Category: General Interest

Biontech and Pfizer have begun their first clinical trial to evaluate a Corona vaccine specifically tailored to the Omicron variant. The study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the vaccine candidate, the two companies announced today. The study is expected to enroll up to 1,420 subjects, who will be divided into three groups. The first group includes just over 600 people who have already received two doses of the previous vaccine between 90 and 180 days before the start of the study and will now receive one or…

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A 30-year-old Syrian man in Linz was apparently able to fend off a fraud attempt just in time by becoming suspicious and hanging up on the phone. A caller had introduced herself to him as an investigator from the Federal Police and requested his data. According to police, there is currently an increase in such calls from fake investigators. The 30-year-old Syrian man from Linz received a call from a number he did not recognize on Monday. A woman with an Indian accent told him in English she was from…

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In Austria, it will remain mostly dry on Tuesday at 8 degrees – but in just two days, a new cold front will bring back the snow. From the west, the high pressure influence increases and subsequently provides generally calm weather conditions. In the lowlands, however, an inversion weather situation will set in, which will cause partly tenacious fog and high fog fields. Only on Thursday, a cold front from the north will hit the Alps, resulting in snow, especially in the congested areas. On Tuesday, away from the Alps,…

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Virologist Dorothee Von Laer of the Medical University of Innsbruck does not believe that people will have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus every few months in the future. Rather, it is likely to be like the flu vaccination: She told the “Tiroler Tageszeitung” that she expects “regular booster vaccinations adapted to the current variant every fall, once more than 95 percent of people are immune – through infection or vaccination.” “That state will be reached when virtually all people have recovered or have been vaccinated and thus can have…

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More than 176,000 people – 176,079 to be exact – have been infected with the coronavirus in this country in the past seven days, 49,000 of them in the federal capital alone. However, with 1.92 million inhabitants, Vienna is the state with the highest population. In terms of seven-day incidence (number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants), Tyrol is ahead with 2,796.5 and Salzburg with 2,638.1. Vienna holds at 2,551.3, and Austria as a whole at 1,971.3. For Austria, as well as Salzburg and Vienna, these are record incidences in…

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The World Health Organization (WHO) believes an end to the pandemic in Europe is possible after the current Omicron wave. “It is plausible that the region is moving towards a final phase of the pandemic,” WHO Europe chief Hans Kluge told the AFP news agency today. At the same time, however, he urged caution because of possible further mutations of the coronavirus. According to WHO estimates, 60 percent of all people in Greater Europe could be infected with the Omicron variant by March. The variant is highly contagious, but appears…

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The Corona situation in Austria remains tense due to the high numbers, yet there is now a relaxation of rules. And already starting from 24 January! The Alpine republic simplifies again the entry into the country. From Monday, people from all over the world can enter Austria again. Prerequisite: they must be vaccinated and need a PCR test – for boostered the test obligation is omitted. The total of 14 states of the virus variant areas will be removed from the list again, reports Ö1 on Sunday. The countries include…

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Germany’s Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) believes an internationally coordinated procedure for starting special omicron vaccines is advisable. A worldwide agreement must be reached on when to switch to a new Corona vaccine, PEI head Klaus Cichutek said Friday at a technical discussion on the Omikron variant. There is already a working group at the World Health Organization (WHO) for this purpose, he said. Placebo effect: One-third have “side effects” without Corona vaccinationAll the groundwork has already been laid for a rapid transition, he said. Clinical trials are now underway. As…

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For the time being, Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) does not plan to initiate new Vienna Corona measures. He stressed this after the closed meeting of the SPÖ-NEOS government on Friday in Vienna City Hall. Corona numbers rise: No special measures planned in ViennaIn the past, Ludwig has repeatedly enacted his own Viennese measures and tightened regulations prescribed by the federal government – which the federal states have the option to do. “The corona crisis has shown that it is always necessary to adapt to new challenges. You can’t rule…

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