Category: General Interest

More than 20 million people have received a first dose of vaccination against coronavirus in the United Kingdom, or about 30 percent. This was announced by UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Sunday. In the U.K., both the Astrazeneca vaccine and the Biontech and Pfizer preparation are being given up to 12 weeks apart to ensure as many people as possible can receive an initial vaccination as quickly as possible. The number of second vaccinations required for full vaccination protection in the country was recently still below one million. According…

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Austria’s vaccination campaign picks up speed. More than one million vaccine doses will be delivered in March. Residents and employees of retirement and nursing homes were almost completely vaccinated as planned. This is also the main reason why the number of infections and deaths there has fallen sharply. Health Minister Rudi Anschober: “This is excellent proof that vaccinations work and are effective. This gives us great hope.” The statistical figures, which are published daily on the dashboard of the Ministry of Social Affairs, prove that the Länder are vaccinating as…

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Austrians show little optimism about normality in the summer in view of the ongoing Corona crisis.As the latest survey conducted in mid-February as part of the “Austrian Corona Panel Project” (ACPP) of the University of Vienna shows, only a few Austrians still believe in a normal summer. Nine out of ten Austrians (89 percent) believe that the crisis will not be over for more than six months. At the beginning of the pandemic, only about a third of respondents thought life would not be back to normal for more than…

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Another Corona vaccine may soon be used in the U.S. and UK. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday granted emergency approval to the vaccine from U.S. company Johnson & Johnson. U.S. President Joe Biden expressed his “enthusiasm” and spoke of an important stage in the management of the pandemic. In the UK, a report in the Telegraph (Sunday edition) said the approval process was “very likely” to start this week. The hurdles for emergency approval by the FDA are comparatively low. In simple terms, a drug or…

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On Monday, the government plans to decide on how to proceed with the Corona pandemic. While business, sports and culture had recently pushed for further openings, however, no major easing is likely in sight in light of rising numbers. Corona infection numbers in Austria have risen significantly following recent relaxations, with the seven-day incidence already back up to 150. Thus, no major rollback of Corona protective measures is likely. Infection numbers in recent weeks significantly increasedThe fact that infection figures have risen significantly in the past three weeks was also…

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The government will discuss on March 1 how to proceed with the Corona measures in Austria. The corona virus continues to spread in Austria. In the last 24 hours alone, over 2,000 new cases have again been registered in the country. Not only do the numbers remain at a high level, but they continue to rise. But there is no real sign of this on the streets. Because despite the rising Corona numbers in the country, the pedestrian zones and shopping streets are full. According to Health Minister Rudolf Anschober…

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From Monday, the distribution of free Corona self-tests starts in pharmacies. Gradually, the population is to be supplied with them, but for the time being only kits for 600,000 people are available, as Apothekerkammer boss Ulrike Mursch-Edlmayr told the “Kleine Zeitung”. “The distribution of the free home tests by pharmacies is a long-term project,” Thoma Veitschegger, president of the Chamber of Pharmacists of Upper Austria, noted on Friday. According to the release, Veitschegger assumed that “ideally” 500,000 people could be supplied with it for the time being. The pharmacies would…

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U.S. scientists have expressed concern about a coronavirus variant in California. The variant, first discovered in December and dubbed “B.1.427/B.1.429” by researchers, is also likely to be more contagious than the parent virus, according to initial findings, several U.S. media reported Wednesday, citing scientists. The variant has also been detected in other U.S. states and countries around the world, they said, but has so far spread primarily in California, according to previous findings. “I wish I had better news – that this variant is completely insignificant,” The New York Times…

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Chancellor Kurz Kurz and Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger support the “green passport.” This must come in the spring, they say. If there is no EU consensus, Kurz wants to implement this in Austria. Tourism Minister Elisabeth Köstinger, according to Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, is also in favor of the introduction of an EU-wide uniform “Green Passport” to enable social life and freedom of travel again despite the Corona crisis. The goal is a digital passport solution that is practicable to use on a cell phone and can be updated flexibly. The…

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