The EU Is Preparing to Launch Legal Proceedings Against Vaccine Producer AstraZeneca Over Vaccine Shortfalls

The European Union and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca have had a rough vaccine rollout, and many are complaining that regulators were too slow to approve the shots. AstraZeneca repeatedly slashed its delivery commitments, telling the public that they could not deliver as many vaccines as the bloc was counting on, which has led to delays in the COVID-19 vaccine in 27 EU nations. 

The European Commission raised the matter at a meeting of EU ambassadors Wednesday, during which the majority of EU countries said they would support suing the company on the grounds that it massively under-delivered pledged coronavirus vaccine doses to the bloc. However, five to six countries have raised concerns about launching a lawsuit against AstraZeneca, saying that the lawsuit wouldn’t guarantee that the EU got more doses. 

Some ambassadors also felt that launching a lawsuit would damage the image of AstraZeneca, diminishing citizens’ trust in the vaccine. In March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had expressed disappointment with AstraZeneca during a press conference, saying that “AstraZeneca has unfortunately under-produced and under-delivered. And this painfully, of course, reduced the speed of the vaccination campaign.” AstraZeneca’s CEO Pascal Soriot had told EU lawmakers in February that low yields at EU production plants were causing the delays. 

EU countries also discussed on Wednesday contracts for more EU vaccines, following the Commission’s announcement last week that the EU secured 1.8 billion BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines through 2023. According to a diplomat, some ambassadors worried that the EU essentially is giving Pfizer a “monopoly” and said the EU needs to have a broad portfolio of vaccines. 

A spokesman for AstraZeneca said the company was not aware of any legal proceedings "and continues to hold regular discussions on supply with the commission and member states.” The EU has also decided not to take up an option to buy 100 million extra doses of AstraZeneca under the contract, after safety concerns about very rare cases of blood clots linked to the vaccine as well as supply delays.

Investing in Water Access for Vulnerable Communities To Fight COVID-19

COVID-19 has revealed a critical fault in the lack of clean, safe water. Three billion people globally lack handwashing facilities at home. While the pandemic has thrown this crisis into sharper focus than ever before, people worldwide have had no water in their homes, schools, and even medical facilities for decades.

80% of illnesses are linked to dirty water and poor sanitation in many developing countries, and often factors like income, geography, and gender determines who has access to clean water

In developing countries, approximately 80 percent of illnesses are linked to dirty water and poor sanitation. Frequent and proper handwashing requires education, access to a water source, pipes, pumps, and facilities where people can turn on a tap. Safe water access programs are often prioritized in cities, leaving 8 in 10 people in rural areas without access. 

The PepsiCo Foundation announced on March 18th, 2021, that the company has helped more than 55 million people gain access to safe water globally since 2006 and catalyzed nearly $700 million in additional funding to support safe water access investments in partnership with leading non-profits worldwide. This marks significant progress towards PepsiCo’s goal of reaching 100 million people with safe water by 2030.

The Foundation also announced new programs to help communities recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. These include:

• Building sanitation facilities and community water systems for dispersed rural communities with WaterAid in Colombia and Acción Contra El Hambre in Guatemala in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

• Providing microcredit loans to families in Brazil with water.org and IDB to build water infrastructure in homes.

• Working with local entrepreneurs to provide affordable, clean water to communities in Bangladesh with BRAC.

• Installing water access points and increasing hygiene education in Hyderabad, India, with Safe Water Network.

• Providing affordable washing units in homes and handwashing stations in high-density areas in South Africa.

Handwashing and hygiene infrastructure can prevent future pandemics before they start and improve global health and livelihoods on a massive scale — but only if people continue to prioritize these initiatives with community-based interventions that address existing inequalities.

COVID-19 Widens Existing Gender Inequalities in Vietnam

Women in Vietnam have been facing multiple inequalities in the labor market, even with the remarkably high labor market participation rate. A research brief by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Vietnam shows that 70.9% of Vietnam’s working-age women are in the labor force, while the global level is 47.2%. 

The research also indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities and created new gender gaps. Valentina Barucci, the Labor Economist for ILO Vietnam, says that before the COVID-19 pandemic, both women and men had relatively easy access to jobs. Still, the quality was, on average lower among women than men. Female workers are overrepresented in vulnerable employment, particularly in contributing to family work. Women earned 13.7% less than men and are underrepresented in decision-making jobs; they accounted for nearly half of the labor force but less than ¼ of overall management roles. The gap women face in job quality, and career development stems from the double burden they carry. They spent an average of 20.2 hours per week cleaning the house, washing clothes, and shopping for the family, whereas men spent only 10.7 hours. 

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, total working hours dropped significantly in the second quarter of 2020. Overall working hours did recover through the second half of the year, but women’s working hours recovered faster than men’s. “The women who worked long hours in the second half of 2020 possibly wanted to make up for the income losses in the second quarter,” says Barcucci. “Such additional hours made the double burden heavier to carry, as the time spent by women on household chores remained disproportionately high.

The research brief states that work equality in Vietnam can only be built on a shift in approach, from protecting women to providing equal opportunity to all workers, irrespective of their sex. A Labour Code that came into effect on the 1st January of 2021 opens opportunities to close gender gaps in employment. The Code introduces a reduction in the retirement age gap, which will gradually be implemented. In addition, female workers will no longer be excluded by law from certain occupations considered harmful for child-bearing and parenting functions. Rather, they will have a right to choose whether or not to engage in such occupations after being fully informed of the risks involved. Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2021-30 is expected to call for gender gaps to be reduced across several areas of citizens’ political, economic, and social lives. 

Identifying Counterfeit and Fake N95 Masks

Approximately 10 million fake 3M N95 masks have been distributed in at least five states, and federal, and state authorities are managing to seize and cease the counterfeit ring. The masks are designed to mimic 3M N95 masks, with details including raised marking and printed logos. As a response, 3M has issued a warning describing the model and lot numbers to look out for when purchasing masks. 

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has also released a guide on how to spot masks that are falsely claimed to be approved by the NIOSH. NIOSH-approved masks will have an official approval label on or within the packaging, and the filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) of the N95 masks should also have an abbreviated approval. 

The NIOSH Certified Equipment List (CEL) or the NIOSH Trusted-Source page can be used as a resource to verify and determine whether NIOSH has approved the respirator. The approved FFRs include N95, N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, P95, P99, and P100.  

Signs that a respirator may be counterfeit:

• No markings at all on the filtering facepiece respirator (FFR).

• No approval (TC) number on FFR or headband.

• No NIOSH markings.

• NIOSH spelled incorrectly.

• Presence of decorative fabric or other decorative add-ons (e.g., sequins).

• Claims of approval for children (NIOSH does not approve any type of respiratory protection for children).

• FFR has ear loops instead of headbands.

NIOSH also offers additional tips on how to identify counterfeit masks, including third-party marketplaces. Some things to consider include: 

• If a listing claims to be “legitimate” and “genuine,” it likely is not.

• Examine transactions history and feedback if possible

• Look for fluctuations of items traded over time (high or low transaction periods)

• Look for price deviations and fluctuations (Is it too good to be true?)

• Look at the quantity a buyer has in stock.

• During a time of shortage, advertising “unlimited stock” could indicate that the respirator is not approved.

• Does the seller break marketplace policy and hide their contact information within images to circumvent filters.

OSHA Proposes Updates to Hazard Communication Standard

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is scheduled to publish a notice of proposed rule update to its Hazard Communication (“Haz Com”) Standard on February 16th, 2021. This proposed change will align its rules with those in the seventh version of the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS).

OSHA’s Haz Com was initially established in 1983, and it provides a systematized approach to communicating workplace hazards associated with exposure to hazardous chemicals. The Haz Com Standard is currently linked to the third version of GHS, which was created in 2012. In the Haz Com Standard, chemical manufacturers are required to classify the hazards of chemical which they produce or import into the US, and employers need to provide information to their employees about the hazardous chemicals to which they are exposed. This includes providing a hazard communication program, labeling and other forms of warning, safety data sheets, and training. The notice of proposed rulemaking will enhance worker protections by updating the Haz Com Standard, which should support more extensive efforts to address workplace hazards such as aggregate exposures and cumulative risk models. 

Some other key modifications included in the proposed rule include:

• New flexibility for labeling bulk shipments of hazardous chemicals, including allowing labels to be placed on the immediate container or transmitted with shipping papers, bills of loading, or by other technological or electronic means that are immediately available to workers in printed form on the receiving end of the shipment;

• New alternative labeling options where a manufacturer or importer can demonstrate that it is not feasible to use traditional pull-out labels, fold-back labels, or tags containing the full label information generally required under the Haz Com Standard, including specific alternative requirements for containers less than or equal to 100ml capacity and for containers less than or equal to 3ml capacity; and

• New requirements to update the labels on individual containers that have been released for shipment but are awaiting future distribution where the manufacturer, importer, or distributor become aware of new significant information regarding the chemical’s hazards.

OSHA will be accepting comments on the proposed rule until April 19th, 2021. Comments can be submitted at https://www.regulations.gov/.