Category: General Interest

About 12 million women worldwide have had difficulty accessing contraception because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to United Nations estimates. That has led to about 1.4 million unwanted pregnancies, according to a report released yesterday (local time) by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The pandemic has caused disruptions in family planning services in 115 low- and middle-income countries, it said. This, it said, was due to such things as travel restrictions, supply chain disruptions, shortages of medicines and congestion at health facilities. Especially for the lives of women in poorer…

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The Corona Traffic Light Commission expects the significant increase in coronavirus case numbers to continue. At the same time, with the exception of Vorarlberg, Austria is already at “very high risk” and thus remains largely red. Current corona incidencesA withdrawal of the relaxation of the visiting rules in the hospitals is to be considered, it was said from the committee after the weekly meeting Thursday afternoon. This is in case the increasing burden on intensive care units continues. South African variant now spreading in Upper Austria and ViennaThe South Africa…

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The Ministry of Health has presented the amendment to the protective measures ordinance. With one exception, the entire regulation is to apply as early as March 15, once the National Parliament has given its blessing. The exception is that “re-sharpenings” in the professional area are to come into force from April 1 in order to ensure the necessary preparation time, it is said. The term “tightening up” refers to the fact that companies with 51 or more employees will need a mandatory Corona prevention concept from April 1. On the…

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Now that Denmark has become the first EU country to temporarily stop vaccinations with the active ingredient from AstraZeneca, the further handling of the vaccine is also an issue in Austria. Previously, one death and two cases of illness were reported in Austria in temporal proximity to AZ vaccination; a causal link has not yet been proven. In the afternoon, the state health councils are scheduled to exchange information with the ministry. Home authorities consult with state health councilsThe provincial health councils and experts from the Ministry of Health and…

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Prince William has spoken out for the first time about Meghan’s accusations of racism. He defends the British royal family. The heir to the British throne, Prince William (38), has vehemently denied the accusations made by his sister-in-law Duchess Meghan (39) in the revelation interview last weekend. “We are not a racist family,” he stressed emphatically on Thursday while visiting a London school when asked by reporters. He has not yet spoken with his brother Prince Harry (36) about the Sussex talk, but will do so, he assures. Duchess Meghan…

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More than 14,000 new infections were reported in Germany on Thursday. RKI President Lothar Wieler expressed “great concern” about the situation. A year after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic, the Robert Koch Institute believes the third wave of Corona has begun in Germany. “We have very clear signs of this: The third wave has already started in Germany,” RKI President Lothar Wieler said in an interview with the UN Association of Journalists (ACANU) in Geneva. “I am very concerned.” The strict use of protective measures, such as…

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The free Corona rapid tests handed out at pharmacies were completely sold out after only a few days. Supplies are already on the way. Since March 1, those interested have been able to get five free Corona self-tests from pharmacies – in theory, because the tests are out of stock . Supplies are already on the way. The only question is when it will arrive in Austria. “The first three million free rapid tests have been used up, and the second tranche of 4.5 million tests has not yet been…

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The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will decide today whether to approve the coronavirus vaccine from the U.S. company Johnson & Johnson. If the Amsterdam-based authority gives the green light, final approval by the EU Commission would be a mere formality, according to experience. It would be the fourth coronavirus vaccine to receive EU-wide approval, following vaccines from Biontech and Pfizer, Moderna and Astrazeneca. Against severe covid-19 disease, the vaccine has an efficacy of about 85 percent. One advantage of Johnson & Johnson’s vector virus vaccine is that only one dose…

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Corona mutant B.1.1.7, first discovered in the United Kingdom, is 64 percent more deadly than previous variants of the virus, according to a new study. In 4.1 out of every thousand cases, infection with B.1.1.7 leads to death, according to the study by researchers at Britain’s University of Exeter published Wednesday in the journal BMJ. For earlier coronavirus variants, the mortality rate is 2.5 per thousand cases. For their study, the researchers analyzed pairs of data from nearly 55,000 study participants each. The people had tested positive for the coronavirus…

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