A woman waits to get a Covid-19 vaccine as India recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time since November as a new wave of infections takes hold. AFP.
A woman waits to get a Covid-19 vaccine as India recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time since November as a new wave of infections takes hold. AFP.
A woman waits to get a Covid-19 vaccine as India recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time since November as a new wave of infections takes hold. AFP.
A woman waits to get a Covid-19 vaccine as India recorded more than 50,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time since November as a new wave of infections takes hold. AFP.

India blocks exports of AstraZeneca shot as UK faces five million vaccine shortfall


Neil Murphy
  • English
  • Arabic

India has temporarily blocked exports of the AstraZeneca coronavirus shot made by the Serum Institute of India to tackle a steep rise in infections in the country.

The move is a major setback for the Gavi/World Health Organisation-backed global Covax vaccine-sharing facility, through which 64 lower-income countries are supposed to get doses from the institute.

"We understand that deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines to lower-income economies participating in the Covax facility will likely face delays following a setback in securing export licences for further doses of Covid-19 vaccines produced by the Serum Institute of India, expected to be shipped in March and April," the UN children's fund said.

A medical worker prepares to administer a Covid-19 vaccine at a health centre in New Delhi, India. AFP
A medical worker prepares to administer a Covid-19 vaccine at a health centre in New Delhi, India. AFP

"Covax is in talks with the government of India with a view to ensuring deliveries as quickly as possible."

The pause is expected to further delay the delivery of five million AstraZeneca doses that were due to arrive in Britain this month. Health Secretary Matt Hancock last week blamed the delays on manufacturing issues, which he said would slow down the UK's inoculation efforts.

AstraZeneca told Covax it would make up for the delayed volumes in April and May, Unicef said.

Covax has so far received 17.7 million AstraZeneca doses from the SII, of the 60.5 million doses India has shipped in total, and many countries are relying on the programme to immunise their citizens.

There have been no vaccine exports from India since Thursday, the foreign ministry's website shows, as the country expands its own immunisation effort.

"Everything else has taken a back seat, for the time being at least," said one of the sources.

"No exports, nothing till the time the India situation stabilises. The government won't take such a big chance at the moment when so many need to be vaccinated in India."

The SII has already delayed shipments of the AstraZeneca drug to Brazil, Britain, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. British authorities are in touch with New Delhi to get its second batch of five million doses ordered from SII.

Covax has a deal to buy 1.1 billion doses of the AstraZeneca and Novavax shots that the SII is making in bulk, mainly for low and middle-income countries.

Unicef in Vietnam said on Wednesday that vaccine production issues had led to delays in deliveries to all countries that were scheduled to receive vaccines through Covax.

Unicef said Covax had informed participating countries they would receive lower than expected volumes in March of the AstraZeneca-Oxford shot produced in South Korea.

"In line with the challenges of the current global supply environment, this is due to challenges the company faces in rapidly scaling up supply and optimising production processes for these early deliveries," it said.

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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

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Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

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South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

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Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5

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MATCH INFO

CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures

Tuesday:

Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)

Second legs:

October 23

SQUAD

Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri

How to get there

Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
 

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SERIE A FIXTURES

Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)

Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),

Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),

Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)

Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm) 

Benevento v Napoli (6pm) 

Parma v Spezia (6pm)

 Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)

Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)

Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)

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THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

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While you're here

Michael Young: Where is Lebanon headed?

Kareem Shaheen: I owe everything to Beirut

Raghida Dergham: We have to bounce back

Super heroes

Iron Man
Reduced risk of dementia
Alcohol consumption could be an issue

Hulk
Cardiac disease, stroke and dementia from high heart rate

Spider-Man
Agility reduces risk of falls
Increased risk of obesity and mental health issues

Black Panther
Vegetarian diet reduces obesity
Unknown risks of potion drinking

Black Widow
Childhood traumas increase risk of mental illnesses

Thor
He's a god

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Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
 

The specs

Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Power: 300hp

Torque: 420Nm

Price: Dh189,900

On sale: now

EPL's youngest
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