EU blocks export of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to Australia

The European Commission and Italy have blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine destined for Australia after the pharmaceutical company did not fulfil its European Union contract commitments, sources said on Thursday.

It is the first time the EU has employed an export control mechanism it set up to ensure drug manufacturers respect their contracts.

The sources said AstraZeneca had reportedly requested authorization from the Italian government to export some 250,000 doses from its Anagni plant, close to Rome. The site is owned by US group Catalent. 

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COVID-19: Italy and EU block Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine shipment to Australia as shortages row escalates

The British-Swedish drug manufacturer had failed to meet its EU contract commitments so the Italian government refused its request to export 250,000 doses from its Anagni plant near Rome.

Italy made the request and it was signed off by the European Commission under a new export control system that came into law on 30 January. This is the first time it has been used by a member state. 

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Self-Proclaimed Billionaire Trump Now Begging Small-Dollar Donors For Money

ORLANDO, Fla. ― After years of claiming he was so rich he didn’t need anyone else’s money for his political campaigns, Donald Trump is officially asking small-dollar donors ― many of them lower income and older ― to send him cash, potentially hurting the Republican Party’s small-dollar program.

The request was tucked in near the end of his first public appearance since leaving the presidency Jan. 20, a 90-minute speech Sunday that largely recycled his oft-repeated lies about the November election and his record in office. 

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California To Give 40% Of Vaccine Doses To Vulnerable Areas

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will begin setting aside 40% of all vaccine doses for the state’s most vulnerable neighborhoods in an effort to inoculate people most at risk from the coronavirus and get the state’s economy open more quickly.

Two officials in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration shared details Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

The doses will be spread out among 400 ZIP codes with about 8 million people eligible for shots. Many of the neighborhoods are concentrated in Los Angeles County and the Central Valley. 

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House Passes Landmark Voting Rights Bill, Setting Up First Major Filibuster Fight

The House of Representatives passed a landmark bill on voting rights, elections, campaign finance and ethics reform by a vote of 220-210 on Wednesday.

The For the People Act, congressional Democrats’ top legislative priority, passed with 220 Democrats in support and one Democrat (Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi) and 209 Republicans in opposition. (Two Republicans did not vote.) This encapsulates a major contrast between the nation’s two major political parties: One is pushing to expand access to the ballot, the other is trying to restrict it. 

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Interior Secretary Nominee Deb Haaland Clears Senate Committee

Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Deb Haaland moved one step closer to confirmation on Thursday, after a Senate committee voted to advance her nomination to the full chamber.

One Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), joined Democrats in voting to move forward with Haaland’s nomination. 

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Dr. Anthony Fauci Delivers Stark Warning To Republicans Easing Coronavirus Restrictions

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious diseases expert, has a warning for states that are dropping coronavirus restrictions as the number of cases continues to fall. 

“It’s certainly from a public health standpoint ill-advised,” Fauci told CNN’s Erin Burnett, adding that past declines in the number of COVID-19 cases also prompted states to move too quickly to reopen. 

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Criticism Grows After Texas Lifts COVID-19 Restrictions, Top Health Official Not Consulted

Texas’ top health official said Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott (R) did not consult him before announcing that the state would become the largest in the nation to lift its COVID-19 restrictions.

Abbott said Tuesday that he would end the state’s mask mandate and that all businesses could operate at full capacity, effective March 10. Other governors have also begun easing precautions as coronavirus cases and deaths decline thanks to an ongoing vaccination blitz and social distancing measures. 

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