COVID digest: BioNTech unveils mobile vaccine units

International

-DW News

Berlin,
Feb
17:
German
pharmaceutical
company
BioNTech
on
Wednesday
introduced
what
it
is
calling
“scalable
vaccine
production”
with
a
new
innovation
called
“BioNTainers.”

These
are
mobile
units
developed
by
the
company,
designed
to
manufacture
and
improve
the
supply
of
vaccines
in
Africa.

Twelve
containers
that
make
up
the
mobile
lab
are
split
into
two
modules
with
one
for
the
production
of
mRNA
and
the
other
for
the
vaccine
serum.
The
filling
of
the
vials
is
conducted
by
local
pharmaceutical
partners.

The
company
is
looking
to
ship
the
facilities
to
Rwanda,
Senegal
and
possibly
South
Africa
in
a
process
it
says
will
be
closely
coordinated
with
the
African
Union
(AU).

Rwanda’s
President
Paul
Kagame
said
Rwanda
welcomed
the
initiative:
“BioNTech’s
innovative
modular
production
system
opens
up
a
new
horizon
for
global
vaccine
equity.
Rwanda
looks
forward
to
initiating
mRNA
vaccine
manufacturing
in
the
near
future,
in
collaboration
with
BioNTech
and
our
partners
in
Africa,
Europe,
and
beyond.”

European
Commission
President
Ursula
von
der
Leyen
has
also
given
the
project
her
full
support.
“mRNA
vaccines
made
in
Africa,
for
Africa,
with
world-class
technology.
This
initiative
is
a
real
trailblazer
in
our
global
fight
against
the
pandemic,”
von
der
Leyen
said.

Just
under
12
percent
of
people
on
the
African
continent
have
been
fully
vaccinated.

The
first
“BioNTainer”
is
expected
to
arrive
in
the
second
half
of
2022.

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

Europe

Germany
on
Wednesday
announced
plans
to
end
most
of
the
COVID-19
restrictionsby
March
20.
The
plan
has
been
backed
by
Chancellor
Olaf
Scholz
and
state
governors.

Restrictions
will
be
gradually
lifted
over
three
stages.
The
decision
follows
an
announcement
from
Health
Minister
Karl
Lauterbach,
that
the
omicron
wave
has
peaked
and
the
rate
of
infections
has
started
to
fall.

In
the

Netherlands,
a
government
report
published
on
Wednesday
has
found
that
the
country
was
not
properly
prepared
for
the
global
pandemic.

The
Dutch
Safety
Board
(OVV)
said
that
government’s
response
was
ad
hoc
and
had
to
be
improvised
in
the
early
stages
of
the
crisis.

Nursing
homes
were
largely
left
to
fend
for
themselves,
with
the
report
calling
what
happened
a
“silent
catastrophe”
due
to
a
lack
of
masks
and
protective
clothing.

“Protective
equipment
mainly
provided
to
hospitals
…
but
not
to
nursing
homes,”
the
report
said.

A
ban
on
visits
to
nursing
homes
was
also
found
to
have
had
“major
social
and
psychological
consequences.”

The

United
Kingdom’s
vaccine
advisory
committee
on
Wednesday
said
that
children
between
the
ages
of
five
and
11
should
be
offered
COVID-19
vaccines.

Health
secretary
Sajid
Javid
said
that
he
would
accept
the
advice
for
England.

“The
main
purpose
of
offering
vaccination
to
5-11
year
olds
is
to
increase
their
protection
against
severe
illness
in
advance
of
a
potential
future
wave
of
COVID-19,”
said
Wei
Shen
Lim,
Chair
of
the
Joint
Committee
on
Vaccination
and
Immunisation
(JCVI).

Asia

South
Korea
has
decided
to
start
distributing
free
COVID-19
rapid
test
kits
to
schools
and
nursing
homes
as
the
country
battles
record
infections
driven
by
the
omicron
variant.

On
Wednesday
90,443
cases
were
reported,
eclipsing
the
previous
record
of
over
33,000
cases.

While
omicron
hasn’t
brought
serious
illlness
or
death
when
compared
to
the
delta
variant,
it
has
caused
hospital
admissions
to
creep
up.

China’s
President
Xi
Jinping
has
given
instructions
to
Hong
Kong
to
take
“all
necessary
measures”
to
deal
with
a
COVID-19
oubreak,
according
to
local
media.

Hong
Kong
is
in
the
midst
of
its
worst
outbreak
since
the
pandemic
began,
with
hospitals
buckling,
as
the
territory
records
over
1000
cases
a
day.

“The
government
will,
in
accordance
with
the
important
instruction
of
President
Xi
Jinping,
assume
the
main
responsibility
to…
adopt
all
necessary
measures
to
safeguard
the
lives
and
health
of
Hong
Kong
people,”
Hong
Kong’s
leader
Carrie
Lam
said
in
a
press
release
Wednesday.

Source: DW