Category: Feature Stories

The EU Medicines Agency (EMA) and EU health agency ECDC announced in a joint press release Wednesday that the joint Covid 19 Task Force (ETF) has decided it is too early to consider vaccinating a fourth dose of the mRNA vaccine (Pfizer’s Comirnaty and Moderna’s Spikevax) in the general population. However, he said that such a second booster could be administered in 80 years and older adults. In Austria, the National Vaccination Panel will deliberate on the need for a fourth vaccination starting today, April 8. They reached this conclusion…

Read More

There is a current discussion about whether a fourth Corona vaccination will become necessary or proper. The “booster,“ the third Corona vaccination, started in early fall. We are slowly approaching the time when the dose will have been given 270 days ago, and the green passport will therefore lose its validity. Also, the protection against severe courses decreases sharply after several months, especially with the new Omicron variant. The necessity and possible obligation for a fourth vaccination are being discussed worldwide. The National Vaccination Committee will deal with this question…

Read More

Many Austrians struggle through a jungle of Corona rules even when traveling. 3 G or PCR test? Do I have to fill out an entry form? What measures apply in the country? What do I have to consider when driving home? The virus is causing headaches in our travel planning this year as well. How to avoid any nasty surprises in neighboring countries: ▶Italy: One needs a valid green passport (in paper or digital form) and a pre-registration on the Internet. When eating pizza indoors, 3 G applies, in the…

Read More

In Austria, the Green Passport is currently valid for six months (180 days) for those vaccinated twice and nine months (270 days) for those vaccinated three times or more. Green passport: validity is extended Some triple Corona vaccinated are now or soon without a passport; Health Minister Johannes Rauch has recently held out the prospect of an early extension for triple vaccinated. Speculation is with a validity of 12 months. The following is an overview of the current regulations. Currently, the green passport in Austria is valid for a maximum…

Read More

The WHO estimates that more than 13 million deaths worldwide are due to preventable environmental causes. Moreover, the most significant health threat to humanity comes from climate change. Ideas for a better world “Health promotion can contribute a lot to climate protection. Ditch the car, get on the bike, or eat more plant-based foods and consume less meat,” said Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens). “Both prevent disease and protect the climate,” the minister stressed. The Healthy Austria Fund (FGÖ) has included “Healthy lifestyles and climate protection through intersectoral cooperation” as…

Read More

The fourth dose of BioNTech and Pfizer’s vaccine does lower rates of covid-19 in the elderly. But protection from infection appears to be short-lived, according to a large-scale study in Israel. Protection from the second booster vaccination waned after just four weeks, Israeli researchers showed in their study published Tuesday in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. Protection against severe disease after the fourth Corona vaccination The protection against serious diseases did not diminish in the six weeks after the vaccination. However, the scientists said further follow-up studies are…

Read More

More than 600 cases of recombination from omicron subtypes BA.1 and BA.2 have already been confirmed in the UK. The new variant, called “XE,” was first detected in the United Kingdom as early as January 19 – and more than 600 cases have been confirmed since then. Whether the recombination XE is more transmissible than earlier strains cannot be said. However, initial data would already indicate a 9.8 percent higher growth rate than BA.2, the UK Health Service Agency (UKHSCA) confirms. In short, XE is still slightly more infectious than…

Read More

The validity of the “Green Passport” will be extended. Health Minister Johannes Rauch announced this on ORF’s “Report.” As to when the extension will apply and for how long, he will announce at the latest at the beginning of next week. Rauch, however, has already assured that no one will have to forego a vacation because of an expiring “green passport” that depicts CoV vaccination or recovery. The minister’s rejection is demanded to expand the exceptions to the CoV test quota. Corresponding desires had become loud for established physicians, lady…

Read More

Promising data was provided by a vaccine study at the Medical University of Vienna. A Coronavirus vaccine developed at the Medical University of Vienna (MedUni) has shown in preclinical data that it can be effective against all previously known SARS-CoV-2 variants, including omicron, and even in people who have not yet established vaccine protection (non-responders), a release said Tuesday. The vaccine is a combination of Corona and hepatitis B vaccines. The study was published in the journal Allergy. The antigen-based vaccine, developed at MedUni Vienna under the study leadership of…

Read More