Vaccination target of 17 percent at end of March still a long way off

Two months after the vaccination launch, just under 660,000 vaccinations have been administered in Austria. However, it is still a long way from the target of 17 percent by the end of March. Two months after the vaccination launch in December, less than one-third of people over 85 in Austria have received their first Corona vaccination. This is shown by data from the Ministry of Health updated on Monday. Even from the February declared goal of a vaccination coverage rate of 17 percent by the end of March, the government…

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WHO: Global infection figures on the rise again

The CoV infection figures reported worldwide are on the rise again. After six weeks of declining, there is now an increase again, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said today in Geneva. Apart from Africa and the Western Pacific region, there was an upward trend everywhere, he said. “This is disappointing, but not surprising.” Causes could be CoV loosening and more contagious variants of the virus – “and people becoming less careful,” Tedros said. The WHO chief again urged the international community not to rely on vaccination alone.…

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Immunization schedule: Ministry of Health changed target

Two months after the vaccination launch at the end of December, less than one-third of people over 85 in Austria have received their first CoV vaccination. That’s according to data updated today by the Ministry of Health. Even from the February declared goal of a vaccination coverage rate of 17 percent by the end of March, the government and provinces are still far away with 5.5 percent. In total, 148,604 vaccinations were given in the previous week, a quarter more than the week before. Two million doses vaccinated by EasterAustria…

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AstraZeneca vaccine for the time being only for under 65 years old

The vaccine of the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will continue to be vaccinated in Austria in the fight against the coronavirus for the time being only to those under 65 years of age. The Health Ministry made the announcement today, preceded by a recommendation from the National Vaccination Panel, which re-evaluated available data on the vaccine’s effectiveness. “This confirmed the recommendation currently in place,” the health ministry told APA. It added that the safety and immunogenicity data for the AstraZeneca vaccine were comparable in persons 65 years of age and…

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Highest 7-day incidence by age group is recorded in the group of 15- to 24-year-olds.

Of the 11,820 cases reported to authorities between February 15 and 21, 1,629 were among 15- to 24-year-olds. This corresponds to a share of just under 14 percent. In absolute terms, adolescents and young adults were thus behind 45- to 54-year-olds (1,928 cases/16.4 percent) and 35- to 44-year-olds and 25- to 34-year-olds (1,847 and 1,837 cases respectively/15.7 percent). However, if the infections in this period are extrapolated to 100,000 inhabitants on a group-specific basis, the 15- to 24-year-olds have the highest 7-day incidence of 170.5. This puts them well ahead…

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More than 20 million people in Great Britain are vaccinated

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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Health Minister Anschober: Over one million fresh vaccine doses in March

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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Corona crisis: few Austrians still believe in a normal summer

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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USA approves Corona vaccine from Johnson & Johnson

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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