Category: General Interest

EU countries will receive 160 million doses of the highly effective vaccine, adds contracts with AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech Since summer, the EU Commission has been concluding contracts with vaccine manufacturers in the hope that some of these pharmaceutical companies will be able to produce truly effective and safe vaccines. Three pharmaceutical companies currently have the most promising vaccines in test phase three or are close to approval: Pfizer/BioNTech was the first company to apply for approval in the U.S., the EU Commission has already contracted and ordered 400 million vaccine…

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With a three-quarter billion euro there will be a new record level of donations in Austria in 2020. Most of the money, 30 percent each, will go to children and animals. A total of 6.5 million Austrians have donated, although many events had to be cancelled due to Corona. While the proportion of donors is highest in Lower Austria and Burgenland at 79 percent, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg donate the most on average at 146 euros per donation. “Collecting donations was not easy for many this year,” said Günther Lutschinger,…

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In Germany, the federal and state governments will almost certainly decide on further-reaching corona measures on Wednesday. In a state paper from Sunday, which is available to the Reuters news agency, there is talk of a further closure of restaurants and leisure facilities by December 20. If, however, the so-called seven-day incidence in a state falls below 35, the following measures are to be taken restaurants may also open again before. Both Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had previously said that they expected…

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The tense situation in local hospitals is now causing the authorities to consider a ban on fireworks on New Year’s Eve. In Upper Austria there is already a corresponding push. New Year’s Eve is still about six weeks away, but in Upper Austria a possible ban on fireworks is already being discussed. Similarly as for example in the Netherlands or some provinces of Belgium the end for firecrackers could come also in this country this year. The background is that the tense corona situation in the domestic hospitals should not…

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At the G20 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the international community broad access to the “Sputnik-V” vaccine developed in Russia. His country supported the G20 summit’s decision to make the vaccine available to the entire population of the planet, the 68-year-old said on Saturday at the meeting, which was organized by host Saudi Arabia as a video conference. Russia is ready to make its self-developed vaccines – three different vaccines – available to needy states. Competition among the vaccine manufacturers is inevitable, Putin said. But first of all, the…

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Since the start of the tightened lockdown on Tuesday, the police have penalized 796 violations of the measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic in Austria up to and including yesterday. In 617 cases there were charges and in 171 cases organ mandates according to the Covid 19 measures law, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. Eight further organ mandates were imposed under the Epidemic Law. In Vienna yesterday, among others, the operator of a punch stand was reported. The punch was sold from a store at the Graben in…

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Only ten percent of infections are asymptomatic.On Friday the Corona Commission published its indicators for the risk classification for the currently valid traffic light system – all of Austria remains red. The indicators show that, according to the latest data for calendar week 46 from November 9 to 15, the source of infection was unknown in 81 percent of SARS-CoV-2 cases throughout Austria, and in only 19 percent of cases – i.e. less than a fifth – was the infection clarified. In Upper Austria only 9 percent clarifiedUpper Austria and…

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Although the approval is still the great unknown, from the schedules of the manufacturers of the seven vaccines for which there are contracts, it is realistic that by the summer there will be so much available that anyone in Austria who wishes to be vaccinated can be vaccinated, said Clemens Martin Auer, Covid Special Representative in the Ministry of Health, on Friday in the ORF Lunchtime Journal. The first vaccines could already arrive in January. First old people’s homes and nursing homesHowever, this depends on the European regulatory authority. Here,…

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The first corona mass tests are scheduled to start as early as the beginning of December. First of all, teachers are to be tested. In a first step, 7 million rapid antigen tests have already been ordered. Everyone should have the right to one or two tests, in a second phase further tests will be ordered. The costs are estimated at 500 million euros behind closed doors. “Cheaper than a lockdown,” is what the government is saying. Slovakia has succeeded in reducing the replication factor (who infects how many) from…

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