The British House of Commons, against great opposition, also agreed in the ranks of the ruling party to tighten the corona measures to combat the highly contagious Omicron variant. On Tuesday evening, after an emotional debate, the MPs voted with a majority for the measures that provide for a tightening of the mask requirement and the particularly controversial 3-G certificates for nightclubs and major events.
When voting on the evidence, 369 MPs voted for and 126 against. According to media reports, almost 100 votes against came from the government camp. In their initial assessments, commentators assumed that it could have been the biggest rebellion against Johnson since his election victory in 2019. The largest opposition party, Labor, had already announced its approval of the measures in advance, which is why the majority was considered certain. However, dozens of Tory MPs loudly announced they would vote against. The greatest resistance was against vaccination or test evidence. Johnson has a majority of 79 votes in the lower house, so he was only able to bring the current tightening through parliament with the votes of the opposition.
The prime minister is under criticism not only because of the tightening of corona measures, but also because of several scandals. In the lockdown of last year, several illegal parties are said to have taken place in Downing Street. (14.12.2021)
Italy is also introducing compulsory testing for vaccinated travelers
If you want to travel to Italy, you have to be tested for Corona from December 16 before leaving – this rule gun applies to everyone, including people who have already been vaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated must also be quarantined for five days after entering the country. The Ministry of Health announced this on Tuesday. A similar regulation already existed for travelers from non-EU countries, now it was extended to trips from neighboring European countries shortly before the Christmas holidays. The stricter rules should initially apply until January 31.
Italy is currently gradually tightening its measures against the Covid 19 pandemic. From Wednesday, for example, a compulsory vaccination for teachers, educators, the military, police officers, rescue workers and employees of the health administration should apply, as the Italian media unanimously report. Vaccination is already mandatory for health workers. This is supplemented by an obligation to vaccinate third parties. Vaccination refusals would therefore be suspended from work without payment of their salary.
Since last week, the so-called “Super Green Pass”, which corresponds to the German 2-G rules, has also been in effect in many areas of public life in Italy. The health emergency was also extended until the end of March. The corona situation in Italy is currently more relaxed than in other European countries. There, too, the incidences are increasing, but moderately. Around 12,700 new infections were reported on Tuesday. (14.12.2021)
Pfizer: Anti-corona drug shows high effectiveness
According to the manufacturer Pfizer, the anti-corona drug paxlovid is highly effective. This has been confirmed by the evaluation of the clinical studies on the drug. Accordingly, the agent showed an effectiveness of almost 90 percent in the prevention of hospital stays and deaths in high-risk patients, such as the US pharmaceutical company announced. The latest laboratory tests also indicated that the drug would also maintain its effectiveness against the fast-spreading omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Pfizer published preliminary study results in November that the pill was 89 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations or death compared to a placebo. The interim results were based on data from about 1200 people, the final results include an additional 1000 people. None of the study participants who received Pfizer treatment died – compared with twelve deaths among those who took the placebo.
The drug company also released initial data from a second clinical study showing that the treatment reduced hospitalizations by about 70 percent in around 600 adults at normal risk of infection. “We’re talking about an incredible number of lives saved and hospital stays prevented. And of course we can drastically reduce transmission if we use this agent quickly after infection,” said Pfizer research director Mikael Dolsten.
The pill is given in combination with an older antiviral called ritonavir. The combination treatment with the brand name Paxlovid is taken every twelve hours for five days shortly after the onset of symptoms. Pfizer manager Dolsten expects an emergency approval of the drug from the US FDA and other authorities, for example in the EU and the United Kingdom, in the near future. The US government has already secured ten million treatment units for more than five billion dollars. No oral antiviral treatments for Covid-19 have yet been approved in the United States.
The pharmaceutical company Merck & Co has also applied for emergency approval for its antiviral pill molnupiravir. However, this drug was only able to reduce hospital stays and deaths by about 30 percent in a clinical study with high-risk patients. (12/14/2021)
Scandinavian countries worry about omicron spread
Norway prohibits alcohol in restaurants, pubs and hotels over the holidays. From this Wednesday on, there will be an absolute ban on serving for four weeks – including over Christmas and New Years. The aim is to reduce social gatherings and thus ultimately to counteract the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum announced further state support for companies affected by the ban and other measures.
The serving ban was passed by the government on Monday evening. In addition, there are stricter rules for public events, organized leisure activities and in cultural life. The tightening of the measures is associated with great concerns about the spread of omicrons. As a list by the Norwegian health institute FHI shows, at least 1176 Omicron infections have now been detected in the Scandinavian country with more than five million inhabitants.
In Denmark, too, the number of new infections that can be traced back to the Omikron variant rose. Between November 22nd and December 13th, 3437 Omikron cases were recorded in Denmark. On December 9, their share was ten percent of all coronavirus cases. 75 percent of those infected with Omikron were fully vaccinated, almost nine percent had already received a booster vaccination. That goes from the Covid-19 daily report from the State Serum Institute emerged.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 82 percent of the population in Denmark is fully vaccinated. Denmark thus has the highest proportion of vaccinated people in the total population. On September 10, the country abolished all corona restrictions. So far, the federal government has not classified Norway and Denmark as high-risk or virus variant areas. (12/14/2021)
Omikron is responsible for eleven percent of all new infections in Ireland
Ireland reports an increase in infections with the Omicron variant. The virus mutant is currently probably responsible for eleven percent of the new Covid 19 cases in Ireland, the country’s health authorities say. They predict a “very rapid increase” in Omicron infections in the coming days. (12/14/2021)