Omicron variant BA.2 now dominant

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Today, the even more contagious Omicron sub-variant BA.2 dominates Vienna. This is shown by the evaluations of the City of Vienna via the PCR test system “Alles gurgelt. “It is still unclear whether this will lead to a new peak in new infections.

As recently as February 24, omicron BA.2 levels were measured at 48.9 percent, but now BA.2 has surpassed the 50 percent mark. The number of new infections has been at a high level for days. The 7-day incidence of 1,909.5 is the lowest in Austria but still very high. This means there is still a high viral load.

In Vienna’s hospitals, the situation is currently as high as it was last in mid-April 2021, with 533 COVID-19 patients, and the trend is upward. Level 6 of 8 is activated in the Vienna Hospital Plan. This means that operations currently have to be postponed.

An easing is not in sight for the next two weeks, according to the office of Health City Councillor Peter Hacker (SPÖ): the current figures in Denmark, for example, do not yet give cause for a long-term all-clear, according to the City of Vienna. A sustainable decline is therefore not expected until the second half of March.

Novavax vaccinations as of March 1

Vaccinations with the Novavax vaccine will begin in Vienna on March 1. Pre-registrants should receive a mailing from the city in the coming days. They were immunized to the office of Health City Councillor Peter Hacker (SPÖ), only in the vaccination centers of MA 15 and with an appointment.

Appointments can be booked from Saturday. The drug from Novavax is the fifth coronavirus vaccine that has been approved in the EU. Two doses are injected about three weeks apart. Its effectiveness in protecting against symptomatic infections has been reported by the EU Medicines Agency (EMA) to be around 90 percent.

The vaccination line in St. Stephen’s Cathedral closes

Meanwhile, vaccination lines in Vienna are being scaled back. Currently, an average of only 2,000 to 2,500 people are getting vaccinated each day. Therefore, the vaccination street in St. Stephen’s Cathedral will be closed at the end of March. Shopping centers will also soon no longer be vaccinated.