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The EU Commission has approved the corona vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer. The president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Monday. “Today we are adding an important chapter to the fight against Covid-19,” von der Leyen said.
In the afternoon, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended a conditional marketing authorization for the preparation from the Mainz-based company Biontech and its US partner Pfizer. The EU Commission has now followed the EMA’s recommendation. The EMA carefully reviewed the vaccine, von der Leyen said. The test showed that the vaccine was safe and effective against the coronavirus. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) spoke of a “milestone in the fight against pandemics” after the EMA recommendation. The Biontech and Pfizer vaccine is the first coronavirus vaccine that can be used in the EU. This means that vaccinations against the coronavirus can also start in the European Union in a few days.
After the vaccine has been approved, Germany will receive the first vaccine dose delivery from Biontech on December 26. The Berlin health administration announced that 151,125 doses of vaccine are expected. The first doses of the vaccine should be injected this Sunday. Until then, the federally owned Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) should verify and approve vaccine lots.
First, people over 80 years of age, nursing home staff and residents, as well as healthcare workers at very high risk of infection should be vaccinated. According to clinical studies, Biontech indicates the effectiveness of the vaccine with 95 percent.
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, three to four million doses could be available in January. In the first quarter, Spahn expects between 11 and 13 million doses of vaccines. Since the preparation has to be administered twice, this amount would be sufficient for approximately 5.5 to 6.5 million people. In total, the federal government has insured more than 300 million cans, from Biontech and other manufacturers, through national and key agreements across the EU.
Many countries stop air traffic with Great Britain
Due to the new variant of the corona virus, the entry of passengers from Great Britain flights into German airports was initially halted on Sunday evening. Flights from the UK are prohibited in Germany from midnight. Numerous other states have also stopped air traffic with Great Britain.
The Netherlands initially issued a corresponding ban on Sunday morning. Belgium and Italy joined during the day, Germany early on Sunday night. France, Bulgaria, Ireland, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Chile also banned flights from the UK.
Switzerland prohibits foreigners from entering the UK and South Africa. In addition, people who have entered the country since December 14 must be quarantined for ten days. The government has also confirmed the ban on air traffic between Switzerland and the two countries imposed by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation at midnight. For people from the UK or South Africa in Switzerland, as well as for Swiss citizens in both countries, an exemption for return travel is under consideration. The virus mutation has not yet been detected in Switzerland. However, around 10,000 tourists from Britain landed at Geneva airport alone over the weekend. Zurich airport recorded 18 flight connections to and from Great Britain, 9 takeoffs and 9 landings over the weekend.
Because France has closed all borders, the major British Channel Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel are also closed. France also suspended freight traffic on these routes for 48 hours, according to the British BBC, among others. Due to the closure of French borders, in particular to UK goods, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called a government crisis meeting for Monday. The aim is to clarify how the flow of goods can be guaranteed.
The Netherlands has extended its crown-related entry ban for travelers from Great Britain to include passengers on ferries. This means that ferries coming from Britain with passengers on board can no longer make their way to the Netherlands, the ANP news agency reported Monday night, citing the government. However, the regulation, which initially applies until January 1, does not affect truckers.
On Sunday night it was learned that the new Corona variant had already arrived in Italy. The local Health Ministry announced that the mutation had been detected in a patient. The patient and one other person had returned from Great Britain in recent days and had landed in Rome by plane; is now in quarantine. The new variant of the virus has also appeared in Australia. The state of New South Wales has confirmed that the new, fast-spreading coronavirus strain has been discovered in a group in northern Sydney.
British supermarket chain: shortage of fruits and vegetables coming soon
The British supermarket giant Sainsbury’s fears bottlenecks in deliveries due to the interruption of merchandise traffic. If France keeps its borders closed due to the new variant of the coronavirus that is rampant in Britain, certain types of salads, vegetables and fruits could be in short supply. “If nothing changes, lettuce, some leafy greens, cauliflower, broccoli and citrus will disappear from the shelves in the next few days,” the UK’s second-largest supermarket chain said on Monday. Sainsbury’s asked the governments of London and Paris to take care of the immediate handling of food deliveries at ports.
To prevent the spread of the new Corona variant from Great Britain, France has stopped not only travel but also freight traffic. This means that no truck can leave the English port of Dover to search for new goods. A few days before the British finally leave the EU, the main trade route between Britain and continental Europe is cut off. The UK Retailers Association said many stores had stocked up before Christmas so there were no immediate problems. Sainsbury’s claimed that everything for “the great British Christmas dinner” was already in the country in large quantities.
Travelers from Great Britain get stranded at German airports
In Hannover, the emergency measures affected 62 passengers on a flight from London at night. Preparations have been made for emergency overnight stays at the airport. A spokesman for the federal police said one woman wanted to fly back to London, everyone else had to undergo a PCR test. One of the passengers turned out to be Covid-19 positive. Laboratory tests should now clarify whether the passenger was infected with the new, particularly contagious variant of the corona virus, the Hannover region announced on Monday. The affected passenger and his companions would now be transferred to their destination in a quarantine transport. There they would have to “separate”.
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The Berlin correspondent for the English weekly The EconomistTom Nuttall had apparently also landed aboard a plane from Britain in Berlin and reported something similar on Twitter. The police had told the passengers they were being tested: anyone who tested negative would not be returned.
The landing ban issued in Germany also applies to flights from Northern Ireland. Mail, cargo or empty flights and “flights with medical personnel in the interest of public health” are excluded, according to an order from the Federal Ministry of Transport. An exception also applies to flights for the return of machines parked in Germany “and their crews from the UK”.
The regulation applies initially until December 31. A more far-reaching regulation will be launched on Monday for the period from January 1. Then an entry restriction for South Africa should also be decided; from there there were also reports of a new form of virus.
According to Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU), the new Corona variant discovered in Britain has yet to be detected in Germany. Now it is important that entry into Germany is barred, Spahn said Sunday night at the ARD.
Israel: First person died after coronavirus reinfection
In Israel, a person died for the first time after contracting the coronavirus for the second time. Schiba Hospital, near Tel Aviv, confirmed that the 74-year-old was infected with a mutated crown variant when he was recently diagnosed. Re-infection with the coronavirus is considered rare worldwide.
According to media reports, the man from Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, hired Corona for the first time in the summer. After a treatment in the hospital he recovered; several corona tests were negative at that time. About three months later, the retirement home resident became infected again. He was taken to Shiba Hospital with difficulty breathing and later died there.
Amid the spread of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus in the UK and other countries, Israel’s coronavirus cabinet met on Monday to deliberate on new entry restrictions.
An agreement was reached on the Crown aid package worth billions
In the United States, Republicans and Democrats are paving the way for billions in aid from Corona after a long struggle. “We finally have the bipartisan breakthrough the country needs,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday (local time). Overall, the package will amount to around $ 900 billion, to be approved in Congress on Monday.
The package should find enough support to pass quickly by both houses of Congress, Schumer said. It would be the second-largest economic boost in U.S. history after a $ 2.3 trillion cash injection was approved in March to help mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.
The aid package includes payments of $ 600 per person plus a grant of $ 300 per week for unemployment benefits. According to insiders, an amount of $ 15 billion is destined for US airlines. The public transportation system and state highways would each receive $ 10 billion.
However, the bill ignores two of the most controversial issues between Republicans and Democrats: Republicans called for corporate redress of coronavirus lawsuits, and Democrats insisted on getting more help from state and local authorities. But the new package is helping authorities indirectly by setting aside billions for schools, coronavirus testing and other expenses, Schumer said. The deal is just the basis for more help in 2021.
The aid package is tied to a regular budget law for the new fiscal year with a volume of 1.4 trillion dollars. The deadline for the adoption of the new budget would have expired at midnight on Sunday, but Congress had approved the extension of a bridge budget by one day, thus avoiding a stalemate in public life.
