The French health authorities have granted permission for the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine to be given to people aged 65 to 75. However, a much lower number of doses of the jab than projected have been administered so far.
On Tuesday, a French health ministry official said that only 24 percent of Covid-19 vaccines delivered to France by AstraZeneca had been administered, amid low confidence in the jab and its exclusion from the country’s main inoculation campaign. There had been concerns that there was insufficient trial data to support giving the jab to the over-65s.
The target for administering the shot in France, already approved for the under-65s, had been set at 80 to 85 percent.
“It is true that we are facing issues with the AstraZeneca vaccine,” the official said without elaborating, according to Reuters. “Now, there has been recent positive news … and we are confident it will find its place,” the official added, referencing recent research from Scotland that shows its impact on reducing from Covid-19.
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The preprint data from Scotland showed that, four weeks after the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were administered, that risk fell by up to 94 percent. The study showed that the Pfizer vaccine reduced hospitalizations by up to 85 percent. Meanwhile on Monday, Public Health England said in a preprint paper that the AstraZeneca jab was more than 80 percent effective at preventing hospitalization among the over-80s.
Despite the rather high-profile spat between EU leaders and the British-Swedish drugs firm in January and February concerning supply delays, of the 1.137 million AstraZeneca doses delivered to France, only 273,000 had been administered as of February 27, according to data from its Ministry of Health.
In late February, the Financial Times also noted low levels of AstraZeneca vaccine usage across the EU, claiming that less than a quarter of the company’s jabs delivered to Germany had been administered as of February 25. By comparison, the utilization of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer was 96 percent, and by Moderna 72 percent.
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On Monday, French Minister of Health Olivier Véran said that use of the AstraZeneca vaccine would be expanded to those aged between 65 and 75 who have existing health problems. He referenced the positive but not yet peer-reviewed research from Scotland.
Accompanying the minister, Alain Fischer, coordinator of France’s vaccine strategy, countered potential uncertainties about the UK-backed jab by saying it should not be considered “a second-rate vaccine.”
“It is quite effective. It has its place in the arsenal of vaccinations,” he noted.
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Iran’s latest round of missile and drone strikes disabled multiple US radar, communications, and air-defense systems in Kuwait, according to Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC which claimed American bases across the region had suffered a “dark night.”
In a series of statements carried by Press TV on Tuesday, the IRGC said its forces targeted several US military installations as part of the latest wave of its Nasr-2 Operation.
The strikes reportedly hit early warning and missile-defense radar, communications and satellite systems, a Patriot air-defense battery, and a hangar housing MQ-9 drones. Several UAVs were also destroyed or severely damaged, according to the IRGC.
”The brave sons of a powerful Iran delivered crushing blows to the desperate enemy, as the dark night continued for US radar and air defense systems across the region,” the force said.
The IRGC described the attacks as a radar-suppression campaign intended to clear the way for “more decisive and heavier waves” of missile and drone strikes against American forces.
The Iranian Army separately claimed that loitering drones had struck three US bases in Kuwait, targeting troop facilities, helicopter parking areas, administrative buildings, and other support infrastructure.
The IRGC also said it had destroyed a US missile-defense radar system and an F-15 fighter inside a shelter at an American base in Jordan.
Tehran later warned that a US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would be treated as an expansion of the war, warning that American interests, as well as those of Washington’s allies and supporters, would then become targets for retaliation.
Neither the US nor Kuwait have confirmed the reported destruction of radar systems, aircraft, or air-defense equipment.
Washington has acknowledged that four American service members were killed during recent Iranian attacks and related incidents in Jordan and Iraq.
However, The New York Times reported on Monday that the Pentagon has withheld information about dozens of troops injured in previously undisclosed strikes. Several helicopters were also damaged, according to the paper.
US officials cited by the NYT and Wall Street Journal have warned that Iranian missiles are becoming increasingly effective at penetrating American defenses due to their speed, maneuverability, and adapted tactics.
In retaliation for renewed American strikes launched as part of the unprovoked US-Israeli war on Iran, the Islamic Republic has carried out near-daily missile and drone attacks on US military facilities across the Middle East since a temporary ceasefire collapsed earlier this month.
A French fashion industry scout with ties to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead outside Paris, prosecutors told AFP on Wednesday.
Daniel Siad, who was 69, was reportedly found unresponsive in his kitchen by a 28-year-old woman who lived with him on Monday.
“An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the discovery,” French prosecutors said in a statement cited by local media. An autopsy is to be carried out as part of the probe.
At the time of his death, Siad was the subject of an investigation by French prosecutors following several complaints, including rape allegations. The investigation had been assigned to a specialist office responsible for combating human trafficking.
Several former models have accused Siad of using his position as a scout to target young women with promises of careers in fashion before sexually exploiting them or introducing them to powerful men.
Siad’s name appears in the Epstein files published by the US Justice Department more than 2,000 times. They contain correspondence between Siad and Epstein, in which the French scout suggests multiple models to the late pedophile, asks for money and trades sex jokes.
The former scout was not the first of Epstein’s former associates to die before they got to testify in court.
Jean-Luc Brunel, the founder of a modeling agency established with financial backing from Epstein, was arrested in 2020 on allegations including rape and child sex trafficking. He died in prison in 2022 while awaiting trial. French authorities ruled his death a suicide.
Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in New York in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide, although it has continued to fuel public scrutiny and speculation because of his connections to wealthy and powerful figures.
Despite years of government investigations, witness depositions and disclosures, no Epstein ‘client list’ has been made public, and none of his high-profile contacts have been charged with any crimes related to the sex trafficker’s case.
