Category: Feature Stories

The Omicron wave is probably not the end. There are already other variants of this SARS-CoV-2 mutation as well. “We are in a highly dynamic event,” said expert Andreas Bergthaler (MedUni Vienna/Center for Molecular Medicine; CeMM) in an online physician training session yesterday evening. In the therapy of Covid-19, most monoclonal antibodies would have lost their effect again due to the constant mutation of the pathogens. It is also completely unclear how much longer the world will have to contend with SARS-CoV-2 in its various variants, said Bergthaler, who recently…

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The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has issued a strong warning against downplaying the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. “Make no mistake, Omicron is causing hospitalizations and deaths, and even the less severe cases are flooding health facilities,” Tedros said Tuesday. The Corona pandemic “is far from over,” he said. “Omicron may be less severe on average, but the narrative that it is a harmless disease is misleading (…) and costs more lives,” the WHO chief said. He also said that because it is so…

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A fourth Corona vaccination does not adequately protect against the Omicron variant, according to an Israeli study. Infections are observed even in quadruple vaccinated people, Professor Gili Regev of Shiba Hospital near Tel Aviv said Monday. Two weeks after a fourth dose of the preparation from Biontech Pfizer, a “nice increase” in antibodies was observed. Their number was even slightly higher than after the third vaccination, he said. Dilemma whether for all fourth dose.“But for Omicron, this nice value is not enough.” Regev emphasized that these are interim results of…

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The omicron variant of coronavirus has already displaced delta and is causing rising infection rates in many countries. Although disease courses are likely to be somewhat milder, vaccine protection is declining more rapidly. “Omicron is not mild”The Omikron variant, which is now dominant in Austria, with its many changes, especially in the spike protein that is important for docking to cells, changes the rules of the pandemic game. Compared to the delta variant, the significantly higher transmissibility and the “immune escape”, i.e. the ability to escape an existing corona immune…

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Rumors about a flexible Apple phone have been around for a long time. A foldable iPhone is not expected until 2023 at the earliest. Foldable smartphones have not really caught on so far. Nevertheless, numerous cell phone manufacturers have a flexible device on offer: from Samsung to Motorola to Huawei. Oppo and Honor have also recently joined them. The situation is different for Apple. The technology group from Cupertino is still taking its time with the introduction of a foldable iPhone. Behind the scenes, however, the company is said to…

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In the face of the omicron wave, more than 30 scientists in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) urge a Europe-wide approach to curb the spread of the new variant. Recently, the impression has arisen in many cases that this is a “mild” variant, the containment of which no longer makes sense. In this context, IHS researcher Thomas Czypionka, who was involved in the appeal, warns against an “inappropriate and even dangerous” fatalism. The paper, published Thursday, brings together researchers from a wide range of scientific fields. From Austria, Czypionka, who…

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The number of Catholics in Austria again declined slightly last year, but remained largely stable. This is the result of the statistics published on Wednesday by the Austrian dioceses. Accordingly, there are 4.83 million Catholics in Austria as of Dec. 31, 2021. In 2020, there were 4.91 million Catholics, according to official statistics from the Austrian Bishops’ Conference. This corresponds to a decline of around 1.6 percent. One reason for this is increased departures from the church last year. Together with the preliminary Catholic figures, the official church statistics for…

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A new international study underscores the importance of third-party vaccination in the fight against the rampant Omicron variant of the coronavirus. According to the study by experts from Boston and Harvard, only those boosted with mRNA vaccines are protected against the new variant, while those who have recovered and been vaccinated are not. Blood samples from 239 people who had been vaccinated with Moderna, Biontech/Pfizer or Janssen were studied. The study found that antibodies after booster with mRNA vaccines were barely weaker against omicron than against the original virus, known…

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