom, WHO secretary general, for “enabling” her independent panel’s work to produce an impartial review of the international health response to Covid after appointing her and Sirleaf.
She calls on states to act more decisively to stem the pandemic and to reset preparedness and response systems to ensure that this can’t happen again.
Nurses across the world are burnt out and considering quitting when the main impact of the pandemic is over, Clark says, despite the world needing another estimated 6 million nurses by 2030.
“An exodus now exacerbates those pressures, and that’s just one of so many spill over impacts of the pandemic,” she adds.
“Our panel strongly recommends that all countries immediately and consistently adopt and implement those public health measures that will reduce the spread and impact of Covid-19. We must do all we can to stop the pandemic now.”
An independent panel reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, led by former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark and former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is to brief the media on their second progress report.
Yesterday, they said that Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January 2020 to curb the initial Covid-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organization for not declaring an international emergency until 30 January (see 11:49pm).
“What is clear to the panel is that public health measures could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January,” the report said, referring to the initial outbreak of the disease in the central city of Wuhan, in Hubei province.
As evidence emerged of human-to-human transmission, “in far too many countries, this signal was ignored”, it added.
You can follow the briefing here, and we’ll bring you the key information as it comes.
India, one of the world’s biggest drugmakers, will start exports of Covid vaccines as early as Wednesday, government sources told Reuters, paving the way for other countries to secure supplies of the easy-to-store Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
The first batch of exports will be shipped to the tiny nation of Bhutan, said the officials, who asked not to be named as no formal announcement has yet been made in India.
Two million doses of the Covishield vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII), will also be despatched to Bangladesh on Thursday, officials said.
Bangladesh’s foreign ministry confirmed the plan, saying a special flight from India carrying the first consignment will land in Dhaka on Thursday. “Bangladesh will receive 2 million doses of Oxford-Astrazenca Covid-19 vaccines from India as a gift on 21 January,” it said in a statement.
India has received requests from dozens of nations, including urgent appeals from Brazil, to begin exports of the vaccine from the SII centre in the western city of Pune.
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s government, however, wanted to roll out the vaccination drive at home before launching exports, one of the sources said.
India began giving shots of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, as well as another developed by Bharat Biotech – which faces controversy today (see 11:37am) – to health workers on Saturday.
Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and the Maldives have all made requests for early delivery of vaccines.
Tanzania’s president John Magufuli urged farmers in the country to increase food production as he predicted global shortages later this year due to pandemic lockdowns, especially in some of the largest food-producing states.
“This year there is a possibility of a severe famine in the world because many people are in lockdown because of corona, but this should not discourage us because even if they are imprisoned they still need to eat. We will grow crops that we will sell to them,” he said.
Magufuli’s idiosyncratic handling of Covid in Tanzania, which like many other African countries is not known to have been significantly impacted, put him into the spotlight last year as he declared victory over the virus and downplayed fears.
Japan’s southernmost region, Okinawa, has declared a state of emergency due to the pandemic, as the country grapples with a surge in infections six months before it is set to host the summer Olympics.
Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki said emergency measures include asking restaurants and bars to close by 8pm and residents to also refrain from non-urgent outings after that time – until 7 February.
The national government had already issued a state of emergency for Tokyo and other areas but the southern island, which hosts the bulk of US military forces in Japan, went ahead and declared an emergency of its own after a spike in cases.
The prefecture confirmed 113 cases on Tuesday, its third-highest daily tally on record, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Shizuoka prefecture, home to Mount Fuji, has also declared “an emergency alert” of its own after it found cases of a more contagious coronavirus variant, Kyodo News reported.
It comes as medical experts warned that hospitals in Covid-hit regions of Japan are on the brink of collapse as the country battles a third wave of infections that has caused record numbers of people to fall seriously ill (see 11:15am).
Thailand’s government has defended its coronavirus vaccine strategy against criticism that it is too reliant on a company owned by the country’s King.
The attack by opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit came as Thailand battles its biggest rise in infections and after months of youth-led protests that brought a rare challenge to the monarchy.
Criticising the royal family is illegal. The outspoken Juangroongruangkit has already been disqualified as an MP and had his party banned amid claims that the judiciary is pro-government.
“These baseless and inaccurate accusations shouldn*t be linked to the work of the institution we revere and love,” said Nakorn Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute, referring to the monarchy.
He said that royally owned Siam Bioscience had been the most obvious choice of many companies considered for technology transfer from pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca to make 200m vaccine doses each year for Thailand and other nations, Reuters reports.
Siam Bioscience is wholly owned by a subsidiary of the Crown Property Bureau, which manages tens of billions of dollars in investments under king Maha Vajiralongkorn’s personal control.
Thanathorn made his comments on Facebook Live on Monday at an event titled “Royal Vaccine: Who Benefits and Who Doesn’t?”
He made no accusations of impropriety against AstraZeneca but said Siam Bioscience lacked vaccine-making experience and the government was relying on it too heavily.
Siam Bioscience’s managing director, Songpon Deechongkit, declined to comment on the criticism. “We want to focus on our responsibility to produce the vaccine in time, with quality, with the appropriate amount,” Songpon told Reuters.Asked about Thanathorn’s criticism, prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters: “It*s all distorted and not factual at all. I will order prosecution for anything false that gets published, whether in media or social media.”
Thailand has suffered less than most countries its size from the pandemic, but a second wave of infections began in December. It has had 12,594 cases and 70 deaths.
Spain will sell 30,000 doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to microstate Andorra, as part of its plan to redistribute excess vaccines, the country’s health ministry has announced.
With fewer than 80,000 inhabitants, Andorra, a small country wedged between France and Spain, has reported 9,145 infections and 92 deaths since the Covid-19 pandemic started, official data shows.
As part of EU purchase agreements, Spain will receive 140m of doses of the different vaccines that were developed, enough to immunise more people than its population of 47 million, Reuters reports.
Some EU countries were made responsible for getting medicines to the states of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City, which depend on bigger neighbours for access.
“This is an exercise in responsibility and solidarity, as small countries are unable to sign contracts with pharmaceutical companies,” Spain’s health minister Salvador Illa tweeted.
Spanish authorities said they will sell the vaccines at the same price they paid. The price has not been disclosed.