Category: General Interest

Immunologists say the newly approved vaccine from U.S. manufacturer Novavax in the EU is also suitable for booster vaccinations. “Everything known so far indicates that Novavax is probably a very good vaccine,” Carsten Watzl, secretary general of the German Society for Immunology, told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. “In booster vaccines, Novavax is not quite as effective as mRNA vaccines, according to a British study, but it is significantly better than vector vaccines,” the Dortmund immunology professor said. He said this distinguishes Novavax’s vaccine from the inactivated vaccine approval candidate Valneva.…

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EU vaccination certificates will in future be invalid without booster vaccination against coronavirus no later than nine months after basic immunization. The decision comes into force on February 1, the EU Commission announced on Tuesday. Theoretically, EU countries can still veto the decision, but this is considered as good as impossible, as the regulation has been agreed with the states. Austria has already previously shortened the validity of the certificates, for proof of immunization against Corona, in the green passport to 270 days. From February 1: Vaccination certificates in EU…

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Because of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Germany has tightened its risk assessment. For twice vaccinated and convalescents, the risk of infection is now considered “high,” the RKI announced on Twitter. For unvaccinated, it remains “very high”. For vaccinated with booster vaccination (booster), however, the Institute estimates the risk as moderate. Overall, the health risk to the population is assessed as “very high,” the institute writes in its revised risk assessment. It warns against a sudden increase in the number of cases. Rapid…

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The EU has ordered more than 200 million additional vaccine doses from manufacturers Biontech and Pfizer for 2022 due to high demand for vaccines. The vaccine volume is in addition to the 450 million doses already ordered and scheduled for delivery next year, the two companies said today. The additional order brings the total number of vaccine doses for the EU in 2022 to more than 650 million. The order would also include potential vaccines adapted to the Omicron variant at no additional cost, Biontech and Pfizer said. The additional…

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The new coronavirus variant Omicron is spreading rapidly. By the end of calendar week 49, 86 cases had been confirmed in Austria using PCR testing or sequencing, with 211 added in the past week alone. This brings the total number of confirmed cases of the new variant to 297 by the end of calendar week 50. This is according to the update of the variant report published today by the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). Omicron had first been registered in Austria in calendar week 47, when there…

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Since last Thursday up to and including Sunday, 1,533 more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA). This brings the total number of unequivocally confirmed Omicron cases to 4,691, the EU health agency ECDC announced Monday. Confirmed cases are now reported from 28 countries, with Austria mentioned in the ECDC report with 80 Omikron detections (as of Dec. 12, according to AGES, note). In absolute numbers, the most cases of the spreading corona variant are in the…

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According to the Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik — (ZAMG – Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics) forecast, the days before Christmas will be relatively cold before a warm front reaches Austria in the night of December 24. On Christmas Eve, there is a risk of freezing rain. Vienna weather in detailThe closer Christmas gets, the colder it should get next week, the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics forecast on Sunday. But in the night to December 24, a warm front with rain down to 1,500 meters should reach…

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Today is the last step in opening the economy to vaccinated and recovered people after the fourth lockdown: pubs and hotels are allowed to reopen in Vienna as well. They had to take a longer break due to the stricter Viennese regulation. Retailers, on the other hand, were already allowed to reopen in the federal capital a week ago. However, there are still restrictions: The catering trade must close at 11 p.m. in accordance with the nationwide regulation. There is no change for the time being for the night gastronomy.…

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Under the slogan “#YesWeCare – the #Sea of Lights”, a rally was held this evening in Vienna on the Ring, which was intended, among other things, to commemorate the now more than 13,000 Corona deaths in Austria. At 7 p.m., more than 30,000 participants gathered on the street for about ten minutes, according to police. They carried candles, lamps or had the lights of their cell phones switched on. Sea of lights in Vienna reminded of Corona deadShortly after 18.00 o’clock numerous people had gathered along the ring. This was…

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