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EU suing AstraZeneca over delayed COVID-19 deliveries
AstraZeneca says legal action by EU without merit, will defend itself in court
The European Union's executive branch said Monday that it has launched legal action against coronavirus vaccine-maker AstraZeneca for failing to respect the terms of its contract with the 27-nation bloc.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has been central to Europe's immunization campaign and a linchpin in the global strategy to get vaccines to poorer countries. But the slow pace of deliveries has frustrated the Europeans and they have held the company responsible for partly delaying their vaccine rollout.
European Commission spokesperson Stefan De Keersmaecker said that Brussels launched the legal action against AstraZeneca last Friday "on the basis of breaches of the advance purchase agreement."
He said the reason for the legal action was that "some terms of the contract have not been respected" and that "the company has not been in a position to come up with a reliable strategy to ensure a timely delivery of doses."
AstraZeneca's contract with the EU, which was signed by the Commission on behalf of the member countries last August, foresaw an initial 300 million doses for distribution among member countries, with an option for a further 100 million.
The British-Swedish drugmaker had hoped to deliver 80 million doses in the first quarter of 2021, but only 30 million were sent. According to the Commission, the company is now set to provide 70 million doses in the second quarter, rather than the 180 million it had promised.
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Canadian Armed Forces sending teams to Ontario as COVID-19 cases strain critical care capacity
Province sees 3,510 new cases of virus; admissions to ICUs climbed to 877, another pandemic high
The Canadian Armed Forces will deploy three medical assistance teams to health-care facilities in Ontario, mostly in the Greater Toronto Area, according to a senior defence source with knowledge of the file.
Exact destinations are yet to be determined, but the first flight will be departing from Newfoundland to Ontario Tuesday. Teams will consist of approximately 10 personnel each. The CAF will also begin flying in civilian medical staff offered by other provinces, CBC News has learned.
The move comes after Ontario has made a formal request to the Canadian Armed Forces for help in dealing with a surge in critical care cases associated with COVID-19, just days after it rebuffed an offer by the federal government to send in extra personnel.
In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said the province has "made a request for the assistance of those identified resources, many of whom reside, for example, within the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Red Cross organizations."
"In addition to health human resources, we are requesting logistical and operational support as we seek to augment our response to COVID-19," the statement from Jones's press secretary Stephen Warner said.
Speaking to reporters, Jones said the request, made Friday, did not request a specific number of personnel.
"What we are looking for is very specialized nurses that can help out in our intensive care unit beds and medical personnel that can assist our hospitals that are seeing disturbing rises in cases of COVID-19," she said.
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B.C. confirms death of baby from COVID-19, as officials announce 17 deaths over last 3 days
2,491 new cases recorded over the weekend; 484 people now in hospital, including 158 in intensive care
B.C. health officials have confirmed that a baby died of COVID-19 in January, the youngest death from the novel coronavirus to date, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced Monday.
Few details have been released, but Henry said the B.C. coroner had been investigating previous deaths that had not been attributed to the virus and was able to confirm that an infant from the Interior Health region died from COVID-19 in January while being treated at B.C. Children's Hospital.
The news comes just one week after health officials announced the death of a two-year-old from the virus.
Monday's update was the first since Friday. Since then, Henry said, the province has recorded 2,491 new cases of the disease and 17 more deaths. The deaths include two people over the age of 90, seven in their 80s, five in their 70s, two in their 60s and one in their 50s.
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Situation in India 'beyond heartbreaking,' head of WHO says as countries pledge help
India ordered its armed forces on Monday to help tackle surging new coronavirus infections that are overwhelming hospitals, as countries including Britain, Germany and the United States pledged to send urgent medical aid.
"The exponential growth that we have seen in case numbers is really, truly astonishing," Maria van Kerkhove, WHO technical lead on COVID-19, told the news conference.
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