European Union
BGMEA President discusses trade issues with EU Ambassador
European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Rensje Teerink made a courtesy call on BGMEA President Faruque Hassan at BGMEA office on Tuesday.
They had discussion on trade issues including sustainability, ways to strengthen EU-BD partnership, and further cooperation between Bangladesh and the EU for development of the industry.
Also read:BGMEA for keeping factories shut
The BGMEA President thanked the Ambassador for the friendly support of the European Union for betterment of Bangladesh’s apparel industry.
BGMEA’s Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Vice President Md. Nasir Uddin and Jeremy Opritesco, Deputy Head of Mission of the European Union to Bangladesh were also present at the meeting.
EU reaches major climate deal ahead of Biden climate summit
The European Union reached a tentative climate deal that should make the 27-nation bloc climate-neutral by 2050, with member states and parliament agreeing on the targets on the eve of a virtual summit that U.S. President Biden will host.
“Our political commitment to becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050 is now also a legal commitment. The Climate Law sets the EU on a green path for a generation,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen early Wednesday.
Under the provisional deal reached after officials negotiated through the night, the EU also commits itself on an intermediate target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
“It was high time for the agreement, as Europe has to show where it stands in view of the positive developments in the USA and China,” said MEP Peter Liese, the negotiator for the EPP Christian Democrat group.
Also Read: Calls for immediate action to tackle climate change
Up to now, the 2030 target had been 40% but under the pressure of increasing evidence of climate change and a more environmentally-conscious electorate that target was pushed up, even if the EU legislature had wanted at 60% target.
The Greens specifically complained that too many accounting tricks had been used to reach the level of 55% while in reality the reduction would be lower.
The United States, the world’s second-biggest polluter after China, is preparing to announce its new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Under Biden, the United States has returned to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and all global partners will be meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, to push for strong targets.
Both Washington and Brussels are aiming to go “carbon neutral” by midcentury, a goal scientists say needs to be achieved to keep average global temperatures from rising above 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) by the year 2100. The Paris accord’s more ambitious target of capping global warming at 1.5 C (2.7 F) by the end of the century compared with pre-industrial times would likely require even more drastic worldwide cuts in emissions.
Wednesday’s EU deal still needs to be officially approved by the member states and the legislature but should be little more than a rubber stamp.
EU agency links J&J shot to rare clots, says odds favor use
The European Union’s drug regulatory agency said Tuesday that it found a “possible link” between Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine and extremely rare blood clots and that a warning should be added to the label. But experts at the agency reiterated that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks.
The European Medicines Agency made those determinations after a very small number of blood clot cases in people who had gotten the vaccine were reported in the United States. The agency said a warning about the blood clots should be added to labels for the Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine and that these rare blood disorders should be considered “very rare side effects of the vaccine.”
The EMA, which oversees the use of pharmaceutical products in 27 countries with a combined population of about 448 million, also recommended a label change for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine after finding a link between it and rare blood clots. In both cases, the agency said the benefits of being immunized against COVID-19 still outweighed the very small risks of recipients developing the unusual clots.
Last week, Johnson & Johnson halted its European roll-out of the vaccine after U.S. officials recommended a pause in the vaccine, when they detected six very rare blood clot cases among nearly 7 million people who had been vaccinated.
European officials said they considered all currently available evidence from the U.S., which consisted of eight reports of serious cases of rare blood clots associated with low blood platelets, including one death. All of the cases occurred in people under age 60, but the EMA said that it hadn’t been able to identify any specific risk factors.
Also read: Fauci says he expects J&J vaccine to resume later this week
Last week, J&J halted its European rollout of its one-dose vaccine after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended officials pause its use while the rare blood clot cases are examined. Officials identified six cases of the highly unusual blood clots among nearly 7 million people who were immunized with the shot in the U.S.
Johnson & Johnson advised European governments to store their doses until the EU drug regulator issued guidance on their use; widespread use of the shot in Europe has not yet started.
The delay was a further blow to vaccination efforts in the European Union, which have been plagued by supply shortages, logistical problems and concerns over unusual blood clots also in a small number of people who received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Experts worry the temporary halt on J&J’s shot could further shake vaccine confidence and complicate worldwide COVID-19 immunization efforts.
Last week, South Africa suspended its use of the vaccine in the wake of the U.S. pause, and countries including Italy, Romania, the Netherlands, Denmark and Croatia put their J&J doses into storage.
The blood clots linked to the J&J vaccine are occurring in unusual parts of the body, such as veins that drain blood from the brain. Those patients also have abnormally low levels of blood platelets, a condition normally linked to bleeding, not clotting.
Aso read: J&J vaccine to remain in limbo while officials seek evidence
In its statement, the EMA said the cases it reviewed of unusual blood clots in people who received the J&J shot “were very similar to the cases that occurred with the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca.”
With the AstraZeneca vaccine, scientists in Norway and Germany have suggested that some people are experiencing an abnormal immune system response, forming antibodies that attack their own platelets.
It’s not yet clear if there might be a similar mechanism with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But both the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines, as well as a Russian COVID-19 vaccine and one from China, are made with the same technology. They train the immune system to recognize the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. To do that, they use a cold virus, called an adenovirus, to carry the spike gene into the body.
“Suspicion is rising that these rare cases may be triggered by the adenovirus component of the AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines,” said Eleanor Riley, a professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Edinburgh. She said that while more data was needed, “it remains the case that for the vast majority of adults in Europe and the USA, the risks associated with contracting COVID-19 far, far outweigh any risk of being vaccinated.”
Aso read: Australia won’t buy J&J coronavirus vaccine
On Monday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 5 million new cororavirus cases were confirmed worldwide last week, the highest-ever number in a single week. He noted that cases and hospitalizations among younger people were “increasing at an alarming rate.”
The European Medicines Agency, which regulates drugs used in European Union member nations, said last month there was a “possible link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots but said the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risks of COVID-19. It noted the risk is less than the blood clot risk that healthy women face from birth control pills.
The European Union ordered 200 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson for 2021 and EU officials had hoped the one-shot vaccine could be used both to boost the continent’s lagging vaccination rates and to protect hard-to-reach populations, like migrant workers and the homeless.
Last month, the African Union announced it signed a deal to buy up to 400 million doses of the J&J vaccine. Johnson & Johnson also has a deal to supply up to 500 million doses to the U.N.-backed COVAX initiative that helps get vaccines to the world’s poor.
Aso read: Company at heart of J&J vaccine woes has series of citations
Any concerns about the J&J vaccine would be another unwelcome complication for COVAX and for the billions of people in developing countries depending on the program. COVAX recently was hit by supply issues after its biggest supplier, the Serum Institute of India, announced it would delay exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine for several months due to a surge of cases on the subcontinent.
Governments give varying advice on AstraZeneca vaccine
In Spain, residents now have to be over 60 to get an AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. In Belgium, over 55. In the United Kingdom, authorities recommend the shot not be given to adults under 30 where possible, and Australia’s government announced similar limits Thursday to AstraZeneca shots for those under 50.
A patchwork of advice was emerging from governments across Europe and farther afield, a day after the European Union’s drug regulator said there was a “possible link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare clotting disorder while reiterating the vaccine is safe and effective.
Regulators in the United Kingdom and the EU both stressed that the benefits of receiving the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks for most people, and the EU agency maintained its guidance that the vaccine can be used in all adults. But experts fear the confusing messages about the vaccine could still dampen enthusiasm for it at a time when Europe and many other parts of the world are facing surging cases.
Experts hammered home the rarity of the clots Thursday.
“The risks appear to be extremely low from this very rare side effect,” Anthony R. Cox, of the University of Birmingham’s School of Pharmacy, told the BBC. “I mean it’s the equivalent of the risk of dying in the bath, drowning in the bath, for example, it’s that rare, or a plane landing on your house.”
Also read: UK advises limiting AstraZeneca in under-30s amid clot worry
Dr. Sabine Straus, chair of the EU regulator’s Safety Committee, said the best data was from Germany, where there was one report of the clots for every 100,000 doses given, although she noted far fewer reports in the U.K. Still, that’s less than the clot risk that healthy women face from birth control pills, noted another expert, Dr. Peter Arlett. The agency said most of the cases reported were in women under 60 within two weeks of vaccination, though it was unable to identify specific risk factors based on current information.
The EU is trying, but so far failing, to avoid different policies among its 27 nations, which all look to the European Medicines Agency for guidance. Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides called Wednesday evening for a coherent approach to ensure that “on the basis of the same set of evidence, similar decisions are taken in different member states.”
News of the tiny risk already is already having an effect. In Croatia, the government said that one in four people due to get an AstraZeneca shot Thursday didn’t show up. Poland, too, has also seen people cancel or not appear for appointments to get the vaccine.
French general practitioner Dr. Joel Valendoff said many of his patients were still coming to get their shot, but many others were canceling.
When vaccines first became available, “I was refusing people because I had a lot of demand and not enough vaccines. Today I am facing the opposite. I have vaccines but not enough volunteers.”
Also read: EU agency: Rare clots possibly linked to AstraZeneca shot
Mbaye Thiam, a 59-year-old Parisian, was among those who got vaccinated.
“I am closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation throughout the world. I am not worried. In an exceptional situation we need exceptional measures,” he said. “It is true that the vaccine was created in a record time, but the world has stopped and we need solutions to make it start again, and the vaccine is one of the solutions.”
European Commission spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker said the EMA’s findings were based on its stringent monitoring system and that should promote trust among the bloc’s 27 member states.
“We want to avoid, of course, a vaccination hesitancy,” he said.
Any such reluctance is worrying since experts say the shots are key to stamping out the coronavirus pandemic, but AstraZeneca’s role is especially vital. The vaccine, which is cheaper and easier to store than many others, is critical to immunization campaigns in Europe and the U.K. and is also a pillar of the U.N.-backed program known as COVAX that aims to get vaccines to some of the world’s poorest countries.
John Nkengasong, the top official with the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said his group is not issuing new recommendations and that the overarching message from the U.K. and EU regulators was clear.
Also read: UK regulator says AstraZeneca jab safe after 7 clot deaths
“The benefits outweigh the risks because these are very rare occurrences that they are picking up due to very strong surveillance systems that they have put in place,” Nkengasong told a briefing. “So, I think these vaccines continue to be safe.”
Africa’s target is to vaccinate 60% of its 1.3 billion people by the end of 2022 — a goal that could prove extremely hard to achieve without widespread use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, whose country’s vaccination program leans heavily on AstraZeneca’s shot, announced that the Pfizer vaccine should be adopted as the preferred vaccine for people under 50.
“We’ve been taking the necessary precautions based on the best possible medical advice,” Morrison said. “It has not been our practice to jump at shadows.”
Some EU nations were at pains to stress the safety and did not change their advice.
The Polish state TV broadcaster used a headline declaring, “AstraZeneca is safe.”
The head of Italy’s drug regulator, Nicola Magrini, appealed for calm even as she said late Wednesday that Italy will pivot from primarily using the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 65 to using it on those over 60.
Also read: What we know about AstraZeneca blood clot reports
Underscoring how such changing rules were causing confusion and anxiety, the governor of the Veneto region said operators had fielded 8,000 calls about AstraZeneca in recent days. “Obviously there is some uneasiness spreading,” Luca Zaia told reporters.
Hungarian government minister Gergely Gulyas called the EMA announcement “a clear decision which is in line with the point of view of Hungarian authorities: AstraZeneca is reliable and provides protection.”
German officials made clear that they will stick to their current recommendation — issued March 30 when concerns about the rare clots were already circulating — to restrict the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 60 in most cases, in line with larger European nations including Spain and Italy.
In the Croatian capital, Zagreb, Josip Pavlic was among a large group of masked people who lined up for an AstraZeneca vaccination. He said he would take any shot, as infections rise sharply in the country.
“They are all the same to me. The most important is the we have vaccine, and that we can have some protection with vaccine,” he said.
China remains EU's largest trading partner in January: Eurostat
China maintained its position as the European Union (EU)'s largest trading partner as of January, according to data published by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, on Thursday.
EU agency: AstraZeneca vaccine safe, will add clot warning
The European Union's drug regulatory agency said Thursday that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not linked to an overall increase in the risk of blood clots and that the benefits of use outweigh the risks, paving the way for European countries to resume administering the shots.
EU regulator 'convinced' AstraZeneca benefit outweighs risk
With coronavirus cases rising in many places, governments faced the grimmest of dilemmas Tuesday: push on with a vaccine that is known to save lives or suspend use of AstraZeneca over reports of dangerous blood clots in a few recipients, even as the European regulator said there was "no indication" the shot was responsible.
EU regulator approves J&J’s one-shot COVID-19 vaccine
The European Medicines Agency has authorized Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose coronavirus vaccine, giving the European Union’s 27 nations a fourth licensed vaccine to try to curb the pandemic amid a stalled vaccination drive in the bloc
Promotion of renewable energy requires common international platform: Nasrul
The European Union can play a behind-the-scene role to enhance regional or sub-regional cooperation among countries for the promotion of renewable energy.
Comprehensive database for migrant workers launched with IOM support
The Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) on Monday launched a digital platform, Returning Migrants Management of Information Systems (ReMiMIS), to collect, analyze, and store data of returning migrants to Bangladesh.