Category: Feature Stories

The risk of symptomatic disease in previously uninfected subjects was reduced by 77 percent. An antibody drug from pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca effectively protects against corona disease, according to clinical tests. The drug, AZD7442 – a combination of two long-acting antibodies – is specifically designed for people for whom vaccination is not particularly suitable for certain reasons. The drug reduced the risk of symptomatic covid-19 by 77 percent in tests from a Phase III clinical trial, according to AstraZeneca. One doseNone of the subjects given the drug became severely ill or…

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Children’s immune systems appear to be better prepared for corona virus attacks.According to a recent study, the cells of the upper respiratory tract are already on heightened alert and can quickly fight the virus in the event of infection before it massively multiplies. This probably also explains why children fall seriously ill much less frequently, as researchers from Berlin and Heidelberg report in “Nature Biotechnology.” “We wanted to understand why the virus defense apparently works so much better in children than in adults,” explained Irina Lehmann, head of the Molecular…

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A new Corona study shows that the stronger immune response of recovered individuals is not only due to the spike protein of coronaviruses.For those recovered from Covid-19, partial SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is sufficient. According to an Austrian study of healthcare professionals, this is also due to a strong cellular immune response and antibodies not only against the spike protein of the covid-19 pathogens. What is the effect of corona virus on vaccination?The scientific investigation was conducted by Innsbruck and Linz scientists from the respective university hospitals and the Christian Doppler Laboratory…

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A new study shows a greater decline in efficacy with Biontech/Pfizer than with Moderna. Experts stress, however, that the last word has not yet been spoken. All Covid 19 vaccines protect well against severe disease, including the Delta variant. This is undisputed among experts. Recently, for example, a survey by the news magazine Profil showed that the majority of Corona patients in intensive care units are unvaccinated. And international experience shows: Those who have a severe course of disease despite double vaccination (or single vaccination in the case of Johnson…

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When the WHO declared at the end of May that it would henceforth name corona mutations with Greek letters instead of after the countries in which they were discovered, the British variant (beta) was still predominant in Austria and India was hit by a fierce covid wave, for which the delta mutant was eventually blamed. In the meantime, the delta variant, which has been proven to be more contagious, is also predominant in Austria. And the next virus development is already at the starting line: consequently named “Lambda”. It bears…

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The lambda variant is spreading in South America. How well does the Corona vaccination actually protect against the virus variant? The Delta variant is spreading in Austria and is highly contagious, which is why only a complete vaccination offers sufficient protection. In laboratory tests, the delta variant seemed to partially escape antibodies of first vaccinated and unvaccinated recovered persons. Researchers agree: the coronavirus will mutate even further. But Ralf Bartenschlager, president of the German Society for Virology, believes the number of variants will remain “manageable.” However, U.S. immunologist Anthony Fauci…

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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) once again warns of the devastating effects of unchecked climate change.The extent to which global warming has also reached Austria is shown by the comprehensive statistics of the ZAMG. According to these statistics, the temperature in Austria has risen by around two degrees since the beginning of industrialization. If the trend is not reversed, the warming will be at least five degrees by the year 2100. The extent to which these two degrees are already having an impact in Austria can be seen…

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According to Statistics Austria, Marie and Jakob topped the hit list of first names for newborns in 2020.This is shown by an analysis of the first names (in original spelling, without special characters) of all 40,669 girls and 42,934 boys born that year. For girls, parents chose 734 times (1.8 percent) the name Marie, for boys 794 times (1.8 percent) the name Jakob, reported Statistics Austria in a release on Monday. In 2019, Emma and Maximilian still won. “Marie is the top climber among the most popular baby names of…

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Biopharma company BioNTech advocates for a possible booster vaccination with its existing vaccine. Antibody levels would have been significantly higher after a third vaccination. Initial data on third Corona vaccination“We think right now it’s best to proceed with a booster dose for the existing strain of the virus to get the situation under control,” company CEO Ugur Sahin said Monday. Patients who received a third dose of the same Corona vaccine showed significantly higher antibody levels than after the second dose, he said. Corona vaccine not to be adapted for…

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