• A pre-print laboratory study using blood from 12 recipients of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine reports that the B.1.351 variant may escape immune responses elicited by the vaccine, suggesting that “…updated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines will be necessary to eliminate the virus.” Source
• France enters a third lockdown to control the coronavirus. Source
• Turkey begins administering the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus while imposing strict measures during Ramadan. Source
• COVAX delivers 364,800 of 1,881,600 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Algeria. Source
• COVAX delivers 57,600 of 295,200 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Serbia. Source
• Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez tests positive for COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated with Sputnik V. Source
• The Biden administration announces that it has put Johnson & Johnson in charge of the Emergent plant in Baltimore and stopped it from producing other vaccines after it botched 15 million doses of the J &J coronavirus vaccine. Source
• AstraZeneca announces that it will move production of its coronavirus vaccine drug substance from Emergent’s Baltimore facility to a new location, in cooperation with the US government. Source
• The US is now delivering over three million doses of coronavirus vaccine per day. Source
• A surge of cases and 24 percent positivity rate sends Bangladesh into a week-long lockdown. Source
• Italy goes into a three-day national lockdown to prevent Easter travel and celebrations. Source
• COVAX delivers 84,000 of 432,000 doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Azerbaijan. Source
• Kenya’s National Emergency Response Committee on Coronavirus prohibited private hospitals and clinics from importing and distributing coronavirus vaccines over concerns about fake products. The ban was put in place days after private clinics began to administer the Sputnik V vaccine, charging up to $70 per dose. Kenya- which is in partial lockdown – has already received more than one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from COVAX, although they were delayed – and the next shipment is also expected to arrive late. Source
• China is urging its residents to get vaccinated and offering incentives such as grocery vouchers and boxes of eggs. Source