Category: Feature Stories

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced today, Thursday, that it will publish the outcome of its deliberations on Novavax’s vaccine on Monday. This means the vaccine could be approved before Christmas. Many who are not now vaccinated have been waiting months for Novavax’s inactivated vaccine. The main difference between it and the mRNA vaccines, which some have questioned, is that inactivated spike proteins are injected. In contrast, with mRNA vaccines, the spike protein is first formed by the body’s own cells – according to the blueprint that is injected. The…

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According to the latest AGES variant report, there are now 71 infections proven to be attributable to this new coronavirus variant. According to the report, the first five omicron cases were recorded in calendar week 47 (November 22-28). For the time being, the delta variant is still predominant and clearly dominant in Austria. With the exception of Vorarlberg and Styria (EMS case data status: December 14, 7:00 a.m.), there are now confirmed Omicron cases in all other federal provinces: in Vienna 37, in Upper Austria 15, in Lower Austria seven,…

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In Austria, 59 infections with the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been confirmed so far. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein said at a press conference in Vienna on Tuesday. 49 of them were detected by PCR test, the other ten were sequenced. There have been six cases in the federal capital alone so far. Mückstein also announced that the National Immunization Panel (NIG) will soon issue a recommendation for booster vaccination for children and adolescents aged twelve and older. Accordingly, the department head expects the NIG’s recommendation as early…

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59 Omicron cases currently in Austria. New variant is more infectious, but courses could be milder. Vaccination booster works and is recommended for ages 12 and up. There are currently 59 Omicron cases in Austria, plus dozens of suspected cases. Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein gave an update today with molecular biologist Andreas Bergthaler (CeMM), Katharina Raich, Director General for Public Health, and Herwig Ostermann, Managing Director of Gesundheit Österreich (GÖG). “We already know a lot about the new virus variant, but not enough yet,” Wolfgang Mückstein said at the outset.…

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A two-dose Covid 19 vaccine does not produce sufficient neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant, according to a British study. Oxford University scientists came to that conclusion after laboratory tests on blood samples from vaccinated people who received the vaccine from AstraZeneca or BioNTech/Pfizer. However, they said there is no evidence yet that the lower antibody levels with Omicron lead to a higher risk of serious illness or death. Neutralizing antibodies not enough“These are important data, but they only show part of the picture. They only look at neutralizing antibodies…

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Children’s hands kneading cookie dough. As tempting as it may be, snacking on raw cookie dough is not a good idea! Christmas is just around the corner, the time for baking. But cookie or cookie dough should not be eaten raw, warns the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety. Why? Food inspectors have detected disease-causing bacteria in wheat flour. Bacteria in cookie dough can cause intestinal inflammationIn 22 of a total of 242 samples examined from milling companies (a good 9 percent), they detected so-called STEC bacteria…

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Carelessly discarded Corona masks pose a serious problem for the environment and wildlife, according to researchers at the University of Portsmouth. For a study published this week in the journal Nature Sustainability, the scientists examined the relationship between Corona measures in eleven countries and the amount of carelessly discarded Corona masks and other protective equipment. To do so, they analyzed data from publicly available databases, including data from the waste collection app Litterati, and looked at the period from September 2019 to the first six months of the pandemic. According…

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British researchers have found evidence in a population study that the effect of the Corona vaccines from Biontech/Pfizer and AstraZeneca against the Omicron variant is weaker than against the Delta variant. Booster vaccination then raises protection against symptomatic infection again, report researchers led by Nick Andrews of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study. “ “This important UK study on Omicron shows more clearly for the first time how contagious variant is,” German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) commented on Twitter Saturday. “Early booster vaccination seems…

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The emergence of new variants of coronavirus inevitably makes us more vigilant. Mutations from the Covid 19 virus pose a major threat. But what is now becoming known about the Omicron variant combines good and bad news in an interesting way. Some experts even see the light at the end of the tunnel, should Omikron be the dominant version of the coronavirus that caused the pandemic. Highly contagious, but perhaps with only mild symptomsTedros Adhanom, head of the World Health Organization, spoke Dec. 8 about preliminary data on Omicron. He…

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