World
Phuket Gazette World News – Rioting in Belfast for fifth night

– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community
PHUKET: Police in Northern Ireland came under attack for a fifth straight night yesterday as the province’s police chief urged politicians and parents to act to halt the riots on Belfast streets.
The violence is some of the worst in the British-controlled province since a 1998 peace deal ended 30 years of conflict that pitted Catholics seeking union with Ireland against security forces and Protestants keen to remain British.
The unrest was triggered by a decision by Belfast city council – which is dominated by republican members – to end the century-old tradition of flying the British flag from City Hall every day.
The council met yesterday for the first time since taking the decision last month and a protest passed off peacefully outside City Hall.
But later, in an eastern part of the capital where rival Protestant and Catholic communities live side by side, a crowd about 200-strong threw petrol bombs, fireworks and paint bombs at police who responded with water cannon.
Northern Ireland’s police chief appealed to political organisers and parents of youths involved in the violence – some of whom were as young as 10 – to rein it in.
“As chief constable I’m taking the unusual step of calling directly now for protests, if not to be ended, to take a step back, for the violence to come to an end and for responsible voices to be heard,” Matt Baggott told a news conference.
He said members of pro-British militant groups, who ceased hostilities in recent years, were exploiting and in some cases instigating the riots.
Militant Republican groups, responsible for the killings of three police officers and two soldiers since 2009, have so far not reacted violently to the flag protests.
Some 3,600 people were killed during 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland before the 1998 peace agreement.
— Phuket Gazette Editors
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Covid-19 vaccine CEOs say 3rd dose may be needed along with annual jabs

The CEO for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines says it is likely that people will need a 3rd dose of the vaccine and to receive it annually. Albert Bourla, told CNBC, that the booster, or 3rd dose, will be needed less than a year after being fully vaccinated.
“A likely scenario is that there will be likely a need for a 3rd dose, somewhere between 6 and 12 months and then from there, there will be an annual revaccination, but all of that needs to be confirmed. And again, the variants will play a key role. It is extremely important to suppress the pool of people that can be susceptible to the virus.”
Bourla’s comment echoes that of Johnson & Johnson’s CEO when he stated in February, that people may need to get vaccinated against Covid-19 annually, just like seasonal flu shots. Both statements reflect the fact that since the vaccine is new, and testing periods are shorter than most vaccines in the past, researchers are still unclear about how long the vaccine will protect against the virus.
Pfizer says that its Covid-19 vaccine was more than 91% effective at protecting against the coronavirus and more than 95% effective against severe diseases up to 6 months after the 2nd dose. Moderna’s vaccine, which uses technology similar to Pfizer’s, was also shown to be highly effective at 6 months.
Just yesterday, the Biden administration’s Covid response chief science officer, David Kessler, noted that new Covid variants could “challenge” the effectiveness of the shots.
“We don’t know everything at this moment. We are studying the durability of the antibody response. It seems strong but there is some waning of that and no doubt the variants challenge … they make these vaccines work harder. So I think for planning purposes, planning purposes only, I think we should expect that we may have to boost.”
Late last month, the National Institute of Health started testing a new Covid vaccine from Moderna in addition to the one it already has, designed to protect against a problematic variant first found in South Africa. The variant is similar to that of the UK one that has recently made landfall in Thailand.
Recent findings, by The Lancet, however, have stated that the UK variant, known as B117, has a higher reproductive rate than other strains, and it’s more transmissible. However, it refuted earlier reports that the strain is more severe. Meanwhile, Thailand’s health minister is confirming his commitment to making AstraZeneca the nation’s chosen vaccine.
SOURCE: CNBC
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Economy
China grows 18.3%, the only major economy to grow in 2020

China’s economy set a record for growth in its first quarter, marking an 18.3% jump in year over year figures, the biggest quarterly growth in almost 30 years. China only started publishing growth statistics in 1992, and this drastic increase is the fastest growth recorded since then.
The figures, however impressive, are mainly due to what is called a “low base effect” where the change from a low starting point translates into big percentage statistics. Because of the devastating economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the first quarter 2020 figures were dismal, allowing the big gain over the last year.
Quarter to quarter, the last 3 months saw only a 0.6% growth, but in the last quarter of 2020 China recorded an economic boom of 6.5% according to the Chinese government. Still, the figures are admirable, as China was the only major economy in the world to achieve growth in 2020. Most of the planet struggled to contain global Covid-19 outbreaks, crippling economies across the globe. But China, now the second-largest economy in the world, managed a 2.3% overall expansion. Even Chinese officials called the impressive statistics “better than we had expected.”
China has been growing in terms of imports and exports as well, with exports expanding nearly 31% and imports up 38% by price over last years.
SOURCE: CNN
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Denmark becomes first country in Europe to ditch AstraZeneca vaccine

Denmark has announced that it is abandoning the AstraZeneca vaccine, the first European country to do so, amid concerns about very rare but serious blood clots. The rollout of the vaccine has run into problems in several countries, with its use either temporarily suspended or restricted to older age groups.
When concerns first arose over the vaccine’s rare side-effects, Denmark was the first country in Europe to suspend its use. In Thailand, use of the vaccine was suspended last month, before officials judged it safe to proceed, with Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul going on to confirm it would become the Kingdom’s primary Covid-19 vaccine.
Both the European drugs regulator and the World Health Organisation are standing by the jab, saying the benefits outweigh the risks. However, health officials in Denmark have now decided to ditch it for good.
“Denmark’s vaccination campaign will go ahead without the AstraZeneca vaccine.”
Denmark has reported 2 cases of thrombosis (blood clotting) linked to administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine, one of which proved fatal. The blood clot incidents arose after 140,000 people had received the jab. The Bangkok Post reports that 8% of Denmark’s 5.8 million inhabitants have been fully vaccinated and 17% have received their first dose.
The country plans to continue its rollout using the Modern and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. Officials say they are confident that the availability of other jabs, coupled with the fact that Covid-19 is relatively under control in Denmark, means the country’s mass inoculation can continue without issue.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca has released a statement acknowledging the decision taken by Danish health authorities.
“We recognise and respect the decision taken by the Danish Health Authority. Implementation and rollout of the vaccine programme is a matter for each country to decide, based on local conditions. We will continue to collaborate with the regulators and local authorities to provide all available data to inform their decisions.”
SOURCE: Euro News | Bangkok Post
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