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The UK is the first country to grant emergency approval to the Biontech and Pfizer vaccine. The German company’s vaccine receives its first emergency approval from the UK Medicines Agency. Extradition to the UK will take place immediately.
Biontech and the US pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer announced Wednesday morning that the British drug regulator Regulatory Agency for Medicines and Health Products (MHRA) granted the first approval for the joint Covid-19 vaccine. A spokesperson for the UK Health Ministry confirmed the approval. Therefore, it is the world’s first crown vaccine that can be released to the market after its effectiveness and tolerability have been fully tested. Pfizer and Biontech want to start shipping the vaccine to the UK immediately. There is a contract with the UK for 40 million doses for 20 million vaccines. The companies did not say how much vaccine will be delivered to the British in the first shipments.
Biontech and Pfizer request approval of the vaccine for Europe
While vaccination centers are being built everywhere in Germany, the first people there are more likely to be immunized against Covid-19 this year. After pharmaceutical manufacturer Moderna applied for approval of its vaccine for the European market on Monday, Mainz-based company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer are now reporting documents for a conditional approval of its corona vaccine to the European Agency for Medications (EMA). have presented. The decision must be made no later than December 29. If the authority complies with the request, according to the two pharmaceutical companies, the first vaccines with the preparation called BNT162b2 could be given in Europe in December.
The effectiveness data published by Biontech and Pfizer in a press release is similar to that of Moderna. In the clinical phase 3 study, the vaccine protected 95 percent of test subjects from Covid 19 disease. Even with study participants who had already had a Sars-CoV-2 infection, the preparation increased the vaccination protection. Information on how well immunization works in different age groups is also particularly relevant. Additionally, Biontech and Pfizer report that the efficacy of the vaccine was “consistent across age and gender groups and across the diverse study population.” For people over 65, who are at the highest risk of a severe course of Covid-19, vaccination protection was 94 percent, according to drug companies. So far there have been no serious side effects, in general the vaccine was well tolerated.
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Like Moderna’s vaccine, the Biontech and Pfizer preparation is a so-called mRNA vaccine. It would be the first time that vaccines were approved using this new process. The mRNA is temporarily active building instructions for virus proteins. These proteins are produced by the cells of the vaccinated according to instructions and train the immune system to recognize and fight the pathogen in case of infection.
UN: corona crisis plunges millions of people around the world into danger
According to the United Nations, the corona pandemic has plunged tens of millions of people into dire straits. About 235 million children, women and men will depend on humanitarian aid and protection over the next year, the UN warned on Tuesday in Geneva. UN Secretary General António Guterres said the number of people who had to be supplied from abroad had reached a peak. In one year, the number of people in need has increased by 40 percent. A year ago there were 168 million, the year before 146 million people.
Guterres called on the world community to stand in solidarity with the people in their “darkest hour.” They suffered not only the economic and social consequences of the corona pandemic, but also conflict, displacement, extreme weather, and natural disasters. Guterres estimates $ 35 billion to fund humanitarian aid over the next year.
The UN and its partners want to provide food, water, medicine, clothing and shelter to 160 million people with special needs. Furthermore, children, for example in refugee camps, must be educated and vaccinated. The 56 countries where the aid is being provided include Afghanistan, Yemen, Mali, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and Venezuela.
In the course of the corona pandemic, numerous countries sealed their borders and closed businesses, markets, and public facilities. As a result, economies that were already weak found themselves in a threatening position and poverty increased dramatically. In particular, the population of southern countries is suffering from the global economic recession, the UN declared.
Vietnam confirms first local corona infection in 89 days
For the first time in 89 days, the Vietnamese authorities have again confirmed a local transmission of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus nationwide. After evidence was found on a 32-year-old man in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, authorities tried to closely follow the man’s contacts. State media reported that prior to his positive test, the man had visited a flight attendant who had self-isolated two weeks ago after returning from Japan. The causative agent of the Covid-19 disease was detected on Saturday.
Health officials arranged for 137 people who were counted as close contacts to be placed in a quarantine facility. An English education center where he reportedly works as a teacher, the 32-year-old has been temporarily closed, according to the Vietnamese daily. Youth reported. Vietnam has so far only confirmed 1,347 corona infections and 35 virus-related deaths out of a population of 96 million.
Moderna requests approval of the vaccine in the EU
The American pharmaceutical company Moderna was the first company to apply for approval of a corona vaccine in the EU. Moderna announced that the application was submitted to the European Medicines Agency Ema on Monday. At the same time, an emergency approval application was also submitted to the US pharmaceutical authority.
According to the pharmaceutical company, if approval is granted, the vaccine could be shipped to the EU in December. This means that vaccination against the corona virus is getting closer and closer in Germany. Last week, the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that a framework contract for up to 160 million doses of vaccine had been concluded.
Advance approval is possible through the so-called ongoing review process. Manufacturers can send data on the efficacy and safety of the vaccine to authorities prior to actual application, if a vaccine is urgently needed.
As Moderna announced, the vaccine is 94.1 percent effective. The company is based on test data involving more than 30,000 people in the United States. The effectiveness was similar in all age groups.
Turkey imposes curfews on weekends
After the continued high number of infections in Turkey, the government has tightened measures. At a cabinet meeting in Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Monday that curfews would be applied throughout the weekend. The ban begins at 9:00 pm on Fridays and ends at 5:00 am on Monday. During the week, a night curfew is imposed from 9:00 pm to 5:00 am every day. So far, evening curfews have only been enforced on weekends. Starting Tuesday, people over 65 or under 20 should also be banned from using public transportation.
According to the government, the number of new infections each day is around 30,000 in the country of 83 million people, but there are doubts about the numbers. Last week, the government announced the daily number of cases for the first time in months, after only the daily number of people infected with symptoms had been published for months.
The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) had recently expressed doubts about the government’s figures. It accounts for at least 50,000 new infections every day. The TTB also contradicted the government’s statement that only 70 percent of intensive care beds in Turkey are occupied. In some provinces, patients are treated in hallways or dining rooms, according to a statement. The country is currently experiencing a “tsunami” that the TTB had been warning about for months.
Nearly the lowest level in two months: France reports around 4,000 new cases
Tough measures and restrictions on public life in France appear to be having an effect. After 9784 cases on Sunday, authorities reported 4005 new infections by Monday. The seven-day average drops to 11,118 and is near its lowest level in two months.
The death toll remained high: as announced by the Health Ministry, 406 people died on Monday.
Rome puts Italians in the mood for New Year’s Eve curfews
The Italian government has decided to grant more financial aid to companies and professional groups that are particularly suffering from the crown’s restrictions. Another eight billion euros would be made available to them, the center-left government announced Monday night. For example, tax exemptions are provided for companies with certain sales volumes, as well as for restaurants, tour operators and hotels.
At the same time, it became clear Monday that the nightly curfew starting at 10 pm for the 60 million Italians should still apply on New Year’s Eve. To avoid a third corona wave, policy must remain strict in December, said Italy’s Minister for Regional Affairs Francesco Boccia of the Rai News television channel. If the restrictions continue as before, people would have to celebrate New Year’s Eve in their own home.
In Italy, there has been a nightly curfew from 10 pm to 5 am since the beginning of November. He wants to have boccia. A new decree is expected later this week, which will contain an update on numerous crown measures. In addition to the question of what will be allowed on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the opening of ski areas during the holidays was also a controversial topic. For days, politicians and experts have warned against repeating the mistakes of summer with too much relaxation and too much travel.
