Europes top medicines regulator on Thursday said the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine is safe despite reports of unusual blood clots

Europe's top medicines regulator on Thursday said the AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine is safe, despite reports of unusual blood clots in several people among the 18 million who have received at least one dose in European Union countries and the UK.

"The committee has come to a clear scientific conclusion," said Emer Cooke, executive director of the European Medicines Agency. "This is a safe and effective vaccine."

Researchers with the EMA – the equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – said they can't totally rule out the possibility that a few dozen cases of blood clots and disorders out were triggered by the vaccine. But overall the vaccine is safe and should be delivered across Europe and elsewhere, they said.

Germany, France, Spain and Italy were among the European countries that paused use of that vaccine pending the EMA's review, and their officials said Thursday they would resume using the shot.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is not available in the U.S., where a large-scale study has been finished but not yet made public. That data is expected within the next few weeks, followed by a request for FDA emergency use authorization.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is finalizing efforts to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots, the White House said Thursday.  Tens of millions of doses have been stockpiled in the U.S. awaiting authorization, sparking an international outcry that they were being withheld when they could be used elsewhere.
Mexico will receive 2.5 million doses of the vaccine, which has been approved by the World Health Organization. Canada will receive 1.5 million doses as a “loan,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. 

Utah is among the latest states to announce an expansion in COVID-19 vaccine eligibility, with residents 16 and older allowed to get the vaccine starting March 24. Maryland aims to do the same by April 27, while Illinois is aiming for April 12. Nevada is also making its vaccines available to those 16 and older starting Monday, but only if they have an underlying health condition.
AMC Theatres said it will have 98% of its U.S. theaters open by Friday, including more than 40 locations in California. Movie theaters have been among the hardest-hit businesses by the pandemic.

Michigan's COVID-19 case rate is up 50% from the February low, and now stands at 144 cases per million people, state health officials said, adding that the new variants might be contributing to the increase. Michigan has also recently eased restrictions, including allowing 50% capacity at restaurants and in-person learning. 

Sniffer dogs in Thailand taught to detect COVID-19 in human sweat proved nearly 95% accurate during training and could be used to identify coronavirus infections at busy transport hubs, the head of a pilot project told Reuters.

France is set to announce new coronavirus restrictions on Thursday, including a potential lockdown in the Paris region, as the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units spikes.
The United States reported a record 949 new variant cases on Thursday night, bringing the country to 5,804 known cases of variants that threaten what had been a declining level of coronavirus cases. With Vermont's reported cases, every state in America has now discovered variants.

The variants can spread more easily, dodge treatments and immunities, or both. In all, the U.S. has added more than 2,000 variant cases in the last week. Thursday's report is the first since Tuesday's.
The biggest changes were in Texas, which added 182 cases to reach 420; Florida, which added 159 cases to reach 912; and Pennsylvania, which added 69 cases to double its tally to 138. Also: Iowa went from 25 variant cases Tuesday to 63 Thursday.

Vermont reported its first five cases of B.1.1.7, a variant first seen in the United Kingdom. It is America's most common variant.

The P.1 variant first seen in Brazil was spotted in several new states, with four cases in Arizona, two in Nebraska and one in Massachusetts. The B.1.351 variant first seen in South Africa was detected in Hawaii, which reported five cases.

https://regarderdisney-justicesnyder.tumblr.com/

https://butaatubbuta927.medium.com/seoul-city-officials-had-previously-denied-the-policy-was-discriminatory-pointing-to-statistics-6cec41a227b4