support in afghanistan is very important because we are surrounded by war there are explosions and suicide attacks every day there are few chances for the people to just have fun this is a sport which brings all the people together it unites everyone was an ancient and dangerous sport with a role to play in building a more peaceful future in afghanistan david stokes our jazeera. this is al jazeera and these are the headlines the european union has proposed a coronavirus passports to help ease travel restrictions within the block a digital green certificate would provide proof travelers have either been vaccinated recovered from the virus or had a recent negative test this certificate will make sure that the results are what shows the data and is the minimum set of data mutually recognized in every member

state and 30 with this digital certificate we aim to help member states reinstate the freedom of movement in a safe responsible and trust it man. palestinian health officials say $62000.00 doses of coronavirus vaccine are on their way to the occupied west bank and gaza strip include shots manufactured by pfizer and astra zeneca they're being delivered there as part of a donor program organized by the world health organization the so-called covert scheme by the w.h.o. transfer nor kill it at least 1000000 palestinians by next year u.s. president joe biden has spoken about a number of foreign policy issues he said the u.s. may miss may 1st deadline to pull troops out of afghanistan and also accused russia of interfering in last year's u.s. election polls will cause in a few hours time in the netherlands national election prime minister mark gross a sense of right party is aiming to secure a 4th term that's despite his entire cabinet resigning after

a child care benefit scandal 2 months ago it's europe's 1st major vote since the start of the pandemic will be a test of the government's policies ukraine's foreign ministers rejecting him to rein in reports into the downing of a passenger plane last year it's ascribing it as a cynical attempt to hide the truth around civil aviation body has announced its final verdicts by blaming an error or an air defense operator incident happened during heightened military tension between washington and tehran in early 202176 people were killed. and the u.s. secretaries of state and defense are in south korea on the 2nd stop of the asia tour north korea's nuclear ambitions are high on the agenda pyongyang has warned the u.s. not to cause trouble in the region those are the headlines say where there's an al-jazeera inside story is next.

several countries in europe have suspended their use of us back scene they're worried about possible side effects the w.s.j. says it's safe to use but. how will this affect your of vaccination. this is inside story. welcome to the program. growing number of european countries are suspending the

oxford. 900 vaccine that concerns the job may have caused some recipients to develop blood clots but health agencies say there's no evidence conditions are linked to the vaccine and they insist the benefits of getting the shots far outweigh any potential risk this comes as europe is a rather short on vaccine supplies and struggling to contain any of the factions some countries outside of the continent have also put their vaccinations came on hold that's raising fears about potential effects on people who were already a reluctant to get the shot the european medicines regulator and the world health organization are now investigating the possible side effects. there is no indication that vaccination has caused these conditions they have not come up in the clinical trials and they're not listed as known arse or expected side effects

with this vaccine in clinical trials both the facts and i think people on the people who are thieves that percy bo have shown small some very small numbers of plot talked about months the number of throw and balika bans overall in the vaccinated people seems not to be higher than that seen in the camera population the rollout of the astra zeneca shots has being going on in the u.k. and belgium while some have brushed of the controversy others have shown reluctance about getting the jump from a i think to myself you know i think there's a there's always going to be some side effects of all medications or medicine so i believe it's in their interests but overall when you look at the percentages the percentage a minor compared to how many people about it and how many people that you could cite what you know the negatives so for me it's how white lights out white the cons anyway you know i mean so i smell things by simply a kid a concern which i think you know is mine and i'll become peace i believe in

a number of facts if i could choose i would rather have another vaccine because of the different stories you hear in other countries that have stopped using it but because i couldn't choose i came here anyway there have been a few cases but not so many in our country that's why i came to have the astra zeneca vaccine figure out he has in the media all this fuss in the media it makes me dizzy i have faith in science why should we all give our opinion on it i think you have more chance of blood clots with coated than with this astra zeneca vaccine . more than a dozen countries have suspended their years so they astra zeneca vaccine austria was 1st to pause while investigating a death from coagulation disorder. days later demarcus stopped administering the shot after a 60 year old woman died of blood clotting after receiving the job france germany spain and italy say they are awaiting the results of the e.u.

regulators investigation before resuming their us resenting her vaccinations sweden and lot of the became the latest to announce a pause on tuesday and outside europe indonesia and democratic republic of congo have stopped their all out while thailand has just resumed the use of the vaccine after a temporary pause. let's bring in our guests in barcelona. geoffrey lazarus had of the health systems the research group at barcelona institute for global health in robert as deliberate maybe had of the biotechnology lab of the robot medical school and professor of medical biotechnology at muhammad the 5th university biotechnology society in reading in the u.k. simon clarke an associate professor in cell a backhoe biology of the university of reading welcome to all jeffrey now we're

waiting to hear from the european medicines agency about the findings of this particular case but they seem to be indicating that they might be in favor of resuming the vaccinations particular when they say that the overall numbers of the. cases related to the from bo in balik. events that we had so far do not seem to be a concern that's right it would be a sleepless night for many but we are right now expecting the european medicines agency to the point that there is not a greater number of cases among those who've been vaccinated with the asters anika and we would expect in the general population. in iraq oh vaccination campaign has been. going on normally over the last few weeks it's been fine criticised by the international community as doing well but people are now

pretty much concerned particularly november is and has been using astra zeneca vaccine. well actually in morocco i think thank you for the question has ms and we have almost like 5000000 people that's got jobs from the astra zeneca and so far we have 4 people who dissented cation but i think it's a really amazing amazing that we have are having this discussion right now and having the discussion from european countries rethought that science is coming from europe but i think right now i think it's more politics than science because i don't see any scientific person around the world can say that there is an effect or an indication that this kind of reaction that we're having and trumbull says it's caused by the us runs in a galaxy simon i think. as a dean is talking about this disconnect between what is political and what is scientific given the fact that we have 17000000 people who have taken so far the

vaccine and you have 40 cases somehow 40 cases of blood clots when you look at the percentage itself is it doesn't make sense to talk about in a causal link where no really really it is a causal link based entirely on the numbers or at least from what we've been told by european regulators i do wonder whether they have there are other factors but if they are and they need to be very honest i'm very open about this because i'm a man who are really doing is frightening people and there is evidence of some vaccine hesitancy now even in the u.k. when really it's not based on only. the numbers or any real correlation as fast as we can as far as we can see. jeffrey who do you think should

be leading the fight against kobe advantage because from the start we have always been having this problem between the scientific community and the political establishment and we do understand why politicians around the world particularly in europe are pretty much concerned or they would like to be shown as taking the lead in saying no when it is. no but from now or worse how do you see things and fording in europe in particular it has to be the scientific community and there's a reason we have a european medicines agency and to be able to say that there is no evidence to start use of the astra zeneca axioms and now they're conducting an investigation under ankara new political pressure but we are where we are there is an increased perception of risk among the population as was just mentioned and i'm hoping that tomorrow it will confirm what they have been saying all along that this low number of cases is not linked that there is no cause and that it between the astra zeneca

. and clarkson if that's the case will be able to resume the vaccination campaigns but it will be quite challenging with some of the public in the population losing some of their confidence in the vaccines bill for the creasing their competence in the process as the new brushed aside the concerns are purely political in morocco how does it go now you've been given the vaccine to . hundreds of thousands of people particularly astra zeneca. and to be doing the follow up and just seem to be confident there's no concern there's no concern you're not concerned at all but actually read it in record there right away actually i think it's amazing that someone would stop using the a drug or a vaccine to harmonize the politics in europe when they see the statement from the french presidency actually i'm reading. how does sinitta and i think i think i'm

not talking about your opinion more because in morocco we did the right way the right way we have the scientific committee meets in and we discuss how many cases we have and we thought that we did for 4 cases in the row or over 6000000 people that were actually vaccinated with astra zeneca i think the benefits is there i think i'm to agree with that we're with a friend with my colleague actually how can we manage now the damage done actually to to the confidence or to the trust of the population i think it's what's happening in france is a really a misery i think 1st and in germany or so actually when you have in germany actually 7 cases over 1700000 people what's in it to i think for a lot if it was a german company do think that they would have stopped the vaccination i don't think so i don't write so i read i'm really angry about that i think it's really amazing how this kind of this decision simon we're talking about the e.u. which in normal landscape should be leading in the fight in the vaccination

campaign which doesn't seem to be the case now if you look at the situation the way it is but it when it comes to the astra zeneca vaccine so far it's been established scientific live that no one was hospitalized or became seriously ill you took over dying teen after receiving the 1st. job wasn't this enough on its own for the political elite in europe to say you know what we see the concerns there but we have to go on. well that's the out entirely reasonable thing to say even even if where there was a small effect of blood clotting you would have to weigh that against the positive effects that the vaccine has on protecting people from covert 90 very few things are without any risk at all taking paracetamol represents

a risk that getting onto an airplane represents a risk for deep vein thrombosis but people still do it because they judge the benefits of those things to outweigh the risks so even when there are no risks and we certainly don't know that to be the case with this vaccine covert 98 then people still make rational decisions to proceed with them so that should have been taken into consideration what hope will be jeffrey where does it leave us to as a nick of the company itself has been battered from day one by all sorts of challenges as problems you remember the beginning when it was many countries are commanded not to administer the vaccine for people who are older than 65 and then they reversed that decision now you have the suspension what does it leave the company the short term future of the astra zeneca vaccine is clearly in jeopardy but hopefully that will change tomorrow and you know if and i think it will be an

egg clears the vaccine for use i hope that i'll you know european union member states will accept except that and then the companies in good shape again because the astra zeneca axion is an important tool we have them in fortunately that well as other vaccines with pfizer in montana. now johnson and johnson and others russia and china and the astra zeneca that scene was specifically developed so that it could be used at a low cost you know all around the world so it's an extremely important thanks ian and me. now the companies are now in a tough spot the european medicines agency has made it clear that they do not cause ality as the new member of the scientific committee that decides what how to move forward in morocco which kind of medicine to acquire in the near future given this debate about astra zeneca you have been using sign a farmer and us resident for some time is this something which is going to put more

pressure on you guys to look of for other alternatives like johnson and johnson or modern or for example. well we've heard from iraq i mean the quest for a really clear we just authorize actually to get the strategy cover from korea through the kovacs initiative from the world health organization and i think really it gets our share of that down there think reorder that actually kill some sputnik vaccine aster and receive utilization i think it's tough to get just an adjustment because the american has all the orders and they will keep it for them until the end of their campaign for mathematics a nation i think from iraq and i have to come back to talk about after the the benefits because we see that we are allowing chemotherapy actually and everybody knows that can the therapy maybe is killing more people than deterrence are and to keep it as a therapy for people because the benefits is there and here we have 70000000 people

in the north actually that were vaccinated without trial senator and after that we have 40 people that were actually shortened maybe maybe it's a really we have to put this way because there is no clear indication billing commitment will be sad stop it i think it's not good for europe it's not good for our right because now we have to go through all our idea to explain why we keep using that simon it's been baffling to some people that while in a country like where where where as it comes from morocco the vaccination campaign has been doing very well in europe it's been sluggish the disaster according to other people you've been having the delivery shortfalls by astra zeneca under the gas the back to go against the background of all these problems the european union does not seem to be having some sense of clarity about how to tackle that's a nation campaign is creating more problems for science for doctors. yes they they just don't seem to have got themselves organized in a way that many other countries including the u.k.

have and that is it a great shape because of course the european union is made up of advanced nations who. for the most part would be totally able to cope with something like this and not only ordering the vaccination but making sure that it was administered to their populations so really this is a lack of organization not only in terms of ordering them you know far enough in advance but also for distributing them or making sure they get it. and this is not the only challenge the us resident has been grappling with reports from the what's university in johannesburg they asked why seneca vaccine is less effective against the south african variant it was found to be less than 60 percent effective at preventing mild to moderate infection the early trial was carried out on more than 2000 participants but this by the setback wider data show the vaccine

can still prevent severe illness and deaths from covert 19 south africa holt of the years of us to as an acoa in february jeffrey it's all about now perceptions it's all about the confidence in us reza nikka do you see them now and massive pressure to manufacture a 3rd dose that would restore confidence in the company itself but i do i think they need to look seriously at the situation with south africa and very into the going to present in south africa and the other companies as well into how do either. rejigged and the current vaccine or develop boosters so that's important but in policing we need to remember that yesterday can actually does work against severe cases. even with the south african variant and of course across europe with that mary and isn't it widespread and it's not as big an issue

as the in in morocco various mutations are something we have to deal with in the near future because the. virus is still around is this something that is taken into consideration by the. by the government absolutely i think it's a it's a something that's really very important to deal with and i think in iraq we are trying to see if we have the british or the the very end to be one very in extra and i think we are watching it closely and i think that by the end of april this variant will be the dominant one in morocco but i think what we're really having in morocco a great situation to have a massive tax issue because the plots is done and we have the infection rate is laura and the death then result rouer and i think if we do greatly with the mets vaccination hopefully we can soon try to see the end of this trend in the commercial some and i think this is a case that in

a way or another shows us the need for some sense of humility because we are in uncharted to rain and we're learning by the day from this particular case because if you go back to these particular cases of several villa scientists from bosis it was detected in spain but then the same day they saw that there was some cases in norway and germany and everyone freaked out and said you know what i think it's about time just to shelve everything for the time being we are likely to see similar cases related to similar incidence in the near future how do you think we should move forward tackling this particular issue other same time maintain in the momentum of the vaccination campaign. well i think that it has people get blood clots they happen in every country every day and unless there is a very clear numerical association between vaccination and. these blood clots then really all that should be done is

a careful. increased observation increased surveillance of the situation rather than pressing the panic button where you really it's far too early to start panicking because if you do that and you do it unnecessarily which does appear to be the situation at the moment then you will frighten people away from the vaccine and you will make them by definition therefore more susceptible to cave at 90 well jeffrey we have a frightening people for quite some time and you have people have always been skeptical about the vaccine comes this particular case of the suspension of the years of of us trials seneca at a time when every day that goes by without that same vaccination being administered in many european countries could really mean a difference between life and death and and that under this particular landscape why should the e.u.

move forward. well really we have really fed the monster the those who are you know strongly opposed to taxation and that's often a small number they're very vocal so i do agree with simon that the issue is we need to investigate the cases that we didn't need to necessarily suspend its use and that europe didn't act as a block or follow the recommendations of the european medicines agency i think. you create reduces some of the confidence in the system so it's a moving forward your needs to really show after the decision tomorrow that we will secure more vaccines we will it minister them more rapidly and that we will work you know country by country population by population to build the confidence we really need a strong european and even a stronger global campaign to build that exene confidence. likely to further scrutinize the track record of any pharmaceutical company of the near future

because of this whole issue about vaccine safety well i think and i think the clinical trials were there to show that this this vaccine is safe like the others i think it was amazing also that when you look at the other vaccines that they have to say that pfizer has the same effect on a number limited number of people who are there now has the same thing and it's surprising that the only one that gets rated hits by the e.u. has us through as an it guy may be the astra zeneca is not available in europe but the jeffrey to commercial and political decision nothing to do with science i think we have to go back to the basic scientific committees decide if the vaccine is safe and its efficacy and quality of production and i think that what we are trying to do and we need some leadership from europe to do that or so simon if we are to oppose just for a 2nd. and look at the overall picture which is the fight the global fight against

covert 19 those who are optimistic were thinking then that if things go hunky dory by september october or november we could reach some sort of herd immunity in some parts of the world 2022 would be the beginning of the end for covert 19 do you see that optimism still prevailing against the backdrop of this particular case of suspension of. vaccine. you know i think that sooner or later in fact very soon they can actually won't be restricted in its use i think people will have come to their senses but you know if we get much more of this when it's groundless it's perfectly acceptable when it's a reason to do it and if we get more gramley speculation about this sort of thing then we'll end up in a situation where we keep pushing back pushing back on our sort of time frame to to

a big caveat 98 you know you're quite right come the autumn many countries the u.k. certainly will hopefully should be looking at herd immunity to effectively stop the spread of the virus in their populations and then in 2022 you'll see more of that around the world but quite simply if you make people fright or the vaccine and there are people who do want to do that. then you're pushing it back in your like i said earlier exposing more and more people around the world so the risk of death from cave with 90 looking forward to hearing some very positive news in the upcoming days for the rollout to be continuing increasing spreading all over the world and putting an end to this disease that has shattered many many lives globally jeff elizabeth as the abraham is simon i would appreciate your insight and your time looking forward to talking to you in the near future thank you for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting our website al-jazeera dot com for further discussion got our facebook page that's facebook dot com for

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