COVID digest: Amnesty slams drug firms over vaccine access

Rights group Amnesty International said the actions of vaccine manufacturers contributed to a "human rights catastrophe" by prioritizing profits over distributing vaccines to non-wealthy nations.

In a new report published on Monday, Amnesty said that the 10 billion vaccine doses produced in 2021 would have been enough to reach the World Health Organization's global vaccination target of 40%.

Instead, only 4% of people living in lower income countries were fully vaccinated by the end of the year.

"These companies could have been the heroes of 2021. Instead, they turned their back on those who needed vaccines the most and just continued with business as usual, putting profits before people," said Rajat Khosla, Amnesty's senior director of research, in a statement.

The assessment found that pharmaceutical companies hampered the global vaccine rollout by monopolizing technology, charging high prices for COVID-19 jabs and prioritizing supplies to wealthy countries.

The companies "tragically failed to rise to the challenge," the report found.

"If we want 2022 to be the last year of this pandemic, we need to shift course now to reach the 70% WHO-target by July of this year," Khosla added.

Here are the latest major developments on coronavirus from around the world:

Europe

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall has tested positive for COVID-19. The wife of British heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, was self-isolating.

The 73-year-old Charles tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time last week. Both, had been fully vaccinated, including a booster shot.

Germany reported over 76,400 new infections over the last 24 hours, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said on Monday — down 20% from the same day last week. The nationwide seven-day incidence dropped to 1459.8 from 1466.5 the previous day. Additionally, 42 new deaths were reported, taking the country's total pandemic-related deaths to 119,977.

Some parts of Germany are seeking to relax lockdown measures, with the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein eyeing the lifting of restrictions as early as the beginning of March.

The current provision enforcing restrictions in restaurants and at major events, as well as general contact curbs, runs until March 2. "After that, we will this week take a look at all the previous restrictions," said Premier Daniel Günther.

"The vaccinated and people who have recovered, in particular, can no longer be expected to endure restrictions on the scale they have been," said Günther.

Nationwide, Günther also advocated "a big step towards a normality that is comprehensible to everyone."

Asia

Hong Kong is being hit hard by an "onslaught" of COVID-19 infections as it battles a fifth wave, the city's leader said on Monday. Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the territory's government would coordinated with Chinese officials to battle the "aggravating situation."

Hong Kong has seen new, daily infections jump over the past two weeks — rising from around 100 cases at the start of February to over 1,300 reported on Sunday.

Taiwan is seeking to ease its strict COVID-19 quarantine policy, premier Su Tseng-chang said on Monday.

Since the pandemic began, Taiwan has succeeded in keeping reported cases of COVID-19 below 20,000. It enforced a blanket two-week quarantine for everyone arriving even as much of the world abandoned it.

"The government must also take into account livelihoods and economic development, gradually return to normal life, and step out to the world," Su's office cited him as saying.

In South Korea, authorities say they will start giving fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and supply millions of additional home test kits.

Americas

A major border crossing between the United States and Canada has reopened almost a week after it was forced shut by truck driver-led protests against COVID-19 restrictions.

The closure of the Ambassador Bridge and demonstrations led police to make a series of arrests.

The bridge handles an estimated 25% of trade between the two countries. Its closure had disrupted business and forced automakers in both countries to halt or scale back production.

At the same time Ontario's premier has announced that vaccine passports would no longer be necessary.

"We're going to get rid of the passports," Premier Doug Ford told a press conference.

He said that the majority of people were vaccinated and that the province had passed the peak of the cases brought on by the omicron variant.

Middle East

In Israel thousands of protesters have joined a so-called "freedom convoy" to protest over COVID-19 restrictions.

Traffic was brought to a standstill in parts of Jerusalem as protesters waved flags and blared car horns.

There has been a declining infection rate with around 30,000 new cases reported on Monday. Authorities have started easing up restrictions including adjusting the list of places requiring a vaccine pass.

Israel was among the first countries to roll out third and fourth booster shots.

Oceania

The New Zealand government will move to phase 2 of its response to the omicron variant at 11.59 p. m. on Tuesday. The move reduces the necessary isolation periods for cases and contacts.

The decision comes after a record 981 new daily COVID-19 cases were reported on Monday. It reduces the isolation period for positive cases from 14 days to 10 days, and from 10 days to 7 days for close contacts.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said protesters who oppose vaccine mandates were using "intimidation and harassment," after a demonstration convoy disrupted the capital, Wellington, for nearly a week.

Ardern signaled the thinning patience of authorities. "I very clearly have a view on the protesters and the way that they've conducted their protest because it has moved beyond sharing a view to intimidation and harassment of the people around central Wellington,'' she said. "That cannot be tolerated."

rs,rc/dj (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)