A New Year’s Eve party is to be celebrated in Rio de Janeiro this year – but to a lesser extent. There will be fireworks in ten locations in the city, including on Copacabana Beach, said the mayor of the Brazilian metropolis, Eduardo Paes, in a press conference on Thursday. Only last Saturday he announced the cancellation of the usual big celebration due to the corona pandemic.
According to him, there should be music in consultation with state health experts, but no stage shows. Also, no additional public transport should be provided on New Year’s Eve. There will be crowds on the beaches, emphasized Paes. But that is harmless in the open air. The vaccination rate in the city is also high. Paes called on tourists to come to Rio for New Year’s Eve – they could get vaccinated there too.
The New Year’s Eve party in Rio is one of the most famous in the world. Before the pandemic, it attracted millions of tourists every year. The fireworks are fired from rafts in the sea, and musicians, bands and DJs usually perform on Copacabana Beach. The party was canceled last year, as was an online celebration that was planned as an alternative and the carnival this year. Brazil has so far registered more than 616,000 deaths in connection with Covid 19 disease – the second most worldwide after the USA. (12/10/2021)
Australia is now also vaccinating children from the age of five
Australia will start offering coronavirus vaccinations for children ages five to 11 from January 10th. “This is welcome news to millions of families across the country looking to vaccinate their children,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison. After examining the clinical data from Canada, the vaccination advisory group there recommended an eight-week interval between the two doses, which can be shortened to three weeks in the event of an outbreak. In the initial phase, the vaccines will be administered by Pfizer and BioNTech. However, the authorities are also currently checking the suitability of the Moderna vaccine. (12/10/2021)
Draft for mandatory vaccination in Austria: fines from 600 euros and up
Anyone who does not get vaccinated against the coronavirus in Austria must expect heavy fines from February 2022. The bill presented in Vienna on Thursday provides for fines of 600 euros in a shortened procedure and of up to 3600 euros in an ordinary procedure. Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) said those affected could get out of the sentence. This then counts as “active repentance” https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/. “If there is evidence, the process is discontinued,” said Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein (Greens).
There will be exceptions to the mandatory vaccination, which includes all three vaccinations, including the booster vaccination, for children under 14 years of age, for pregnant women, for those who have recovered up to 180 days after the Covid disease and for people with a medical certificate. “All of us who are standing here have long ruled out compulsory vaccination,” said Mückstein at the presentation of the draft law. But one wants to break out of the eternal cycle of unlocking and locking. “We have to raise the vaccination quota in order not to go from lockdown to lockdown,” said Edtstadler.
In Austria, the vaccination rate is currently around 68 percent, together with Switzerland and Germany, this is one of the lowest rates in Western Europe. The draft law, which is also supported by the majority of the opposition – Social Democrats (SPÖ) and liberal Neos – is now to be examined by January 10th. The right-wing populist FPÖ speaks out against compulsory vaccination.
The law will initially apply for two years. According to the draft, the population register is compared with the vaccination register every three months and, if necessary, a procedure is initiated. According to Mückstein, a vaccination quota, which, when it is reached, the compulsory vaccination is abolished, has not been set. (09.12.2021)
EMA: Booster vaccinations make sense after just three months
According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), booster vaccinations as early as three months after a second vaccination can be useful. The data so far have shown that, contrary to the current recommendation, to refresh after six months, the booster is safe and effective after three months, says Marco Cavaleri, head of the EMA’s vaccine strategy. However, the EU member states should also take the respective situation in the country into consideration. (09.12.2021)
WHO advisory board rejects general booster vaccinations
The vaccination council of the World Health Organization (WHO) still does not recommend a general corona booster vaccination, as Germany and many other countries already offer. It is about fair vaccine distribution, said the chairman of the independent advisory board on immunization issues (SAGE), Alejandro Cravioto. The situation is different for people with a weakened immune system, for whom the council has previously recommended a third vaccination dose.
As long as there are not enough vaccines available, priority must remain to offer everyone in the world a basic vaccination with one or two doses. A full vaccination – in the case of Pfizer / Biontech or Moderna, two doses – protects well against serious disease progression for at least six months, said Cravioto.
The Vaccination Council recommends that the first and second dose be given with the same vaccine whenever possible. Another vaccine could be used where there are capacity problems. The Council is still dealing with the question of whether a booster vaccination with another vaccine might make sense in order to provide broader protection and has made recommendations shortly. (09.12.2021)
Unicef: 100 million children slipped into poverty because of Corona
According to a study by the UN children’s aid organization Unicef, the corona pandemic has plunged an additional 100 million children worldwide into poverty. That was ten percent more than in 2019 within just under two years, the organization reported. Even before the pandemic, one billion children worldwide did not have sufficient access to education, health care, shelter, food, sanitation or clean water. Such a crisis has not occurred in the 75 years since Unicef was founded.
“As the number of children starving, out of school, molested, living in poverty or being forced into marriage increases, the number of children who have access to health care, vaccines, adequate food and essential services is falling,” shared Unicef boss Henrietta Fore with. In the best case scenario, it will take seven to eight years for the setbacks to be made up for in many areas.
At times, 1.6 billion children did not go to school during the Corona period due to lockdowns, and almost 80 percent of face-to-face classes were canceled last year. According to the latest estimates, 160 million minors would have to work, an increase of 8.4 million in four years. By the end of 2022, there is a risk that another nine million minors will end up in child labor because they have to support their families. An additional ten million girls could be married off early by 2030 because of the poverty of their families.
Unicef calls for resolute countermeasures from governments and the global community in order to get young people back into schools and training and to ensure their health care. (December 09, 2021)
Resistance in the US Senate to Biden’s vaccination requirements for companies
The government of US President Joe Biden is also encountering opposition in Congress with its efforts to ensure extensive vaccination requirements in the fight against the corona pandemic. The US Senate voted with Republican votes on Wednesday, backed by two Democrats, to overturn Biden’s vaccination requirements for large companies. In order to actually abolish the compulsory vaccination, a corresponding vote of the other Congress Chamber, the House of Representatives, would be necessary – which is considered very unlikely. And even if both chambers of congress speak out against the vaccination rule, the president could veto the resolution. So the advance does not really have a chance. But he shows some displeasure with Biden’s course on the issue, even among individual party colleagues of the democratic president.
Specifically, it is about a regulation for companies with more than 100 employees. As of January 4th, they will have to require their employees to be either fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or weekly negative tests. There is also legal resistance to this: at the beginning of November, a federal appeals court in New Orleans suspended the implementation of a corresponding order by the government in Washington.
Two Democratic Senators, Joe Manchin and Jon Tester, sided with the Republicans in favor of the Senate vote on Wednesday night, helping them gain a slim majority. It is very unlikely that the resolution could also succeed in the Democratic-dominated House of Representatives. And even if a majority were achieved in both chambers, Biden would veto it, as his spokeswoman Jen Psaki made clear in advance on Tuesday. (December 09, 2021)