EMA decides on Johnson vaccine

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will decide today whether to approve the coronavirus vaccine from the U.S. company Johnson & Johnson. If the Amsterdam-based authority gives the green light, final approval by the EU Commission would be a mere formality, according to experience. It would be the fourth coronavirus vaccine to receive EU-wide approval, following vaccines from Biontech and Pfizer, Moderna and Astrazeneca. Against severe covid-19 disease, the vaccine has an efficacy of about 85 percent. One advantage of Johnson & Johnson’s vector virus vaccine is that only one dose…

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British mutant 64 percent more deadly according to study

Corona mutant B.1.1.7, first discovered in the United Kingdom, is 64 percent more deadly than previous variants of the virus, according to a new study. In 4.1 out of every thousand cases, infection with B.1.1.7 leads to death, according to the study by researchers at Britain’s University of Exeter published Wednesday in the journal BMJ. For earlier coronavirus variants, the mortality rate is 2.5 per thousand cases. For their study, the researchers analyzed pairs of data from nearly 55,000 study participants each. The people had tested positive for the coronavirus…

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Over 2,500 cases! Corona numbers continue to rise

The Corona numbers in Austria remain at a high level! Although the number of new infections on Monday (March 8) was below 2,000, but yesterday (Tuesday) was again a significant increase with 2,411 cases. And the trend of high numbers continues on Wednesday. The Dashboard of the Health Ministry shows that in the last 24 hours a total of 2,528 new infections and 19 deaths were recorded throughout Austria. Also, the number of Corona patients in hospitals has increased by 17, but the number of patients in intensive care units…

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Song Contest: New Vincent Bueno song “Amen” presented

On May 20, 2021 the Austrian-Filipino Vincent Bueno will be representing Austria at Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with his power ballad “Amen”. He was internally selected by the Austrian broadcaster ORF for Eurovision 2020, but after the cancellation of last year’s contest, the broadcaster has decided to give him a new opportunity to sing for Europe. Vincent will sing in the second semifinal (first half) on Thursday, May 20, 2021, for the ticket to the grand final on May 22 – to be seen live on ORF 1. The official…

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British coronavirus mutation now dominant in Vienna, Austria

The British coronavirus mutation (B.1.1.7) is now the dominant variant in Vienna. According to the medical crisis team, around 70 percent of infection cases are currently attributable to this type, it said Tuesday. There are also “16 active cases” of the South African mutation (B.1.351), it said. So far, a total of 97,146 coronavirus infections have been reported in Vienna, according also to a dispatch from the crisis management team. Of these, 374 positive tests were added to the past 24 hours – although this also includes 22 follow-up reports…

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Lollipop antigen test now available in pharmacies

Testing for COVID-19 is now very simple. With the LOLLIPOP test, testing can be done in a snap without the unpleasant nasal or throat swabbing or spitting and gargling. When people talk about COVID-19 antigen tests, they automatically think of the nasal swab or the spit test. Yet the latest approved variant of the Covid-19 antigen test is simpler than ever, and somewhat reminiscent in its handling of the principle of a pregnancy test. The procedure is simple and clean. Take the test out of the package, remove the lid,…

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9,146 new infections and 300 new deaths in Germany.

Exactly one week ago, the RKI had recorded 9,019 new infections and 418 new deaths within one day. The data reflect the status of the RKI dashboard as of 04:50, subsequent changes or additions are possible. According to the RKI, the number of new infections reported within seven days per 100,000 inhabitants (seven-day incidence) was 65.4 nationwide on Wednesday morning – lower than the previous day (67.5). Four weeks ago, on Feb. 10, the incidence had been 68. The number of new infections in Germany had fallen significantly for weeks…

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Brazil reports another daily high in deaths

After the deadliest week so far in the pandemic, Brazil has registered another high in CoV deaths recorded in one day. 1,972 people died in 24 hours, according to data released yesterday by the Ministry of Health in Brasilia. The previous high was 1,910 deaths last Wednesday, up from 1,641 on Tuesday. This brings the total number of Covid-19-related deaths in Brazil to 268,370. Newly infected 70,764 people brought the number of CoV-infected people in Latin America’s largest country, with a population of more than 210 million, to more than…

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