Washington has told the European Union that it should not expect to receive AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in the United States any time soon, two sources told Reuters, in a new blow to the bloc’s rollout.
Distribution of Covid jabs across the EU has been hampered by delays in deliveries from manufacturers and, on Thursday, Brussels warned that Europe’s supplies of AstraZeneca jabs could fall short in the first quarter of the year.
It comes after a number of European countries paused their use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine after someonw who received it in Denmark died from a blood clot.
Thailand on Friday morning joined Denmark, Iceland and Norway in suspending the vaccinations but Canada, Australia and Mexico have said they will continue with the jab.
Follow the latest updates below.
07:26 AM
Today’s front page
Here is your Daily Telegraph on Friday, Mar 12.
05:43 AM
Furlough ‘has “disproportionately” affected women’
Furlough has “disproportionately” affected women, academics at King’s College London have concluded.
Once furloughed, women were without work for longer periods than men, according to research by the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
The researchers at King’s College said that women have been losing out under the furlough scheme, contributing to fears that they have worse job and financial security than men.
As a result, they warned that the job retention scheme may not be doing enough to address the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis on women.
Read more: Furloughed women are out of work for longer than men, says study
05:08 AM
Matt Hancock hails latest Novavax results as ‘really encouraging’
Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine was 96% effective in preventing cases caused by the original version of the coronavirus in a late-stage trial conducted in the United Kingdom, the company said on Thursday, moving it a step closer to regulatory approval.
There were no cases of severe illness or deaths among those who got the vaccine, the company said, in a sign that it could stop the worse effects of new variants that have cropped up.
The vaccine was 86% effective in protecting against the more contagious virus variant first discovered and now prevalent in the United Kingdom, for a combined 90% effectiveness rate overall based on data from infections of both versions of the coronavirus.
Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, called the results “really encouraging”.
Read more: Novavax vaccine found to be 86% effective against UK Covid strain in late-stage trial
03:52 AM
Biden plans to ramp up vaccine rollout
Joe Biden said on Thursday he would direct US states to make all adults eligible for the coronavirus vaccine by May 1 and urged Americans in a televised address to stay vigilant against the virus, hours after he signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law.
In a forceful and sombre speech from the White House on the first anniversary of the pandemic lockdown, Mr Biden said he was working to speed vaccinations to create a greater sense of normalcy in the country by the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
In a recounting of the grim toll the pandemic has taken on the nation, Mr Biden said: “Photos and videos from 2019 feel like they were taken in another era. The last vacation. The last birthday with friends. The last holiday with extended family.”
BREAKING: President Biden: “Tonight, I’m announcing that I will direct all states, tribes and territories to make all adults, people 18 and over, eligible to be vaccinated no later than May 1.” pic.twitter.com/MmnXz31clC
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 12, 2021
Read more: All Americans will be eligible for vaccine by May 1, says Biden
