The vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Biontech have developed a vaccine against the Delta variant and want to test it soon. The company announced that it had adapted its own mRNA vaccine – using the “complete spike protein of the Delta variant”. The first batch of the new mRNA had already been produced in Mainz. It is now assumed that the first study will be able to start in August.
At the same time, the companies that jointly developed the corona vaccine and brought it to approval apparently want to apply for approval for a booster vaccination soon. In an ongoing study of a third vaccination “encouraging data” can be observed, they said. It is planned to submit it to the US FDA, its European counterpart EMA and other regulatory agencies in the coming weeks. The details of the study should soon be published in a scientific journal.
The two companies assume that the protective effect of their joint coronavirus vaccine will decrease six months after the second vaccination. This is based on data collected by the Israeli Ministry of Health, it said in a joint statement. Based on the data available so far, it is likely “that a third dose will be required within six to twelve months after the full vaccination”. It should receive the highest level of protection against all coronavirus variants tested so far, Biontech and Pfizer said. This also applies to the expanding delta variant. At the same time, a version of the vaccine adapted to Delta is also being developed.
Shortly after the statement by Pfizer and Biontech, a statement from the FDA and the CDC circulated by US media on Thursday said that Americans who were fully vaccinated do not currently need a booster vaccination. But be prepared for the administration of booster doses if scientific evidence shows that they are necessary. US health officials looked into the question, but did not rely solely on data from pharmaceutical companies. (07/09/2021)
Portugal requires a test or proof of vaccination for hotel stays
Portugal will require a negative corona test, full vaccination or recovery for hotel stays in the future. On Friday evenings and on weekends, these certificates are also required for restaurant visits in the inner areas of 60 urban districts – including Lisbon and Porto – as the government has announced. A night exit ban has been extended to other parts of the country. In Portugal, the number of infections has risen steadily over the past few weeks. (07/09/2021)
Delta variant apparently outsmarts the immune system
The delta variant of the coronavirus, which is now also predominant in Germany, appears to partially escape antibodies from those who have been vaccinated for the first time and those who have not been vaccinated. A study in the trade journal delivers on this Nature More information.
In the experiments, the antibodies formed after a single dose of Biontech / Pifzer and Astra Zeneca were barely able to bind to the mutant discovered in India and render it harmless, report researchers working with Olivier Schwartz from the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Both vaccines would only have produced an efficient reaction against Delta after the second dose – in 95 percent of the people (after one dose: 10 percent).
According to the study, antibodies in blood samples from unvaccinated convalescents are less able to bind to Delta than the previously predominant variant alpha. After analyzing samples from convalescents who had already received a vaccination, the researchers write that the results strongly suggested that such a booster would most likely protect convalescents against a variety of circulating strains of the virus, including Delta.
Results from such laboratory experiments cannot be directly transferred to vaccination protection in practice. The team of authors writes that the examined levels of so-called neutralizing antibodies would, however, be considered a strong indication of immune protection against symptomatic corona infections. The human immune system not only defends itself against pathogens with antibodies, there is also cellular immunity. (07/08/2021)
England lifts quarantine for the British upon arrival
Fully vaccinated Britons will no longer need to be in quarantine from July 19 when they return from countries with a medium risk of infection. Transport Minister Grant Shapps announced. This should give the country’s corona-plagued airlines and travel agencies a boost. In the UK, 65 percent of adults are fully vaccinated. So far, the British have had to go into quarantine for up to ten days when returning from countries such as Spain, France, Italy or the USA.
Tourists from Germany, for example, have to be in quarantine for at least five days after arriving in the United Kingdom on July 19. The British government is lifting the mandatory self-isolation for fully vaccinated travelers and minors – but this only applies to people residing in the country.
“We would like to welcome international visitors back to the UK and are working on extending our approach to vaccinated passengers from major travel destinations,” said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in Parliament on Thursday. He hoped that the extension to countries like the US and EU member states could take place “over the summer”. A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson made it clear that the vaccinations must have been given by the British health service NHS in order to be allowed to enter without quarantine.
Brits or people residing in the United Kingdom must continue to present a negative Corona test from July 19 when entering from “yellow countries” such as Germany, France or Italy, which must not be older than 72 hours. You also have to take another test after arrival and within two days, but the self-isolation and another test after at least eight days are not applicable, as Minister Shapps said. The rules apply to England and may differ in the rest of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Japan declares a state of emergency for the Olympic city of Tokyo
The corona emergency will be imposed again in Tokyo during the Olympic Games. As expected, the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga decided on Thursday. The state of emergency will apply from next Monday until August 22, provisionally. The Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 23rd to August 8th.
The reason for the now fourth state of emergency for Tokyo are again significantly increasing numbers of corona infections. However, the state of emergency is not a lockdown with tough curfews like in other countries. While citizens are called upon to stay at home if possible, restaurants are not allowed to serve alcohol, offer karaoke and have to close earlier than normal in the evening.
Many people in Japan fear that the games could turn into a super-spreader event. Japan’s Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee have always emphasized that everything will be “safe”. For this reason, the games will now take place differently than planned without spectators. (07/08/2021)
USA stick to entry ban
The US government does not plan to lift travel restrictions early. As a White House spokesman told Reuters, they do not want to give in to the growing pressure from US business groups and some MPs for the time being: “We have made tremendous strides in our vaccination efforts, like many other countries, but we want to make sure that we are able to reopen international travel in the long term if it is safe to do so. “
In June, the US government set up an inter-agency working group with the European Union, the UK, Canada and Mexico to look at ways to lift restrictions and eventually resume travel. (07/08/2021)