14 April 2021: The situation is green, albeit light green…

14 April 2021: The confirmed new infections and the number of hospital admissions continue to fall, albeit the fall is not as sharp as we might have hoped. Between 4 and 10 April 3,452 new cases were reported each day on average, 19 percent less than the week before that. However, far fewer tests are being carried out, 32% less compared with the previous week and the percentage of positive tests has risen to 9,4% which shows that the virus is still circulating strongly. Meanwhile, the fall in the number of hospitalisations remains modest at 5% per week but the total number of people in hospital continues to fluctuate around 900. Adding to this suboptimal situation was J&J’s announcement that it will temporally halt the shipments of its vaccine. The decision follows the recommendation from the FDA to temporarily pause using the vaccine, after six cases of rare blood clots were reported in the USafter vaccination. Exactly the same rare side effects as we’ve seen with the other vector vaccine from AstraZeneca. Being an American company J&J is more risk adverse and is shying away from potential financial liabilities and decided to stop all shipments despite the fact that the benefits from the vaccine significantly outweigh the potential risks. In light of all of this I do not think that the time is ripe for major relaxations. I’m wondering what the government will decide after having analyzed all data of the pandemic and taken into consideration the socio-economic impact of the lockdown.  On display today is a mural of A squid cal­l­ed Sebas­ti­an – Voetweg, Ghent, Belgium.