Category: General Interest

At least eleven EU countries have reported the presence of the coronavirus variant Omicron so far.As the EU health agency ECDC wrote in an Omicron update, there were 59 recorded infected people by midday Wednesday. The Stockholm-based agency listed 16 cases in the Netherlands, 14 in Portugal and nine in Germany, Italy, Denmark (4 each), Sweden, Austria (3 each), Belgium, Spain (2 each) and the Czech Republic (1). In addition, there was one case on the island of Réunion, which belongs to France. It remained unclear whether the ECDC reports…

Read More

Biontech CEO Ugur Şahin expects the existing vaccine to provide protection against severe disease even with the new Omicron virus mutation. “We think it is likely that vaccinated people will have significant protection against severe disease caused by Omicron,” Biontech CEO Ugur Şahin told Reuters news agency on Tuesday. He expects that this protection will be even more pronounced once people have received their third vaccination. Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel had earlier warned to the Financial Times that existing vaccines against omicron are less effective. “There is no reason…

Read More

News on the WHO response to Omicron: Its chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has underlined that WHO is taking the new variant of the coronavirus “extremely serious.” He was addressing ministers and diplomats from the 194 member countries attending a special WHO meeting on a possible global pandemic treaty. WHO subsequently shared its findings on Omicron to date in camera. Reason for lack of end to Corona pandemicAs long as the world allows the pandemic to drag on, developments such as the emergence of a new viral variant are not surprising,…

Read More

On Monday, there were the first three confirmed cases of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of coronavirus in Austria. No more were added on Tuesday. An overview to the provinces. In Tyrol, three people have contracted the mutation. In Upper Austria there are two, in Salzburg and Vorarlberg one suspected case each. There, the authorities are waiting for the sequencing of the AGES. In all other federal states, Omicron has not yet been detected. First Omicron case in the province of TyrolThe first case in Tyrol concerns a person who tested…

Read More

Biontech CEO Ugur Sahin expects the existing Covid-19 vaccine from the Mainz-based manufacturer and its partner Pfizer to provide protection against severe infections even with the new Omicron variant. “We think it is likely that vaccinated people will have significant protection against severe disease caused by Omicron,” Sahin told Reuters news agency today. “We expect this protection to be even more pronounced once people have had their third vaccination.” The variant, first detected in South Africa and now appearing in numerous other countries, has raised alarm around the world. WHO…

Read More

The social partners have agreed to open on Sunday on December 19. Due to the lockdown, stationary trade this year falls by three shopping Saturdays in Advent and the traditionally strong Immaculate Conception holiday. The open Sunday before Christmas is intended to make up for at least some of the sales. Employees who volunteer for this day earn double and get an extra day off. The condition is that the pandemic situation permits opening. The regulation also does not apply to supermarkets and drugstores, which are also currently allowed to…

Read More

December 1 is a significant date with regard to the vignette: the adhesive vignette and the Digital Vignette 2022 (taking into account compliance with the consumer protection period) are valid from that day, according to an ASFINAG release. Digital VignetteThe adhesive vignette (in apricot) has already been available since November 18 in thousands of sales outlets in Austria and abroad, while the digital vignette is available in the ASFINAG toll store at www.asfinag.at and via the “Unterwegs” app. Validity period of vignetteThe validity period of the annual vignette is a…

Read More

Beware of counterfeit goods and potential health hazards: Consumer advocates issue an urgent warning against buying medicines online.Online pharmacies are boomingIn doing so, one not only runs considerable health risks, but may even be liable to prosecution, the European Consumer Centre (ECC) said on Monday. This has together with the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG), the Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists and the customs authority now important information on the subject of online drug purchases together. Pharmacies and medicines: what is allowed in AustriaIn Austria, only pharmacies based…

Read More

A new variant with surprising mutationsB.1.1.529 is a new covid variant discovered in South Africa in mid-November that could be a turning point in the pandemic. Scientists, governments and markets fear that the high number of mutations in this variant could undo all the progress made so far and spread the pandemic.Scientists are deeply concerned. Dr. Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, was quoted by the Guardian as saying that the peak protein profile of this new variant, with 32 mutations, is “terrible.” “A major threat”South African authorities…

Read More