Earth Essences.Com

Germany backtracks on blocking AstraZeneca vaccine for under 60s

Germany will approve Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for adults of all ages, reversing its block on younger age groups. 

Jens Spahn, the German health minister, said on Thursday that authorities would lift the suspension on using the jab on people aged under 60. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel said in March that following advice from the country’s vaccine committee, officials would only administer the AstraZeneca jab on over 60s because of the risk of rare blood clots. 

The decision contravened recommendations from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization who stressed the benefits outweighed the risk.

In addition to the backtrack, Mr Spahn said Germany aimed to offer 12- to 18-year-olds a vaccine by the end of August, provided regulators give approval for the BioNTech/Pfizer shot for that age group.

"Both these measures serve to further to accelerate our vaccination campaign overall," he said.

Concern over the rare clot risk prompted the UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to advise that Britons under 30 receive a different jab from AstraZeneca.

Reference: The Telegraph: Ewan Somerville , Phoebe Southworth  6 days ago

Vaccine testing at Porton Down to be expanded under plans to ‘future-proof’ UK against Covid

The government is investing almost £30m in expanding laboratories that will assess the effectiveness of vaccines against emerging coronavirus variants.

Under plans to “future-proof” the UK against more infectious or immune-escaping forms of the virus, testing is to be increased at the Porton Down labs in Wiltshire, enabling scientists elsewhere to fast-track the development of new and existing vaccines.

The top-secret facilities measure the levels of antibodies within vaccinated or naturally infected people’s blood and test whether these proteins can neutralise the different variants that have been detected to date.

The extra funding will increase the site’s capacity from 700 tests being sampled a week to 3,000, according to the government.

It’s hoped the extra research will help Porton Down scientists to support the rapid development of vaccines designed to combat the different mutations that have been emerging in Sars-CoV-2 – the virus responsible for Covid-19.

Experts say mutations could spark a new, more infectious wave of coronavirus spreading in the UK. Jenny Harries, chief executive at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “A new variant that can escape the current vaccines is the greatest risk of a third wave. This new investment will help us stay one step ahead of the virus by doubling our capacity to test vaccine effectiveness against emerging variants.

“While we expect the existing vaccines to offer protection against new variants, particularly preventing serious illness and death, it is important that we continue to monitor the picture as it develops.”

Early evidence suggests that the current vaccines are effective against the variants that were originally detected in Kent and South Africa.

The full impact of the other known variants, such as those found in India and Manaus, has yet to be ascertained, with laboratory testing ongoing.

The new funding, which brings recent expenditure on Porton Down to £49m, is part of a £6bn budget put aside for the development, manufacturing and procurement of Covid-19 vaccines as the UK steps out of the acute phase of its epidemic.

“Our vaccination programme has so far saved thousands of lives, but it’s vital we put in place robust support for the programme for the future,” said vaccines minster Nadhim Zahawi.

Manufacturers such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer are also exploring the possibility of updating their vaccines to target the concerning mutations seen in the new coronavirus variants.

Reference: Independent: Samuel Lovett  

Russia's Sputnik vaccine 'as reliable as a Kalashnikov assault rifle' says Vladimir Putin

President Vladimir Putin insisted Russia's homegrown coronavirus vaccine was as “reliable as a Kalashnikov assault rifle”, as the country’s health officials authorised a single-dose version of the Sputnik V jab, dubbed Sputnik Light. 

Reference: The Telegraph: Nataliya Vasilyeva  8 hrs ago

The 'acid' jab that may beat back pain for good

A once-in-a-lifetime jab may treat back pain. In a new trial, injections of lactic acid — a syrup-like substance formed in sour milk and found naturally in our bodies — are being given to 120 patients with lower back pain caused by disc problems.

The researchers say that the jab will make the discs, which sit between the bones (vertebrae) of the spine, tougher and more resilient — and could remove the need for surgery for many.

Around eight in ten people have back pain at some point, and up to one in four cases is caused by disc problems.

Discs work as shock absorbers but also provide flexibility for the movement of the spine and prevent the vertebrae rubbing together. They are made of an outer ring of tough connective tissue and a gel-like middle.

As the discs degenerate with age, tears in the outer casing can occur, causing instability between the bones and triggering tension and pain in the surrounding joints and muscles. 

As the disc continues to degenerate, the gel-like middle can bulge out, which compresses nerves and results in inflammation and pain.

Treatment options range from painkillers and physiotherapy to steroid injections and surgery to remove the damaged disc or fuse the spine.

Lactic acid is a natural by-product of energy production in the body — it builds up in the muscles after exercise and is thought to be what makes them ache.

Its use in alleviating back pain is based on the idea that it encourages the development of collagen, which makes the disc tougher and resilient. Orthopaedic surgeons have long reported that patients experiencing back pain related to disc problems often have less pain as they get older, as with age the collagen in the discs becomes tougher and so the discs are able to provide more support to the spine. 

But these changes take decades, and the theory is that the lactic acid injection has the same effect — but in weeks.

Animal studies have shown that just one month after the injection, the centre of the discs had been replaced by dense fibrous tissue, as the collagen solidifies.

A small trial on 15 patients at the Stockholm Spine Centre in Sweden found no serious safety issues and MRI scans suggested the discs did become more solid after the jab.

In the new trial in hospitals in the Netherlands, Spain and Russia, patients will have the jab or a placebo. The researchers say they expect the benefits to be felt within four to 12 weeks and will hopefully last the patient’s entire life.

Commenting on the study, Ian Harding, an orthopaedic consultant at North Bristol NHS Trust, says: ‘Back pain is caused by many different diagnoses, of which a minority will be caused by the disc itself. Any treatment that can help and avoid more invasive high-risk treatments warrants investigation.

‘Studies such as these may lead to large trials and a better understanding of the problem.’

Jabs of concentrated blood may be an effective treatment for back pain, according to a review of research in the Journal of Pain Research.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is made from blood spun in a centrifuge to separate out platelets, part of the blood which contains growth-stimulating compounds.

Doctors from Yeungnam University, South Korea, assessed the results of three studies where the injections were used for back pain caused by problems with the discs that sit between the bones of the spine.

They concluded: ‘PRP injections had large pain-reducing and function-improving effects in patients with disc-related lower back pain.’

It’s thought that the high levels of growth factors in PRP stimulate the process of tissue repair and healing.

Reference: Roger Dobson for the Daily Mail  2 days ago