Netherlands and Philippines latest to limit use of AstraZeneca vaccine – as it happened

7.12pm EDT 19:12

We’re going to leave it there for the day. Thanks for following along. A reminder of some of the key developments today:

7.08pm EDT 19:08

The company AstraZeneca released a statement last night following the Australian decision to recommend people under 50 do not receive the AstraZeneca Vaccine.

They have defended their product saying it’s successfully helped protect million against Covid-19 across the world:

Overall, regulatory agencies have reaffirmed the vaccine offers a high-level of protection against all severities of Covid-19 and that these benefits continue to far outweigh the risks…

AstraZeneca has been actively collaborating with regulators and expert advisory groups around the world, including the TGA and ATAGI in Australia to understand the individual cases, epidemiology and possible mechanisms that could explain these extremely rare events.

We note that the current situation in Australia with very low to no community transmission of Covid-19 was a factor in this updated recommendation from ATAGI and their view that the risk-versus-benefit assessment for the use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine may be different for Australia compared to other countries, such as those with widespread transmission.

7.04pm EDT 19:04

The prime minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape becomes the first in the country to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. Photograph: Kalolaine Fainu/The Guardian

International help is continuing to arrive in Papua New Guinea to help the country with its outbreak of Covid-19.

A seven-person emergency medical team has arrived from the US and will be sent to the Western Highlands province, where community transmission is believed to be out of control. One thousand of the 8,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Australia to Papua New Guinea will also go to the Western Highlands.

Another medical team from Germany is due to arrive in the country next week.

The World Health Organisation issued an international appeal for medical assistance to Papua New Guinea this week, with fears the outbreak could cause the collapse of the already stretched PNG health system.

“The new cases are associated with more severe illness than the previously seen in 2020. We are facing the potential collapse of health services in Port Moresby and around the country. A large number of hospital workers – over 120 staff – at Port Moresby General and National Capital District Health Authority (NCDPHA) are now positive for COVID-19,” said Matthew Cannon, chief executive officer of St John Ambulance Papua New Guinea.

6.39pm EDT 18:39

Hi, this is Kate Lyons taking over the blog from sunny Sydney. I’ll be seeing you through until the end of the blogging day.

Australians are waking up to a roiling debate about the AstraZeneca vaccine, after the country’s federal government called a snap press conference at 7:15pm on Thursday to announce new recommendations that people under 50 receive the Pfizer vaccine instead of the AstraZeneca due to the risk of blood clots.

Australia’s vaccine rollout, which has just reached the 1m mark, has so far administered 400,000 AstraZeneca doses, with just one instance of the blood clot issue, which has shown up in Britain and the European Union, where the rollout is further advanced.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at an evening press conference with health minister Greg Hunt announcing new recommendations for the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Australia has fared relatively well through the pandemic, with roughly 30,000 cases and 909 deaths. However, its rollout of Covid vaccines has been very slow, with just 1m doses being administered so far.

The country’s prime minister Scott Morrison has faced intense criticism for the vaccine rollout being so far behind schedule. The government had set a goal of 4m doses being administered by the end of March, a target it missed by 3.4m doses.

Some have suggested that yesterday’s announcement has a political upside for the government, in allowing the timetable for vaccine delivery to be thrown out the window.

For our Australian readers, or those who are simply uncommonly interested in the twists and turns of Australian politics, you can follow our Australian liveblog here.

6.11pm EDT 18:11

The Covid-19 vaccination programme has prevented the deaths of some 10,400 older people in England since it began, new analysis suggests.Figures from Public Health England (PHE) reveal the thousands of lives saved among those aged 60 and over in the space of four months. From December 8 last year up to the end of March, more than 15 million jabs have been given to adults in this age group, PHE said. According to its estimates, 9,100 deaths were prevented in those aged 80 and over, 1,200 were avoided in those aged 70 to 79, and 100 lives were saved in those aged 60 to 69. But experts believe the “true value” of the Covid-19 vaccines may also be seen in terms of avoiding future deaths should there be a resurgence of the virus in the UK.

6.07pm EDT 18:07

Nicaragua has begun slowly vaccinating people over 60, using an AstraZeneca vaccine made in India.The country has only received about 167,500 doses of vaccines, a tiny amount for a country of five million, Associated Press reports.

5.42pm EDT 17:42

Brazil recorded a daily record 4,249 deaths from Covid-19 as well as 86,652 further confirmed cases of coronavirus, the health ministry said.Brazil has registered more than 13 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 345,025, Reuters reports.

Updated at 5.43pm EDT

5.32pm EDT 17:32

Scotland’s outgoing health secretary has admitted moving patients back from hospitals into care homes during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic was a “mistake”.

Jeane Freeman said the Scottish government had failed in “understanding the social care sector well enough” and “we didn’t take the right precautions” when older people were leaving hospitals.

Updated at 5.38pm EDT

5.14pm EDT 17:14

A tweet from the governor of Texas on the US state’s progress on administering vaccines.

Updated at 5.14pm EDT

4.53pm EDT 16:53

The UK’s vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said delivering information through “trusted voices” has been vital in tackling vaccine hesitancy among black communities in Britain.

The death rate from Covid-19 is up to four times higher among black communities in Britain than in white, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Around 22% of people of black African and black Caribbean descent in the UK are reluctant to get a jab, compared to just 5% among white British.

But at an online event hosted by the Royal African Society, Mr Zahawi noted that just a few months ago, 44% of people in black communities said they would refuse the vaccine.

Zahawi said a lot of the hesitancy was rooted in distrust of institutions and “experiences or perceptions of inequality and inaccessible health and public services”.

Updated at 4.59pm EDT

4.39pm EDT 16:39

The US has administered 174,879,716 doses of Covid-19 vaccines as of Thursday morning and distributed 229,398,685 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Those figures are up from the 171,476,655 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by April 7, out of 225,294,435 doses delivered, Reuters reports.

The agency said 112,046,611 people had received at least one dose while 66,203,123 people are fully vaccinated as of Thursday.