  Social Security reported on Friday that 24,859 vaccines have been applied to people in the first pre-selected group. - WHO photo - |
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 Published Monday, January 18, 2021 30 million-plus vaccine doses
already
administered in the world, says WHO By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services More than 2,800 scientists from 130 countries gathered on Jan. 15 in a virtual forum hosted by the World Health Organization, WHO, to identify knowledge gaps and set research priorities for vaccines against covid-19. According to WHO, more than 30 million inoculations have already been administered in 47 mostly high-income countries. But, the global vaccine rollout has exposed glaring inequalities in access to this life-saving tool. Experts discussed the safety and efficacy of existing vaccines and new candidates, ways to optimize limited supply, and the need for additional safety studies. “The development and approval of several safe and effective vaccines less than a year after this virus was isolated and sequenced is an astounding scientific accomplishment,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said in his opening remarks. “The approval of the first few vaccines does not mean the job is done. Far from it. More vaccines are in the pipeline, which must be evaluated to ensure we have enough doses to vaccinate everyone.” They agreed on the need for critical research on administering vaccines in different target populations, as well as on vaccination delivery strategies and schedules. This includes trials, modeling and observational studies, all of which would help to inform policy. They discussed the impact of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants on the efficacy of vaccines, the impact of vaccines on the transmission of infection, and the need to develop the next generation of vaccine platforms. “The world needs multiple vaccines that work in different populations to meet global demand and end the covid-19 outbreak. Ideally, those will be single-dose vaccines that do not require a cold chain, could be delivered without a needle and syringe and are amenable to large-scale manufacture,” Mike Levine, Director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland said. The meeting concluded with an agreement to establish a WHO-hosted platform for global sharing and coordination of emerging vaccine research information on efficacy and safety. The forum would enable scientists to share and discuss unpublished and published data and research protocols to further our collective understanding of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. “The WHO will regularly convene experts from around the world, promote collaborative research, provide standard protocols and develop a platform for sharing the latest knowledge in the field,” Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Chief Scientist said.  While in Costa Rica, Social Security reported on Friday that 24,859 vaccines have been applied to people in the first pre-selected group, which includes health workers, elderly people living in nursing homes, nursing home staff, firefighters, policemen, and workers of the National Emergency Commission, among others. The increase in infections and deaths related to covid-19 continues, according to the most up-to-date statistics reported by the Ministry of Health on Friday. • 495 new covid-19 cases are reported, bringing the total to 40,397 current active cases. • 23,117 foreign-born people have been infected, totaling 184,187 cases since March, approximately 12.5% of the total cases. Of these, authorities confirmed the death of 32 foreign-born patients. But since October, there is no updated information about foreign-born deaths due to covid-19. • 558 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 245 patients are in ICU’s in delicate health conditions. Their ages range from 12 to 93-years-old. And 313 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes. • 141,374 patients have fully recovered, a 76.8% recovery rate of the total cases since March. • 546,784 covid-19 tests have been conducted in Costa Rica since March, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering of Johns Hopkins University in the United States. • 2,416 deaths are listed as covid-19 related, approximately 1.3% death rate of the total cases since March. Of these 907 are women and 1,509 men. The ages range from a 2-year-old to a 101-year-old. Readers can see the updated number of total patients in each district at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.  According to Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed more than 2 million people worldwide. -------------------------- When should health authorities allow private hospitals to provide the vaccine against covid-19? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com         
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