Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Tests Corona Virus Positive .

Imran Khan

 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has tested positive for COVID-19, the country's health minister said on Saturday, two days after he got his vaccination.

Prime Minister   is now in Home Isolation . Imaran Khan who is now  68, has been holding regular and frequent meetings lately, including attending a security conference held in capital Islamabad that was attended by a large number of people.

He addressed the conference without wearing a mask, and attended another gathering to inaugurate a housing project for poor people in a similar fashion on Friday.

Mr Khan, a former captain of the national cricket team who became prime minister in August 2018, received Chinese-produced Sinopharm vaccine on Thursday.

Imran Khan was tested for coronavirus after developing a "slight cough", according to one of his senior advisers, and he now has a mild fever.

Vaccine hesitancy has been a major concern in Pakistan, and the prime minister's decision to broadcast footage of himself receiving the jab was praised as an attempt to encourage others to do the same.

Partial lockdown restrictions have recently been reintroduced in parts of the country following a rise in cases.

Pakistan began vaccinations for the general public on 10 March, starting with elderly people.

Along with Sinopharm, the country has approved the CanSinoBio, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines for emergency use.

 

 

European countries to restart use of Oxford /AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine .

 
Germany, France, Italy and Spain said they would resume using the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine after the EU drugs regulator said there was a “clear scientific conclusion” that the jab was “safe and effective”.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) reviewed the jab after 13 European countries suspended use of the vaccine over fears of a link to blood clots.

It found the jab was "not associated" with a higher risk of clot.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday called on countries to continue using the vaccine, and is due to release the results of its own review into the vaccine's safety on Friday.

The agency's investigation focused on a small number of cases of unusual blood disorders. In particular, it was looking at cases of cerebral venous thrombosis - blood clots in the head.

EMA officials said they could not “definitively” rule out a link between the vaccine and a rarer, and more serious, type of blood clot associated with a low platelet count. “A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possibel and deserves further analysis,” the agency said. Cooke recommended an awareness campaign that aimed to “spot and mitigate any possible side effects” of the vaccine 

The suspensions this week by more than a dozen European countries including Germany and Spain dealt a fresh blow to the continent’s ailing vaccination campaign.

The Oxford  jab has faced multiple challenges. Early data generated by clinical trials were criticised by some experts as being inconsistent. 

At Least 10 European Countries Suspended Use Of Oxford - Astrazeneca Covid-19 Vaccine As Serious Side Effects Found .

 

Many European countries have temporarily suspended use of AstraZeneca vaccines after blood clots in some people who had been inoculated.

With at least 10 countries suspending the use of the Covid-19 vaccine by Astra- Zeneca-Oxford University amid concerns that it may be potentially causing dangerous blood clots in some recipients, India, too, has decided to review the hospitalisations and deaths in people who took Covishield,

Covishield is developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India. Bharat Biotech has developed Covaxin in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Virology.

 Countries like Austria, Norway , Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxemburg have withdrawn the use of one batch of Astrazeneca vaccine, while others including Denmark have suspended the use of all its supply for two weeks, pending investigations. As per reports, at least 22 recipients of AstraZeneca had developed coagulation disorder and pulmonary embolism in various European countries. 

However, the World Health Organization on Friday said there was no reason to stop using AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Its vaccines advisory committee was looking at safety data and WHO stressed that no link had been established between the vaccine and clotting. Senior authorities in the Union health ministry and national committee on Adverse Event Following Immunisation said the development is assessed in India’s context. 

Police in China and South Africa have seized thousands of fake doses of Covid-19 vaccine.

South African police seized the fake vaccine in Germiston, Gauteng.

 

South African  police seized 400 ampoules, providing 2,400 doses, of a fake vaccine in Germiston, Gauteng, along with a big supply of fake 3M brand masks. They arrested a Zambian national and three Chinese suspects. 

That raid led to a second on a manufacturing premises in China, where police seized 3,000 fake vaccines and arrested 80 suspects.

The Chinese authorities believe they have dismantled an organised crime group making the fake drugs and distributing them abroad .

Police found 400 ampoules, which provide 2,400 doses, in South Africa. 

 

 

A Ministry of Public Security spokesman said: "The Chinese government attaches great importance to vaccine security.

"Chinese police are conducting a targeted campaign to prevent and crack down on crimes related to vaccines, proactively investigating and combating crimes related to vaccines in accordance with law."

Interpol, the international police organisation, said it was aware of fake vaccine scams aimed at nursing homes and warned that no approved vaccines were currently available for sale online.

Interpol said that in addition to the arrests in South Africa and China it was also receiving additional reports of fake vaccine distribution and scam attempts targeting health bodies such as nursing homes.

It warned that no approved vaccines were available for sale online.

In the US, Homeland Security agents recently seized 10 million fake 3M brand masks after counterfeits were sold to hospitals, other medical centres and government agencies in five states.

Since the pandemic began, US agents have seized $33 million worth of fake COVID-19 products and arrested 200 suspects.