Month: November 2021

If new vaccines against the Omicron variant are needed, they could be produced on a large scale as early as early 2022, Moderna CMO Burton said. They have been working on an update for days, he said. Vaccine maker Moderna already began working on a vaccine against the Omikron variant on the Thanksgiving holiday. Hundreds of its employees had begun working on an appropriate adaptation of the Corona vaccine right on the holiday, which is usually celebrated in a big way in the U.S., following initial publications on the mutant,…

Unsettled weather remains this week in Austria, with temperatures in particular subject to fluctuation. On Wednesday, the thermometer may climb back up to 10 degrees, then it will go steeply downhill again.Central Europe is under the continuing influence of low pressure and on the edge of an extensive blocking high over the Atlantic, cool air masses of Arctic origin also enter the country at the beginning of the week. On Monday, the unsettled and cold weather will continue. Clouds will dominate from Vorarlberg to the Waldviertel, in the congested areas…

Pain in the limbs and extreme fatigue – that’s how Angélique Coetzee, chairwoman of the South African Medical Association, describes the cases of infection with the new Omicron variant detected so far in her home country. She says symptoms are “mild but unusual,” with none of the patients so far complaining of loss of smell or taste, for example. “There is currently no evidence for a change in disease severity,” said Christian Drosten, chief virologist at Berlin’s Charité hospital, as well. However, he said, it is too early to make…

The new Corona variant Omicron is causing headaches not only because of its spread, but also because of its name. Over the weekend in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) explained why it chose this particular Greek letter as the name for variant B.1.1.529 when it classified it as a concern: it was to avoid misunderstanding and stigmatization. The UN health agency moved some time ago to gradually name emerging variants using the Greek alphabet. This was done to prevent the places where mutants first appear from being used as…

Austrian travel returnees from South African countries are to be identified. They must show a negative PCR test and enter a ten-day quarantine. The Austrian Armed Forces are inspecting and keeping an eye on transfer airports, Ö1’s “Morgenjournal” reported Sunday. The tightening of entry requirements has been in effect since Saturday. South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini have been classified as virus variant areas. Entry from these countries is prohibited. In addition, a landing ban has been imposed on flights from these seven African countries. Strict requirements…

The Philippines has imposed travel restrictions on seven more countries as it updated its “red list” effective November 28, Malacañang announced Sunday. Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles announced that those added to the “red list” or the list of areas considered as high-risk for COVID-19 are Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy. Travel restrictions in these seven countries will be until December 15. In a statement, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the following countries are now under the red list: South Africa Botswana Namibia Zimbabwe Lesotho Eswatini Mozambique…