Boris gets his jab
The Prime Ministers of the UK and France both received their first dose of the AstraZeneca jab today, in the hope that it will quell fears over the vaccine’s safety.
It’s may not come as a surprise that Boris, 56, didn’t hold out for the Johnson&Johnson jab, which is likely to be approved any day now. Perhaps he (sensibly) realised that a personalised jab may be a nice touch, but repairing AstraZeneca’s dented reputation is a more pressing concern.
A host of European countries – including France, Germany and Italy – have resumed their rollout of the jab this morning, after the European Medicines Agency calmed their fears over blood clots yesterday: the jab is “safe and effective”, the regulator insisted.
This swift re-approval enabled French PM, Jean Castex, to get his AZ dose at a hospital near Paris today. The event was even broadcast live on French TV as part of the efforts to restore public confidence in the vaccine.
In the UK, the AZ rollout was never halted, but the raft of suspensions across Europe have still had an effect. GPs and pharmacists have warned of a number of people cancelling their vaccination slots in the past week.
That being said, the French have unquestionably got a much bigger task on their hands when it comes to restoring faith in the jab. According to a survey conducted this week, 20% of French individuals trust the AstraZeneca jab, while 58% actively distrust it.
What slightly undermines the French government’s efforts to rebuild trust in the vaccine, however, is that Castex, 55, has only just qualified for his jab. While the French medical regulator has re-approved the AstraZeneca, they’ve done so just for those over 55. The rationale being those younger are more susceptible to blood clots. But this rather feels like a bizarre sequel to the regrettable “quasi-ineffective in the elderly” episode.
As cases soar across the country, encouraging vaccine uptake will be of the utmost importance for Macron. In the capital, 1,200 people are in intensive care -a greater number than at the peak of France’s second wave in November. And Parisians are heading back into another lockdown at midnight.
Meanwhile, things are not so gloomy on British soil; only 0.3% of the population are currently infected with Covid-19, which is the lowest figure since mid-September. And while the UK was one of those worst 10 affected countries during the second wave, according to ONS figures released today, the death rate was certainly not the worst in Europe.
Yesterday, the UK hit a new vaccination record as 647,378 doses were administered across the country. This figure equates to roughly 1% of the entire population.
Atlanta shootings aftermath
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are meeting with Asian-American leaders in Atlanta, Georgia today following the horrifying murder of seven women and one man – six of them Asian-American – on Tuesday.
The suspect charged with the killings is Robert Aaron Long, a 21-year-old white man. The attack took place at three spas in Atlanta within the space of a couple of hours. The police released an image of Long from CCTV footage and he was later arrested in Crisp County about 150 miles south of the city.
Speculation has swirled about the killer’s motivation. According to the statement released by the police, Long claims he was motivated not by racial hatred but by sex addiction – though local authorities say there was no indication that the victims were sex workers.
So far, neither the police nor the FBI have described the murders as a hate crime. However, one eye-witness survivor interviewed by a local Korean language newspaper claimed the shooter shouted “I’m going to kill all Asians” while carrying out his rampage.
The vicious murders comes amid a disturbing surge in racist violence directed at Asian-Americans across the country. Some consider this as tied to rising anti-China sentiment fuelled by the pandemic.
Many on social media have accused the police of being wilfully bling to racism. Comments by police Captain Jay Barker – “yesterday was a really bad day for [the shooter] and this is what he did”- were criticised as overly sympathetic to the killer.
Whatever the truth, these attacks have left many in the Asian-American community grief-stricken, outraged and fearful.
Biden’s own grief-filled past and talent for empathetic connection with victims of tragedy has led some to dub him America’s “mourner-in-chief”. He will bring what comfort he can.
A change of tack for Tanzania
Tanzania has sworn in its first female leader after the death of former president John Magufuli earlier this week.
Samia Suluhu Hassan, the country’s former Vice President, is also the first leader to have been born in Zanzibar; the archipelago that forms part of the union of the Republic of Tanzania.
The 61 year-old’s first public address as president was an emotional tribute to her predecessor, who died of heart disease. “I have a wound in my heart,” she declared.
Yet, despite her tender words for the former president, many are hoping she will represent change. While Hassan is described a softly-spoken consensus builder, Magufuli – nicknamed the “Bulldozer”- was considered a brash populist who was intolerant of dissent. Human Rights Watch has said today that the East African nation has a chance to revive its democracy and reverse the country’s “downward human rights trajectory.”
Her predecessor attracted criticism for his handling of the pandemic. Magufuli was a vocal Covid sceptic who urged Tanzanians to pray the coronavirus away. He shunned mask-wearing and denounced vaccines as a Western conspiracy. Under Magufuli, the government also said that it wouldn’t be procuring any vaccines.
Hassan made no mention of the coronavirus in her speech today. But everyone is waiting eagerly to see if she will change tack.
Caitlin Allen,
Reaction Reporter