[ad_1]
© |
The European Commission is concerned about the rapid growth of the pandemic. In some member states, the situation is even worse today than during the peak of March, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said, warning of the danger of a “deadly double pandemic”, referring to the upcoming flu season, reported Deutsche Welle.
“Last chance”
The combination of coronavirus and influenza in the upcoming winter season could put a strain on healthcare systems, the commissioner said, calling the “urgent measures to be taken by member states” as a “last chance to prevent a repeat of spring events. “.
The warning was supported by an updated risk assessment from the European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) in the various Member States. Bulgaria, Croatia, Malta, Spain, the Czech Republic and Hungary are in the highest risk group. In these countries, deaths are on the rise and the proportion of elderly patients with serious illnesses is relatively high. Health systems in these countries are already experiencing serious difficulties in some places, many of the intensive care units are full and medical personnel are exhausted, reads the document, cited by the German “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.”
The pandemic is also worrisome in Estonia, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Austria, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Netherlands. Germany is in the third group, which includes countries with “stable trends” in the pandemic.
The ECDC warns that the number of severe cases is increasing in patients aged 15 to 49 years. Therefore, countries that are already reporting a worrying trend must take urgent action to reduce infection among the very young.
For the first time: the London experiment
At the same time, news came from London that as part of efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine, healthy volunteers would be deliberately exposed to a test vaccine a few weeks earlier. The experiment will be carried out under controlled conditions under total quarantine, the Financial Times reported, citing project participants.
With the help of such tests, scientists are trying to accelerate the development of a vaccine, confirmed a government spokesman in London. Its advantage lies in the fact that the effect of the potential vaccine can be seen immediately after use. The normal procedure requires the vaccination of tens of thousands of people, after which it is necessary to wait to see if fewer of them become infected with the coronavirus than in the control group that was not vaccinated.
The London project will be officially unveiled next week and will begin in January. According to the media, this is the first experiment of its kind in the world. So far, some 2,000 volunteers have expressed their desire to participate.
[ad_2]
