More pain for AZ vaccine

[redsturgeon]

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-07-01/cov ... ed-az-jabs

EU may not recognise some batches for EU travel passport

John

[servodude]

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-07-01/covid-up-to-five-million-brits-may-be-unable-to-visit-europe-as-eu-does-not-recognise-india-produced-az-jabs

EU may not recognise some batches for EU travel passport

John

They'll come round because the WHO recognise it; that's what happened regards Canadians in the USA.

The article smacks of the "unhelpful" flag waving / persecution complex dichotomy some seem to build around the AZ


-sd

[stockton]

At the moment the UK does not recognise any vaccine as suitable for travel, so why the fuss about the EU ?

[Lootman]

At the moment the UK does not recognise any vaccine as suitable for travel, so why the fuss about the EU ?

That is the much bigger problem. Why do we give people zero credit for being fully vaccinated?

I do wonder if the US will not recognise the AZN vaccine for travel there, since its own FDA hasn't approved it for use at all.

As for the AZN vaccine, it just cannot catch a break it seems.

[Julian]

At the moment the UK does not recognise any vaccine as suitable for travel, so why the fuss about the EU ?

...
I do wonder if the US will not recognise the AZN vaccine for travel there, since its own FDA hasn't approved it for use at all.

As for the AZN vaccine, it just cannot catch a break it seems.

There's already been a sort of test run of that debate in the USA thanks to, amongst other things, a Bruce Springsteen Broadway show that would only sell tickets to people vaccinated with FDA approved vaccines which excluded AZ. Canada was the biggest complainant in that debate due to it's geographical proximity meaning quite a few Canadians wanted to travel to see the show plus Canada's use of the AZ vaccine. Ultimately the policy was overturned and changed to needing to be a WHO-approved vaccine. [Source: https://www.nme.com/news/music/springst ... cy-2973444 ]

A would be a bit surprised if that precedent wasn't followed for inbound travel if/when vaccination status is considered. It's a tricky thing though. What if a new variant emerges that has extremely good escape properties against only certain WHO (or FDA, or MHRA, or EMA) approved vaccines whereas others still offer good protection? I suppose the answer would be to keep the policy of, for instance, any WHO approved vaccine but add specific exceptions if any individual vaccines are rendered insufficiently effective against a specific variant. If certain vaccines were subsequently excluded for specific clinically demonstrable reasons re a new variant I don't think anyone could reasonably cry foul.

- Julian

P.S. I just checked my AZ batch numbers. It looks as if I've dodged this particular manufactured-in-India bullet but thanks for the info John

[AleisterCrowley]

How does one check the batch numbers?

[redsturgeon]

How does one check the batch numbers?

However, up to five million doses of the version of the AZ jab in question have been administered in the UK and are identifiable by the vaccine batch numbers (4120Z001, 4120Z002, 4120Z003) included on recipients’ vaccine cards and in the Covid travel pass available via the NHS app, the Telegraph said.

[XFool]

How does one check the batch numbers?

By looking at your NHS vaccination card. Plus... somewhere else. Asking Bruce Springsteen?

[XFool]

However, up to five million doses of the version of the AZ jab in question have been administered in the UK and are identifiable by the vaccine batch numbers (4120Z001, 4120Z002, 4120Z003) included on recipients’ vaccine cards and in the Covid travel pass available via the NHS app, the Telegraph said.

Well, none of those are mine, both of which start with two letters and then five digits.

[AleisterCrowley]

First one was 4120Z003 and the second was PV46678
-perhaps I'm only half-compliant!
(it definitely 'worked' based on three day hangover side-effects..)

[UncleEbenezer]

First one was 4120Z003 and the second was PV46678
-perhaps I'm only half-compliant!

You're half-indian. Like a lot of good food.

[Lootman]

First one was 4120Z003 and the second was PV46678
-perhaps I'm only half-compliant!

For my wife and I the batch numbers were the same for both first and second jabs (Moderna and Pfizer respectively).

Could be because we had the two jabs close together in dates, otherwise that would be rather difficult to organise by design I would think.

[AleisterCrowley]

Mine were ~ 9 weeks apart, same location. First in mid-March

[Mike4]

First one was 4120Z003 and the second was PV46678
-perhaps I'm only half-compliant!
(it definitely 'worked' based on three day hangover side-effects..)

The difficult bit will be working out which half of you is compliant.

My batches are AB0004 and PN40010, neither of which is in the format of those Indian manufactured batches, which seems odd. One would think the format of batch numbers would be the same whatever the source of a given type of vaccine, wouldn't one?

[redsturgeon]

First one was 4120Z003 and the second was PV46678
-perhaps I'm only half-compliant!
(it definitely 'worked' based on three day hangover side-effects..)

The difficult bit will be working out which half of you is compliant.

My batches are AB0004 and PN40010, neither of which is in the format of those Indian manufactured batches, which seems odd. One would think the format of batch numbers would be the same whatever the source of a given type of vaccine, wouldn't one?

The batch numbers will be designated by the manufacturer rather than any worldwide governing body so it would be quite strange to get Indian manufactured batch numbers formatted like UK or EU numbers.

John

[Spet0789]

My first was Indian, second not.

I am confident this gets resolved. Around 10 EU countries have already said they are fine with the Indian made AZ vaccine.

US is moot for now, give it 2 months and the data on the efficacy of the AZ vaccine will be there. If it looks good on efficacy then I’m sure it will be fine.

The FDA may choose not to approve it in the US on the grounds of higher clotting risks but as long as it’s effective they should be perfectly happy to accept travellers who have had it.

[9873210]

One would think the format of batch numbers would be the same whatever the source of a given type of vaccine, wouldn't one?

The batch numbers will be designated by the manufacturer rather than any worldwide governing body so it would be quite strange to get Indian manufactured batch numbers formatted like UK or EU numbers.

John

Adding to that.

Batch numbers often encode information about the details of the manufacturing process. For example if you have multiple lines it might encode that*. A plant with only a single line would not need to do that. Standardizing batch numbers** is the worst sort of bureaucratic inclination.

* This would be useful if say one line was contaminated.
** Beyond something like "at most 40 characters, drawn from Latin alphabets and digits" so we don't have to deal with strings of emojis of indeterminate length.

[9873210]

There are likely to be a few dozen different vaccines. When we get to booster shots and consider the intervals there will probably be millions of possible combinations. At some point, probably March 2021, maintaining a complete list becomes impractical. Sooner or later some people who want to travel are going to have to be revaccinated to meet the letter of the law. It's cheaper (though perhaps not safer) to revaccinate a few people than to evaluate the reliability of odd-ball combinations.

I'd expect a lot of ad hoc muddling with plenty of holes for a small number of people to fall through. Even if they* say that they will accept any vaccine approved by WHO that can change as soon as WHO approves something they don't like. I will also point out that if some body, like the FDA, requires vaccination "according to the manufacturers instructions" most UK vaccinations would not count, since the extended interval was not on the label.

*They is the powers that be in a place that matters to you.