It was an event that could set a precedent in a world longing for a return to normal - a music concert attended by scores of Israelis vaccinated against COVID-19.

The open-air concert in Tel Aviv on Wednesday was one of the first in a programme to restart cultural events by restricting attendance to people who have been vaccinated or those with immunity after contracting the disease.

Attendees were required to show a “Green Pass”, a government-validated certificate showing they had received both doses of the vaccine more than a week prior to the event or that they had recovered from COVID-19 and were presumed immune.

The passes are valid for six months from the time of full vaccination.

“It provides protection, but also a feeling of comfort to sit among people who are vaccinated,” said Doron Zicher, a retired businessman who was preparing to watch Israeli singer Nurit Galron perform at dusk in Yarkon Park.

“After a year staying at home in a sort of isolated environment it feels great to go out and experience public shows and activities.”

Israel launched the pass scheme at the weekend as it reopened its economy. Nearly half of Israelis have received the first of two required doses.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-israel-green-pass/new-normal-green-pass-opens-music-concert-to-vaccinated-israelis-idUSKBN2AO2K7

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed today that Moderna will meet its contractual obligation to deliver 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by the end of March.

Speaking in question period, Trudeau said that the Massachusetts-based firm will send 460,000 doses during the week of March 8 and 840,000 doses starting on March 22 — 1.3 million doses.

That's in addition to the 518,000 Moderna shots that have been administered already and the 168,000 doses that are set to arrive this week, for a total of roughly 2 million in the first quarter of this year.

In announcing the new Moderna numbers, Trudeau said Canada will receive "even more than promised in the first quarter." But the government has always maintained that 2 million shots will arrive in the January through March period.

Canada's other current supplier of vaccines, Pfizer, has confirmed already it is on target to ship 4 million shots by the end of March. All told, there will be enough shots on hand to fully vaccinate 3 million people with a two-dose regime.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/moderna-million-doses-march-1.5926453

Moderna said Wednesday it has shipped to the National Institutes of Health doses of a new Covid-19 vaccine designed to provide better protection against the highly contagious coronavirus variant spreading in South Africa.

The vaccine – which Moderna is calling mRNA-1273.351 – is ready to be tested in an early stage clinical trial to determine if it can be used as a booster shot against the South African strain, also known as B.1.351, the company said. Moderna has found its current two-dose regimen generates a weaker immune response against the strain from South Africa, though the company said antibodies in patients remain above levels that are expected to be protective against the virus.

“Moderna is committed to making as many updates to our vaccine as necessary until the pandemic is under control,” the company’s CEO, Stephane Bancel, said in a press release. “We hope to demonstrate that booster doses, if necessary, can be done at lower dose levels, which will allow us to provide many more doses to the global community in late 2021 and 2022 if necessary.”

The company said Wednesday that it plans to evaluate three approaches to increasing immunity. The first approach would use variant-specific booster shots, such as mRNA-1273.351, but at a lower dose than the original vaccine. The second one would combine the original vaccine with a variant-specific vaccine into a single shot at 50 micrograms or lower, Moderna said. The third would test a third shot of the original vaccine at a lower dosage.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/24/moderna-covid-vaccine-booster-shots-south-africa-variant-trials.html

Pfizer Inc expects to deliver more than 13 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine per week to the United States by the middle of March, more than doubling its shipments from early February, a top Pfizer executive said in prepared testimony ahead of a Tuesday congressional hearing.

Pfizer is on track to deliver 120 million doses of its two-dose regimen by the end of March, said John Young, Pfizer’s chief business officer.

Pfizer is also prepared to provide a total of 300 million shots to the United States by the end of July and has raised global production expectations for 2021 to at least 2 billion doses, he said.

In his own prepared remarks, Moderna Inc President Stephen Hoge said the drugmaker plans to deliver 100 million doses of its two-dose shot by the end of March, and 300 million by the end of July.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-vaccines-idUSKBN2AM2LW?taid=6034458fc833cc0001df48fa

The U.S. vaccine supply for next month just got bigger. 

​On Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson said it will be ready next month to ship 20 million doses of its one-shot vaccine. That adds to a coming surge in vaccine availability, according to a Bloomberg analysis of drugmaker promises.

Along with vaccines from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., which both require two doses, the delivery targets through next month will be enough to fully vaccinate 130 million Americans.

Bloomberg’s analysis is based on company statements, data on the number of shots already delivered and conversations with people familiar with the efforts who spoke on condition of anonymity. The analysis assumes J&J’s shot, which hasn’t been approved yet, is cleared for use and that drugmakers meet their new delivery targets — not a guarantee.

The vaccine makers are appearing before Congress Tuesday to give an overview of the rollout so far. J&J will be ready to hand over 4 million doses upon approval and a total of 20 million doses in March, Richard Nettles, J&J’s vice president of U.S. medical affairs for infectious diseases and vaccines, told Congress Tuesday. That new promise updates an analysis Bloomberg published last week that had assumed J&J would deliver fewer shots early on.  

“We are confident in our plans to deliver 100 million single-dose vaccines to the United States during the first half of 2021, and we are continuing to partner with the U.S. government to explore all options to accelerate delivery,” Nettles said. The company should be able to produce a billion doses globally by the end of the year, he said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-23/more-vaccine-doses-they-re-coming-say-u-s-drugmakers

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that “the end is truly in sight” as 82 per cent of people will have received their first Covid-19 vaccine by the end of June.

Announcing the extension of Level 5 restrictions until April 5th, and the phased return of in-school teaching, Mr Martin said the Government wants to make sure “that when we ease each particular restriction we take a careful approach to ensure when we open something, it stays open.”

He said after the next phase of restrictions, due to be reviewed before April 5th, the Government will consider easing the 5km travel limit and easing restrictions on people meeting outdoors and outdoor sports.

The Taoiseach said there would be a “major ramping up” of the vaccination programme.

By the end of April up to 40 per cent of people over 18 will have had their first dose. By the end of May up to 64 per cent of people will have had their first dose.

By the end of June up to 82 per cent of adults will have received at least one dose. Up to 60 per cent will be fully vaccinated by that stage, Mr Martin said.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/taoiseach-says-the-end-is-truly-in-sight-as-level-5-extended-until-april-5th-and-schools-to-reopen-1.4492646

The COVID-19 vaccines being used in the UK could reduce a person's risk of being admitted to hospital by as much as 94% four weeks after the first dose, new data suggests.

Experts examined coronavirus hospital admissions in Scotland among people who have had their first jab and compared them to those who had not yet received a vaccine.

Scientists from the Universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde, Aberdeen, Glasgow and St Andrews and Public Health Scotland (PHS) looked at data on people who had received either the Pfizer/BioNTech jab or the one developed by scientists at the University of Oxford with AstraZeneca.

Four weeks after receiving the initial dose, the Oxford jab appeared to reduce a person's risk of hospital admission by 94%.

Those who received the Pfizer jab had a reduction in risk of 85% between 28 and 34 days after the first dose.

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-vaccine-rollout-linked-to-85-and-94-drop-in-coronavirus-hospital-admissions-in-scotland-study-shows-12225532

8th March
Schools and care home visits back, all schools primary and secondary back

29th March
No longer legally required to stay at home.
Adult and children sports outside sports resume, tennis, golf will be allowed to be played too.

12th April
Self catering holiday within U.K. are allowed
Non essential retail open
Haircuts, beauty salons will be opening
Hotels & BB remain closed
Pubs & restaurants open for outdoor dining
Gyms back open

17th May
Indoor pubs and restaurants now allowed
Normal outdoor events I.e. football etc - 10k or 25% of capacity
Normal
Indoor events - 1k or 50% capacity
Wedding and Wakes up to 30 people (from 15)

21st June
No limit on wedding or funerals
Nightclubs open and max capacity at stadiums

www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52530518

The first results of the UK vaccination programme suggests it is having a "spectacular" impact on preventing serious illness.

Research led by Public Health Scotland found at four weeks after the first dose, hospital admissions were reduced by 85% and 94% for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs respectively.

It is the first sign of the real world impact of vaccination in the UK.

Figures for England are expected to be released later.

Among the over 80s, there was an overall 81% reduction in the numbers admitted to hospital.

The researchers did not look at the impact on transmission - whether people who were vaccinated passed it on - or whether immunity waned over time.

The preliminary data from the EAVE II project covers 1.14 million vaccinations given in Scotland between 8 December and 15 February.

The study looked at the numbers being admitted to hospital with Covid among this population and compared it to those admitted who were not vaccinated.

In total, there were just over 8,000 people who ended up in hospital, but only 58 were among the vaccinated group after the four-week mark.

Lead researcher Prof Aziz Sheikh said the results were "very, very" impressive and both vaccines were working "spectacularly".

"These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future."

Trials of both vaccines had suggested they would have a significant impact at preventing hospitalisations.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56153600

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has received the coronavirus vaccine as the country prepares to start inoculations this week.

His jab was televised on Sunday in order to help boost confidence in the vaccine rollout across Australia.

Vaccinations officially begin on Monday and at least 60,000 doses are expected to be administered next week.

On Saturday, small crowds of anti-vaccination demonstrators gathered to protest against the launch.

Mr Morrison was part of a small group of people vaccinated on Sunday along with some frontline health workers and care home residents. Australia's chief nurse Professor Alison McMillan and Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly were also immunised.

Speaking at ahead of his vaccination, Mr Morrison said: "Tomorrow our vaccination programme starts, so as a curtain raiser today we're here making some very important points; that it's safe, that it's important, and we need to start with those who are most vulnerable and are on the front line."

The first person to be vaccinated in the country was 85-year-old Jane Malysiak.

The first vaccinations in Australia will be the Pfizer vaccine which has been granted approval for use.

Australia's medical regulator earlier this week also granted provisional approval for the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which is expected to be rolled out next month. Health Minister Greg Hunt says he will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming weeks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-56143277