Category: Feature Stories

Coronavirus vaccination for health workers and people at particular risk should begin in all countries around the world within the next 100 days. This was demanded by the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in Geneva today. Ghebreyesus repeatedly criticized “vaccination nationalism” – the fact that wealthy countries have secured virtually all the vaccine doses available, while low- and middle-income countries have hardly launched any vaccination campaigns. Another problem in many places is that many countries are unable to store sensitive vaccines such as those produced…

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It is true that tests will in all likelihood continue to play a role in the future as far as everyday life is concerned. But all of this is to be embedded in a testing concept that will only be applied after the lockdown. So anyone who doesn’t want to do without certain things in the near future will probably have to present a negative Corona test that is no more than 48 hours old. This will most likely include events with more than twenty people, as well as visits…

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Following approval by the EU, vaccination against the coronavirus has also begun inAustria. The vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer uses a new process: It is an mRNA vaccine. But what is this RNA anyway? The first vaccines against coronavirus have received regulatory approval. The vaccine from Biontech-Pfizer is already being administered in many countries, and the EU has also recently approved it. In Moderna’s vaccine, the next one is already in the starting blocks. Both are mRNA vaccines. But why are they exactly? RNA: messenger of informationRNA transmits information in human cells.…

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Christmas and New Year’s Eve were celebrated differently in 2020 – including spending more time on the phone and on the Internet.This is according to an analysis by telecommunications provider Drei, which compared data on voice telephony and data consumption, among other things, with Dec. 24/25 and Dec. 31/1 of the previous year. The results show that at both Christmas and New Year’s Eve, voice telephony increased by around a quarter (27 and 23 percent, respectively). Data usage was also significantly higher – at Christmas, Austrians consumed around 30 percent…

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Researchers have detected microplastics in commonly consumed shellfish. The small plastic particles were found in all the samples examined from different regions of the world. Mussels from the North Atlantic and the South Pacific are particularly contaminated. Vast amounts of plastic waste end up in the ocean. Mussels filter the water and thus also absorb tiny plastic particles. For their study in “Environmental Pollution,” researchers led by Martin Löder of the University of Bayreuth examined the pollution levels of the European blue mussel, the green mussel, the wavy carpet mussel…

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Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen promises a “better year” and wishes the people of Austria “the courage to dream.” The essential question for Van der Bellen is: “What future do we want to see?” Now is the time “when we have to look further” – “without being afraid to also think completely new, without being afraid to think too big,” the federal president said. “This year will be better” – that is what Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen promised in his New Year’s address on ORF, broadcasted on…

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Linz – It was already clear to the pollsters at the Linz-based Market Research Institute that climate change would not be top of mind at the turn of the year 2020/21 when they launched the latest survey. A year ago, concern about whether effective measures against climate change would be taken was still at the top of the list of worries among female Austrians (43 percent expressed great concern) and male Austrians (38 percent). “It was clear that this concern is overridden by Corona, however, today 39 percent of women…

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Austria – The new year will be different – also and especially when it comes to the pandemic. Vaccination will bring life closer to the way it used to be, even if the virus will remain part of everyday life. But there will also be changes at work, in pensions, in the health sector and at school. Mobility in Austria could also change this year. With the start of vaccination in retirement and nursing homes still in the old year, the circle of vaccinees will gradually expand in 2021. During…

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The start of 2021 worldwide was a different New Year’s Eve than usual because of the Corona pandemic. As usual, Sydney in Australia did start the new year with a colorful fireworks display in front of the Opera House, but this time no spectators were allowed. The situation was similar in New York’s Times Square. The European countries also celebrated the end of the year in a rather restrained manner. Parties and fireworks were canceled, naturally also the Vienna New Year’s Eve path. The fireworks at Sydney Harbour and Opera…

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