• The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization recommends an additional dose of the authorized seven coronavirus vaccines (produced by AstraZeneca /Serum Institute of India, Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm and Sinovac) for moderately to severely immunocompromised people. Committee chair, Dr. Alejandro Cravioto, said that people with compromised immune systems “need a third dose as an additional priming process so that they’re fully protected.”
The Committee also recommended a third dose for people age 60 and over who received vaccines from Sinopharm or Sinovac, preferably with the same brand. Source
• Thousands of protesters marched through Rome, protesting Italy’s new requirement for a “Green Pass” (showing that a person has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, or recovered from COVID-19 within in the last six months, or has tested negative in the last 48 hours) in public and private workplaces. The pass is already mandatory for entry to museums, theaters, gyms and indoor restaurants, and for long-disnce travel on trains, buses and domestic flights. Some protesters turned violent, smashing their way into the headquarters of CGIL, a left-leaning union (which supports the Green Pass) and trashing its office; Italy’s Interior Minister Undersecretary Carlo Sibilia said that it was “…evident that neo-fascist groups hide behind the so-called anti-vaxxers.″ Source
• Johannes Gawaxab, Governor of the Bank of Namibia, warns that vaccine hesitancy could be “disastrous” for southern Africa’s economy, noting “We have been praying, asking for the vaccines to come. Now that we have the vaccines, there is so much hesitancy. Aggressive vaccine rollout is the only way to bring tourists back and revive the economy.” Source
• In Toledo, Brazil, Pfizer is vaccinating everyone over age 12 to study the safety and effectiveness of its coronavirus vaccine in collaboration with local health officials, a hospital, an academic institution, and the country’s vaccination program. The study will follow participants for up to a year to see how long the vaccine will protect people against COVID-19, and how effective it will be against new variants of the virus. Source