[ad_1]
Restaurant and cafe owners are protesting in Athens against measures that are hampering their businesses. PHOTO: Reuters
Johnson & Johnson boss: we will get vaccinated every year due to mutations
In England, two new varieties of COVID-19 have been identified, with some similarities to the South African and Brazilian strains. One of the new species, first detected in Bristol, has been identified as a matter of concern by the Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Viral Threats. The other variety, first identified in Liverpool, has been identified as an option under study.
The new varieties have the E484K mutation, which occurs in the peak protein of the virus and represents the same change observed in the South African and Brazilian variants. Health authorities in England have found 76 cases of new variants of COVID-19 and express
trust that
vaccines
be efficient
and against them
The rapid change in the coronavirus will require vaccination every year, Johnson & Johnson chief Alex Gorsky told CNBC. According to him, vaccines against COVID-19 will be developed in the coming years in the same way as with vaccines against influenza. The US company has applied for approval of its vaccine in the United States. South Africa, which has announced that it is currently abandoning AstraZeneca, has now decided to begin administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to front-line physicians to see what protection it provides against the South African strain, considered the most dangerous.
Based on past experience, Israel, which is the 65 out of 100 vaccination champion, has said that immunization protects up to 90-95% against the highly contagious British strain, but it is too early to say data on the South African strain.
The Greek authorities have announced
strict lock
until February 28,
the capital Athens
and the entire Attica region, home to half of the country’s 11 million people. The measures include the complete closure of all outlets, the closure of schools for 17 days, a strict control over the movement of residents in the area and a ban on leaving the area, BNR reported. Companies that can work remotely, manufacturing companies will close. The requirement that citizens send a text message when leaving home remains in force, as well as the prohibition to go out after 9:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and after 6:00 p.m. on weekends. Masks are a must both indoors and outdoors.
The Greek Council for the Control of the Spread of the Virus is urging the government to make a decision and immediately introduce full quarantine in the areas of Thessaloniki and Patras, where carriers of the new strains are increasing. The Ministry of Health has expressed concern that more and more children under the age of 9 are becoming infected.
The oldest woman in Europe, however
managed to overcome
coronavirus,
just before
turned 117
today, February 11. Sister Andre, who is a nun living in a nursing home in Toulon, tested positive on January 16. She herself affirms that she felt fine and that the disease was asymptomatic, but the loneliness of her isolation weighed heavily. The old woman, whose secular name is Lucille Randon, was born in 1904 and first worked as a governess before entering a convent at the age of 41.
The WHO team, which was in the Chinese city of Wuhan to investigate the origin of the infection, announced at a press conference that it was extremely unlikely that the coronavirus was artificially created and released by a laboratory in the city. According to the scientists, the most likely form of the pandemic was the transmission of the virus from an animal to a host animal and, therefore, a human jump. Despite the new data, there is no significant change in the known distribution pattern so far, experts say. (24 hours)
[ad_2]
