Category: General Interest

As expected, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently granted a conditional marketing authorization for Astra Zeneca’s Corona vaccine. Nearly a year after the outbreak of the pandemic, this means a third vaccine is now available, in addition to those from Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna. The vaccine will be licensed for all persons 18 years of age and older. Previously, there had been speculation that it could only be approved for people under 65. Formal approvalNow the EU Commission still has to formally approve the approval: This process can take only a…

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Hungary has become the first European Union country to approve the Chinese CoV vaccine. The National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition has given its approval for the vaccination of Sinopharm’s vaccine, the head of Hungary’s health authority, Cecilia Muller, said today. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced he himself would be vaccinated with the Chinese drug. He has “the most confidence” in Sinopharm, Orban said. “I will wait for my turn, and when the time comes, I will choose the Chinese vaccine.” Justifying his decision, the head of government said…

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In Vienna, scammers are apparently trying to exploit the confusion of elderly people caused by the vaccination schedule, which is often difficult for them to understand. They provide information by telephone about vaccination appointments in their own homes. But there is no such vaccination campaign. Several general practitioners in Vienna reported patients who had apparently been called by scammers. These would have announced appointments for vaccinations by telephone in the name of the city of Vienna. The special thing about it: the called would not need to go anywhere, the…

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On Monday, a decision will be made on a possible extension of the lockdown or any relaxation from February 8. Monday afternoon, the state governors will be guests at the Chancellor’s Office, and experts are also expected to attend the meeting. Some state leaders spoke out in advance in favor of openings in the areas of schools and commerce. February 8 had been mentioned in mid-January during the extension of the current lockdown as the earliest date from which trade, hairdressing salons and museums, but also face-to-face teaching at schools…

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Commuters must now also present mandatory tests upon entry. Otherwise, they face a ten-day quarantine. Due to the spread of various mutants of the coronavirus, there will now also be a tightening of entry regulations in Austria next week. On Thursday, the draft of a new regulation had been submitted to countries and social partners for review, next week it is to be finalized, the APA learned from the Ministry of Health. The draft, which has been submitted to the agency, provides for mandatory tests upon entry – including for…

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Novavax serum also shows high efficacy against British coronavirus mutant B.1.1.7, less so against South African mutant. US pharmaceutical company Novavax has announced a high efficacy rate for its Corona vaccine candidate. The drug showed 89.3 percent efficacy in the third and final study phase in subjects in the United Kingdom, the company announced Thursday. The vaccine could play an “important role” in managing the pandemic, Novavax CEO Stanley Erck said. The Novavax drug also showed high efficacy against the coronavirus mutant known as B.1.1.7. first identified in the United…

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By the end of this week, a total of 51,300 people should have received the first coronavirus vaccination, according to the Vienna Vaccination Plan. In addition, 6,400 more people are expected to have received the second dose, bringing the total number of vaccinations to 57,700. 18,000 residents of Vienna nursing homes were to have received vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 by Jan. 31. According to the City of Vienna, 20,560 vaccinations were administered in the in-clinic sector and 8,500 in the outpatient sector, which also includes doctors’ offices. In each case, 1,000…

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Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens) is aiming for a nationwide option for corona testing. In the question time of the Bundesrat, Anschober named the “medium-term” goal of offering a test service in every municipality, if possible. The range of test roads has already been massively expanded in cooperation with the federal states, he said. In addition, the minister also announced agreements with the interest groups for tests in companies. Self-rapid tests to be implemented “as quickly as possibleAnschober wants to implement the already agreed self-quick tests “as quickly as possible”.…

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Based on analyses of the genetic material of Sars Cov-2 viruses in samples, the suspicion of the new virus variant has been confirmed: To date, 149 detections of the British variant (“B.1.1.7”) and three of the South African variant (B.1.351) have been discovered. This is according to a release from the Ministry of Health. Additional data are still needed for an Austria-wide assessment of the trend, it says. As of today, the 152 variant detections with the complex whole-genome sequencing compared with about 14,800 active corona cases in Austria. Samples…

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