Category: Feature Stories

AUSTRIA: According to geneticist Andreas Bergthaler, who also advises the government, the data to date show an east-west divide for the British “B.1.1.7” variant and large regional differences. The scientist is concerned, for example, about the Tyrolean cluster with the South African variant (“B.1.351”) – recently, numerous cases occurred in the district of Schwaz. In a random sample of almost 500 positively tested persons in TIrol, a B.1.1.7 proportion of around five percent was recently found, with 15 percent “B.1351”. However, these are regional highlights and can certainly not be…

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They have cryptic names and are likely to complicate pandemic containment: Corona mutations are currently worrying policymakers despite falling case numbers. What should we watch out for? South African mutant, British viral mutation, Brazilian covid species and more: in recent weeks, modified corona pathogens have also been detected with increasing frequency in Austrian laboratories. But what does that actually mean? How widespread are they and what dangers do they pose? Here is an overview of the most important questions and answers: ❓ Which variants are involved?? B.1.1.7 | United Kingdom:…

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Service providers close to the body are allowed to open up again from next Monday. However, until further notice, anyone going to the hairdresser, tattoo artist or similar must present a negative Covid test, which must not be older than 48 hours. Question: I am regularly being tested at work. Does the test apply when I enter a hair saloon? – Generally, any antigen or PCR test that healthcare professionals take applies – self-tests do not. For body-based services such as hairdressing, the test must be older than 48 hours.Question:…

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Two novel variants (mutations) of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus have spread massively in the UK and South Africa in recent weeks. Meanwhile, both mutations have also been detected in COVID-19 infected persons in Austria. What does this mean for the protective effect of already approved vaccines? What do we know about the corona mutations from the UK?Since the fall of 2020, the so-called variant B.1.1.7 of the coronavirus has been spreading in the United Kingdom. The mutation has now established itself in all parts of the UK, where it accounts for…

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A broad majority of people feel threatened by climate change, according to an international survey. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s 1.2 million respondents in 50 nations said the world faces a climate emergency, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) and Britain’s Oxford University. They fear increasing heat waves, droughts, torrential rains and storms. This survey, the largest ever conducted by the United Nations, polled people of different age groups, where more than half of the world’s population lives. According to the researchers, the results…

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The new variants of the coronavirus are spreading in more and more countries: As the World Health Organization (WHO) announced yesterday, the coronavirus mutation initially registered in Great Britain has now been detected in 70 countries. That was ten countries more than a week earlier. The WHO also recorded a larger distribution area for the mutant initially detected in South Africa. The number of affected countries rose by eight to 31 within a week. For the mutation that first appeared in Brazil, the WHO now stated that eight countries were…

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Austrians’ attitudes toward Corona vaccination have changed in recent months. According to a survey, just under half of respondents currently want to be vaccinated “as soon as possible.” According to a recent survey of 1,500 people, the willingness of people in Austria to be vaccinated in January is again significantly higher than it was last time. After a decline in October and December 2020, when only just under a third said “I will have myself vaccinated as soon as possible,” the current figure is 47 percent, which is even higher…

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Around the world, economic inequality threatens to worsen in all countries at the same time due to the Corona pandemic. The organization Oxfam published its inequality report on Monday, stating that billionaires continue to profit “despite the pandemic,” while the world’s poorest continue to be left behind. Oxfam published the report on the occasion of the start of the World Economic Forum, which is taking place for the first time completely digitally instead of in Davos. For the report, the organization had nearly 300 economists from 79 countries surveyed. According…

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Early in the pandemic, tests were conducted to see if existing drugs for other diseases could help against Covid-19: Remdesivir, for example, which was originally developed to treat Ebola, or hydroxychloroquine, which is effective against malaria. The anti-inflammatory dexamethasone, one of the drugs given to former U.S. President Donald Trump during his Covid-19 illness, is also among them. However, none of these therapies has yet brought the really big success. The search for an effective antiviral agent to treat the disease caused by Sars-CoV-2 continues accordingly. A discovery by bioinformaticians…

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