Vaccine Woes Continue Across The Globe

AP: WHO: Europe's Vaccination Program Is 'Unacceptably Slow'
European nations’ immunization campaigns against COVID-19 are “unacceptably slow” and risk prolonging the pandemic, a senior World Health Organization official said Thursday. Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said vaccines “present our best way out of this pandemic,” but noted that to date, only 10% of Europe’s population has received one dose and that only 4% have been fully protected with two doses. “As long as coverage remains low, we need to apply the same public health and social measures as we have in the past, to compensate for delayed schedules,” Kluge said. (4/1)

AP: EU Nations Struggle To Full Show Vaccination Solidarity
The European Union is struggling to show complete coronavirus vaccination solidarity among member nations, after a week of negotiations over the distribution of extra doses exposed fissures on Friday. Five EU nations that struggled most to get their vaccination drive going were given extra doses from an alliance of 19 other countries. Three nations weren’t part of the deal, however, showing the difficulties of compromise politics when COVID-19 cases are surging again. (4/2)

CNBC: Europe Covid Vaccine: Slow Rollout Gives Lesson In EU Politics
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it herself: “The start was tough.” The European Union has had a bumpy Covid-19 vaccine rollout. The campaign has prompted complaints that regulators were too slow to approve the shots and led to a simmering tussle with AstraZeneca as the pharmaceutical giant repeatedly slashed its delivery commitments. (Amaro, 4/2)

Reuters: COVID-19 Landing In Canada Despite Pre-Flight Testing
More than 1,000 air passengers arrived in Canada infected with COVID-19 over a recent four-week period despite obligatory pre-departure testing, according to federal data that cast doubt on any broad easing of restrictions before the summer travel season. Canada began testing international arrivals in February, requiring air travelers to spend up to three days in hotel quarantine at their own expense until results come back, a measure criticized by airlines hit hard by the pandemic. People who test negative can finish a 14-day quarantine at home. (Mehler Paperny and Lampert, 4/1)

Axios: Canada's 3 Biggest Provinces Impose Fresh COVID Restrictions As Cases Surge 
Canada's three biggest provinces this week announced new coronavirus restrictions amid a surge in cases largely driven by COVID-19 variants, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ontario will enter a four-week limited lockdown — its third lockdown since the beginning of the pandemic — starting Saturday, which will ban all indoor activities. Earlier this week, Quebec closed schools and non-essential businesses, and British Columbia banned indoor activities, including places of worship. (Gonzalez, 4/1)

AP: China Aims To Vaccinate Entire City In 5 Days After Outbreak
A Chinese border city hit by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 began a five-day drive Friday to vaccinate its entire population of 300,000 people. State broadcaster CCTV showed people lining up and getting vaccinated in Ruili, where 16 cases have been confirmed since Tuesday. Twelve of them are Chinese and the other four are nationals of Myanmar, which lies across the border. A city Communist Party official told CCTV the previous day that 159,000 doses of vaccine had arrived in the city. (4/2)

The Atlantic: The Place With Surprisingly High Vaccine Hesitancy
Hong Kong’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic has put it in an enviable position. Bolstered by a public that learned difficult lessons from the 2003 SARS pandemic, and because of a relatively swift government response this time around, this city of roughly 7 million people has suffered fewer than 12,000 cases and only 205 deaths. It never underwent the large-scale, harsh lockdowns implemented elsewhere. The inconveniences that the pandemic brought here—closed beaches, overly crowded hiking trails, and an on-again, off-again curfew for bars and restaurants—seemed rather minor, petty even, in comparison with the collapsing health-care systems and mass burials experienced in other countries. (McLaughlin, 4/1)

Reuters: Opposition Grows Against UK Vaccine Passports
More than 70 British lawmakers have signalled their opposition to the introduction of so-called vaccine passports that the government is considering bringing in to help to open the economy as it starts lifting COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. The government is reviewing the idea of asking people to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to access crowded spaces such as pubs or sports events, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson having already said that a certificate is likely to be needed for international travel. (4/2)

Axios: India's Second Wave Hits The Whole World Through Vaccine Export Curbs 
Facing a brutal new wave of coronavirus cases, India on Thursday made anyone over 45 eligible for vaccination. But the scramble to vaccinate as many people as possible has also meant sharply curtailing exports. The hopes of vaccinating the world have largely fallen on the shoulders of India, a vaccine manufacturing powerhouse and home to the world’s largest producer, the Serum Institute. (Lawler, 4/1)

Reuters: India AstraZeneca Shot Delay Could Be 'Catastrophic' For Africa -Health Official
India’s temporary hold on major exports of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot will undermine Africa’s vaccination plans, and could have a “catastrophic” impact if extended, the head of the continent’s disease control body said on Thursday. India decided to delay big exports of the shots made in its territory by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to make sure it could meet local demand, two sources told Reuters last week. (4/1)